It pays to do e-banking!

MASERU -IT was prizes galore at Maseru Mall last Friday as Standard Lesotho Bank dished out M75 000 to some clients who used electronic banking platforms to pay school fees.
’Matšosane Mothibeli, Puseletso Letšoara and Sebota Masabalala paid school fees for their children using internet banking, mobile banking or swiping and on Friday they walked as winners. They each bagged M5 000 in prizes.

The competition also rewards the top three schools that accumulated most school fees from Standard Lesotho Bank’s electronic banking platforms.
Leribe English Medium School, Tiny Tots Primary School and Unity English Medium School came out tops and each pocketed M20 000.
For Standard Lesotho Bank, education is a basic foundation that should be supported by all those who value the country’s future, said the bank’s public relations manager Thabo Rampai.
Paying school fees should not be a nightmarish experience for parents and guardians, hence the bank’s resolve to establish modes of paying school fees that are less time consuming, he said.
“The bank is concerned about parents who wait in long queues to pay school fees,” Rampai said.

“It was only last December when we established the three modes of paying school fees in a bid to save parents (from) queuing,” he said.
“Internet banking and mobile banking both enable clients to pay school fees at their own time wherever they are. Users can also purchase electricity, airtime and other stuff,” Rampai said.
He said the two platforms only differ in that internet banking operates through internet while mobile banking can be used without internet.
The three schools should use the prize money to renovate their infrastructure or buy books for their libraries, said Rampai.
Head of Standard Lesotho Bank’s Personal Banking division ’Maletoka Beshabesha said electronic banking is safer than having school children or their parents move around with huge amounts of cash.

A teacher at Tiny Tots, Mamello Matela, said the new payment methods had improved the learning atmosphere.
She said physical payments at the school caused “huge congestion” with some parents coming during class hours and needing attention.
And she is also now getting her salary on time.

This, according to her, has harmonised their relationship with parents.
She thanked Standard Lesotho Bank for the prizes, adding the money will have a huge impact at the school.
Sebota, one of the individual winners, said he was not expecting to win as he was not even aware that he was putting himself in line for a windfall simply by paying school fees using internet banking.
Sebota, from Mohale’s Hoek, pays M1 300 quarterly for his children and the experience has never been the same since he took to internet banking.
“I no longer walk with a wallet full of money because I can do my payment through swiping and through my phone,” he said.

Refiloe Mpobole