Panama's Ifarhu to Digitize Scholarship Payments with Mastercard

The Institute for Training and Human Development (Ifarhu) is embarking on a significant digital transformation, moving away from paper checks towards a more efficient Mastercard payment system for scholarships and financial aid. Director Carlos Godoy announced this initiative, highlighting its potential to streamline the distribution of benefits to thousands of students. This move is expected to drastically cut down on the more than one million checks issued each quarter, a process historically plagued by delays and errors. A key feature of this new system is the ability for guardians with multiple students to consolidate all payments onto a single card, simplifying financial management for families. While the partnership with a banking entity is nearing finalization, Ifarhu anticipates the first payments under this new system to commence soon, pending bureaucratic approvals. The institution is also concurrently validating student and guardian documentation to prevent the kind of errors that have previously led to misdirected funds, emphasizing the importance of accuracy in this transition. This modernization reflects a commitment to improving service delivery and ensuring that educational support reaches students effectively and without unnecessary complications.

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Nosotros estamos ya prácticamente esperando un refrendo de un convenio que tenemos con una entidad bancaria que nos va a permitir hacer pagos con una tarjeta Mastercard y que ese pago le va a permitir, por ejemplo, si usted es acudiente de cinco estudiantes, recibir todos los pagos en una sola tarjeta