The University of South Africa (Unisa) confirmed that NSFAS allowances payments will commence on 19 March 2025. They also confirmed allowance payment dates for the rest of the year.
The disbursement of allowances for NSFAS-funded students will begin on 19 March 2025.
The university added that only students who are registered and successfully verified their bank details will receive payments on 19 March.
2025 Unisa NSFAS Allowance Payment Dates
Unisa confirmed that From April 2025, qualifying students will receive NSFAS allowance payments on the 29th of every month.
How Unisa NSFAS Allowance Payments Will Be Made
Unisa has confirmed that NSFAS allowances will be disbursed via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) directly into students’ bank accounts. This is the standard payment method for all university students receiving NSFAS funding.
NSFAS allowances are paid by the institution via EFT and put into the student’s bank account.
Allowances will only be paid to students whose registration data has been successfully submitted to NSFAS and whose banking details have been successfully verified.
How To Capture Bank Details for NSFAS Allowance Payments
- Access the platform by following the link sent to your myLife e-mail account.
- Enter your banking information.
- Await the completion of the verification process by the bank.
Unisa reminded students that allowances must be paid into bank accounts registered in their name. This is because the bank account details will be verified against the student’s Unisa ID number.
No third-party banking details will be accepted.
Unisa urged students to monitor their bank verification status to prevent delays in allowance payments.
Students must regularly check their bank verification status after submission. If resubmission is required, it must be done promptly to avoid delays in payment.
What Your Unisa Bank Verification Status Means
The Unisa bank details platform uses different abbreviations to indicate the various stages of the verification process. These statuses guide students on the next steps they need to take to receive their allowances:
- SM (Submitted but not verified): Banking details received but not yet verified.
- VI (Verified): Banking details successfully verified.
- RJ (Rejected): Verification failed. Resubmit the correct banking details linked to your ID.
- UP (Updated by student): New banking details submitted, requiring re-verification.
Which Allowances Do Unisa Students Receive?
Distance learning students receive NSFAS allowances based on their needs.
- Students studying fewer than 60-course credits towards their qualification qualify only for the learning materials allowance.
- Students enrolled in a full-time equivalent course credit load qualify for both the learning materials allowance and the personal care allowance per academic year.
Allowances for students in distance education programmes are calculated based on the number of courses registered.
NSFAS-funded Unisa students will only receive a learning materials allowance, which is used to purchase educational resources, and an incidental allowance, which provides financial support for living expenses.
The NSFAS incidental allowance is only paid to Unisa students registered for 10 modules.
