Getting your first student finance payment


Expecting your first student finance payment? Here's what you need to know!

If you’re starting or returning to a course soon, you’ll be looking forward to your first student finance payment. You can check your payment schedule and status by signing in to your online account.

Follow these easy steps to help you get paid on time:

  1. Make sure you’ve submitted your application and given us any evidence we need. Sign in to your online account and check your application tracker in case you have any actions to complete.
  2. Check your bank details are correct in your online account. To do this, click ‘Your personal details’ in your account. If you need to update them, make sure to do this at least 4 working days before your payment date.
  3. Register/enrol on your course.* You might be able to do this online through your university or college’s website. We can't make payments to you until your uni or college confirm that you’ve registered/enrolled. You’ll be invited to do this by your uni or college closer to your course start date.

*If you’re a part-time or distance learning student and you’re getting a Maintenance Loan, your course provider will usually confirm your registration 2 weeks after the start of your course. Your payment schedule won't update until you’ve attended your course for 2 weeks and we’ve got confirmation of your registration/enrolment from your course provider.

What your payment status means

You can view your payment schedule and status in your online account.

Find out what your payment status means:

Payment status What this means for you

Checking details

We need to check your National Insurance number before we can pay you. Go to ‘Your actions to complete’ to enter it.

Scheduled

We’ve scheduled your payments. Before we can pay you, your university or college will need to tell us that you’ve registered/enrolled with them. They’ll do this when you start your course.

Awaiting confirmation

Your university or college need to tell us that you’ve registered/enrolled on your course. They’ll do this when you start your course. We’ll pay you after we get this.

Ready to be paid

We don't need anything else from you. Your payment will be made on the date shown.

Payment in progress

Your payment is on its way. It can take up to three working days for it to appear in your bank account.

Paid

We’ve made a payment to your bank account.

Blocked

We can't pay you. You should already know about this. If you don't, we have different ways to contact us.

Cancelled

We’ve cancelled your payment. You should already know about this. If you don't, we have different ways to contact us.

Failed

Your payment has been returned to us. Go to ‘Your personal details’ to check your bank details.

Checking if we've got confirmation of your registration

You don’t need to call us to check, the quickest and easiest way to find out if we’ve got confirmation of your registration/enrolment is by checking your application or payment status.

Use the table below to understand what each status means:

Application status Payment status What this means

Confirming all details

Awaiting confirmation

We've not got confirmation of your registration

Receiving payments

Ready to be paid

We've had confirmation of registration

If your university or college have told you they’ve sent confirmation of your registration/enrolment to us, you should allow up to 24 hours for the status in your online account to be updated.

If you applied late

If you’re applying now, you should still get money near the start of your course, as long as you’ve provided any evidence we need and your application is approved.

Because you’re applying late, you may get a smaller amount of grant to begin with.

Make sure your parent(s) or partner have provided details about your household income so we can work out how much you'll get and adjust your Maintenance Loan and Grant ratio.

If you’re thinking of withdrawing or suspending from your course

If you’re thinking of leaving your course, you need to make sure you let your university or college know as soon as possible. You should also contact us, so we can stop your next payment.

Visit our page for more information on leaving or suspending from your course.

If your parent(s) or partner is supporting your application

To make sure you get the full amount of grant you’re entitled to, your parent(s) or partner may need to give details about your household income.

They should do this by using their own online account. They should check their account regularly in case we’ve asked them for more information. They shouldn't upload their P60 unless we ask for it, as this could delay your application.

If your parent(s) or partners’ income has dropped

We’ll ask your parent(s) or partner to give income details from the 2021 to 2022 tax year. If their income has dropped by 15% or more since then, they can apply to have their estimated income for the current tax year used instead.

Find out more about the current year income process.

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