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 Money
Page > Bank
Accounts > Student Bank Account - UK Guide
 In a
nutshell
A bank account designed for use by
students.
Best
Bank Account For
Anybody that is studying can
benefit from a student bank account.
Special
features
The average student bank account will
have most of the features and services that are offered with
standard bank accounts - although certain elements may be
restricted or limited. In addition, you'll find that student
bank accounts are often specifically tailored to help students
manage their finances. So, you may be given preferential
interest rates for loans products, for example, and access to
specially trained student advisors.
The majority of
student bank accounts will also offer reduced rate or free
basic services to help you manage your money better. So, you
may be offered completely free banking, for example, or an
interest free overdraft facility. For most people their time
in higher education will be the first time they have really
had to manage their own money and their incomings may be
erratic - a student bank account can help keep costs low and
can make budgeting that bit easier.
What to
look out for
The best thing you can look for in a
student account is firstly the best range of products and
services you can find at the lowest cost (or ideally free) -
even if you don't think you'll use them all. You may not
think, for example, that you'll need an overdraft - but, if
your student loan is held up for any reason, then you may need
to access some quick cash. So, if you haven't already got a
student bank account with an overdraft you could end up paying
over the odds to borrow the money till your loan comes
through.
You should be basically looking for free
products and services of this type or ones that offer
preferential rates with a student bank account. The less you
have to pay for your student bank account, the better it will
be for you. And, with so many high street banks waiving their
fees and offering discounts to attract student business, there
really is no need to pay for these services at all. It'll be
hard to actually find a student bank account that won't also
offer you a range of 'nice to have' benefits. These can
include discounts, free gifts (such as CDs and DVDs), free
railcards, driving lessons - the list really is endless. These
benefits are simply 'nice to have' and you shouldn't solely
base your choice of student bank account on what they'll give
you as a freebie as that could cost you in the long run. Some
banks will even put hard cash up as a benefit here but you
need to be careful with this kind of offer. For example, your
bank account may come with a credit card attached which you
decide to only use for emergencies. However, your bank may
then offer you a one-off payment the first time you actually
use the card - you'll probably take this offer up to get the
cash but it can then get all too easy to carry on using the
card. In general you need to be careful with your borrowings
on a student bank account as a whole as it's all too easy to
graduate and find out that your debts are even larger than you
anticipated. Many banks will let you carry on with your
student account once you are finished studying or may transfer
you to a special graduate account. This is not a bad option to
look at as you'll then get specifically targeted benefits,
discounts and low rates on those banking products and services
that will be useful to you as you start work etc.
Alternatives
If
you're in full-time education then this is probably the best
bank account for you.
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