Why open a bank account?

 If you are about to enter university, then you will most certainly need a bank account. The Big Four, also known as Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and HSBC are the nation’s four biggest banks. They along with other reputable building societies like Abbey and Halifax have specially-made accounts tailored towards student life.
So what will you need when you go to university? If you are not being financed by your parents or other sponsors, you will be taking out a Student Loan. But before you can get one, you need to have an account for it to go into. At its most basic, this is one of the fundamental reasons why people open accounts. They provide a safe place to deposit money and withdraw it whenever desired. Of course student accounts provide much more than this though. You will be able to purchase goods and services and withdraw cash using a debit card. This means that when you go to do your weekly shopping or want to put a deposit down for a flat, you won’t need to carry large wads of cash around with you which is risky. With your debit card you will have peace of mind knowing that you’re covered for fraud if your card gets lost or stolen.
Another tenet of university life is paying bills. Unless you are living at home, you will need to pay rent for accommodation, and various other bills such as gas, electricity and telephone bills. You will save considerable amounts of money if you pay these bills through direct debit*. This is because many large companies find this method of payment reliable and offer discounted rates to direct debit customers. With your current account you can set up and cancel direct debits as and when you choose.
As a student, covering tuition fees, bills, rent and going out requires a significant amount of money. According to a recent report carried out by the Global Higher Education Rankings, the average British student pays ₤6,763 a year. If you aren’t receiving financial support from your family and are relying upon a student loan, this may not always cover the costs and you could find yourself more often than not in the red. Many banks recognise the financial pressure of studying and provide large interest-free overdrafts to help spread the costs more easily. These usually start at around 1000 pounds in year one, and rise incrementally over the years that you study. They often have negotiable overdraft limits to provide for those times when your loan might be late or the money from your part-time job hasn’t cleared.
Managing your finances even with an overdraft can still be stressful, that is why many banks have student advisors available for you to discuss money-related issues with. The differences in the services lies in whether they provide their student advisors in branches or over the telephone.
Further, to help you keep a check on your inflow and outflow, student accounts have internet banking which allows you to view your balance 24 hours a day as well as transfer money from one account to another, pay bills or cancel Direct Debits.
The services that have been described above are the basics of Student Accounts. To decide which bank to open an account with, you will need to compare the small print. The best way you can do this is by asking a few questions. How much interest will you earn on savings? How big is the overdraft? Is it easy to extend the overdraft limit if you need to, and if not, how much will be charged on unauthorised overdrafts? To get a direct answer to these questions why not go into your local branch or ring up an advisor and ask them. You will soon find out which bank has the most helpful staff and is most flexible.