What is the catch?

Current Accounts are essential to receive free government payments for 16-19 year old students
If you are a sixth form student aged between 16 and 19 years of age, then you will be considered for receiving an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Once your household income is ₤30,000 or below a year, and you are prepared to study on a course, you will be able to earn yourself a few hundred pounds while increasing your job prospects at the same time. So, what’s the catch?

Actually there isn’t one. You just need a current account for the payments to be made into and the money is yours.
The government introduced EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) to encourage students to enter higher education. Depending upon household income, weekly payments are awarded to students for showing up to classes and demonstrating commitment to their course. Bonus payments are also given at the beginning, middle and end of the academic year as an incentive to continue studying. There are a few criteria which determine eligibility, but around half of the population’s 16-year olds are expected to qualify for EMA. The payments are of 10, 20 or 30 pounds a month with bonuses of 100 pounds in January, July and October. The way in which payments are made is directly into the student’s account. There is no other method of payment which is available, which means that a student must first have an account opened under his or her name in order to receive payments. To find out more about EMA and see if you qualify visit http://www.dfes.gov.uk/financialhelp/ema/
Many banks have accounts which are tailored towards young people. Barclays(http://www.barclays.co.uk/) offers a Young Person’s Account for 16-19 year olds which earns interest on savings, provides a debit card and  cheque book, free internet banking and daily withdrawals of up to ₤300 (providing there is money in the account). Lloyds TSB’s (www.lloydstsc.co.uk) provides a similar service for young people with their Under 19s Account, as does HSBC’s (www.hsbc.co.uk) Right Track account and Natwest’s (www.natwest.co.uk) Card Plus. By visiting their websites you can compare interest rates on savings and the added benefits for the individual accounts.