Opening Student Bank Account

kalsha

What sort of ID do the banks ask for when opening an account? Any suggestions for bank accounts?

MusicalLawyer

For a student account you need proof that you attend University.
So your UCAS letter of confirmation. Or a letter from your University if you're already attending.

You will also need the obvious proof of address, and Photo ID.

If you know who you want to bank with, look on their website and it will tell you what you need.

If you want a student account with the bank you already bank with, you will only need the proof of attending University - UCAS letter or letter from Uni.

melancholly

if you're just applying to uni now, it's worth waiting until the summer to pick an account as they all usually have special offers then (and even if you look now, you can't get the account yet anyway). if you are already at uni, then it's not worth waiting. there is an annually updated article on the main website about student accounts that is well worth reading as it covers everything from what ID you need, to when you can open it to details on all the main banks:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/Student-bank-account

kalsha

Thank you for your replies.
The account would be for my daughter who is 17yrs old and doing A levels - so not going to Uni this year. She already has a building society passbook account. I wasn't going to open a bank account till she was going to Uni but when I was opening an ISA account for her at another BS, the cashier suggested that my daughter open a bank account before she turns 18. Her reasoning was that at the moment as she is under 18, it is easier to open an account without an ID by just using her current passbook. But after 18, they ask for 2 forms of ID which have her address -
passport - which she has.
driving licence - which she might not have.
Bank statements (that is why she was suggesting opening an ac)
They do not consider the current passbook.
She never mentioned letter of acceptance from Uni.

From all the info I have read, I am beginning to think that there is no need to rush to open an account just yet. She doesn't need one anyway. Plus all the student accounts seem to be for uni students, giving free overdraft, which in her case will be "wasted" as she is going to be in credit this year anyway. I might as well wait another year before opening one.

bouncydog1

She will not be able to open a student account until she has a confirmation letter from the Uni, which will be after she has made her firm and insurance choices, and received her results - mid-August.

Student accounts (in the truest sense of the word) are not available to non-Uni students.

We looked at all of the student account information available and then selected one that met DD's needs - she didn't need an overdraft so we selected one that provided free travel insurance, enhanced rate on savings and a credit card (with a vey small limit paid off in full each month to enable her to build her credit record). We also took into account the fact that there was a branch of the bank either on campus or in the town, with both phone and ibanking access, just in case of problems.

As previously mentioned, no use looking beforehand as the offers change. However as some student offers are only available to existing account holders, you may want to consider opening accounts with other banks and saving a small amount on a regular basis as that will give her access to any existing offers that might come along. Downside is if the account you want is only available to new customers!

kalsha

Thanks bouncyd!!!, I have decided to leave it for now but will keep my eyes peeled for any offers. Thanks anyway.

melancholly

it's worth trying to drop feed information to her so that although you may be guiding her, she fully understands all of it and becomes interested in making these decisions herself. if you can encourage her to read the MSE guides to student finance and student accounts, she'd be a lot more informed than many freshers who arrive at uni!

(and i did have one thought, i think last year there was something about the natwest special offers only being available to existing natwest customers who changed to a student account, so although openning a student account now isn't possible, it may be worth thinking about another current account. i'll dig for the link).

melancholly

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3412801

glad i wasn't making it up! looks like you could only get a student railcard if you were an existing customer. it may be that natwest isn't the best student account to pick anyway, but worth knowing about this just in case.

bouncydog1

One other point - when she does open the account wherever it might be, I would strongly suggest that you go along with her.

The CSP tried to sell my DD PPI!!! Luckily having read up on lots of stuff we were ready for him and I think he wished he hadn't mentioned it!

kalsha

Thank you mellancholy and bouncyd!!!. I will leave the student accounts for now. But to replace her passbook account which only pays about 0.1% I am thinking of the Lloyds youth account which gives 2.5% on the current account. That will see her till she is 18 by which time it will be time to think about the student accounts. I will get her as much involved as possible with all the decision making and yes, I will be there with her when she opens the account. Thank you for all your help.