A well-chosen student focused bank account will make your time at university simpler and less stressful and help to split the bills effectively.
But first, there are some questions the student should ask:
- Is your intention to move into a shared house in your second year and split the bills with your housemates? The right bank account will be vital.
- Planning to get a part time job while studying? You’ll want fast and easy access to your wages.
- Will you be taking advantage of the great value student broadband deals provided by Glide Utilities? For online shopping maybe? A bank that provides safe and secure payments and fraud protection is hugely important.
Finding great value student broadband deals
This last point about finding great value student broadband deals is crucial since the students will need broadband to access things like Netflix or file their student work on time.
However, student broadband providers have a wide range of offers which will need to be closely examined.
Some of them will offer free gifts or special offers and this also extends to banks and building societies so students should shop around for their bank account provider too – do not choose based on who offers the best goodies.
Indeed, it’s really about the services provided, the support offered and an understanding of what students need which is much more important than a free rail card or gift voucher. Ask questions to the bank about how they would respond if you got yourself into debt or rent arrears.
Consider banks who offer their customers an interest free overdraft. This is usually one of the main benefits to having a student account over a standard one.
Data limits on student broadband deals
Do be careful with that overdraft limit however since going over it will lead to charges and your right to an interest free limit may be forfeited – though there’s a similar issue about appreciating whether there are any data limits on student broadband deals which should be asked.
Finally, while internet banking is brilliant, the ease and flexibility of having an app on your smartphone which will enable payments and money transfers between accounts is invaluable.
However, being able to pay by cheque or cash and speak with an expert student advisor is important too. Choose a bank which has a branch near the campus, a cash machine in the student union and plenty of branches in the town centre.
Essentially, learning how to split the bills in a new student property means organising the utilities and sharing the bills equally and asking housemates for their share – or make life easier by speaking with the helpful team at Glide to organise an all-inclusive monthly payment to cover everything but the rent which will be huge help to many.