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Are student bank accounts helpful?

Are student bank accounts helpful?
By Nikhil Batra

Besides a good college or school, a student needs virtuous financial support, particularly on how to manage money effectively.

  • Student bank accounts are prevalent nowadays
  • Developing money management skills

Every student whether a native or foreigner thinks of economical and sustainable banking options, especially in a highly expensive place like the United States.

Banks provide student bank accounts and give financial education through coaches and webinars. Students can get services such as lower deposit balance, no maintenance fee, mobile banking, and free ATM withdrawals, along with budgeting apps or programmes.

The process of opening a student bank account is similar to a regular bank account. The only exception is that the requirements include a student ID with photo, transcript from school and college acceptance letter.

Student bank accounts are prevalent nowadays

Various American banks such as Capital One, U.S. Bank, Ally Bank, Bank of America, PNC Bank, and Discover provide student bank accounts.

  1. Capital One Bank

Pros

Cons

  • No fees or minimum balance required
  • Access to nationwide ATMs
  • User-friendly mobile app
  • Parental account controls
  • Higher interest rates than traditional chequing accounts

 

  • Very few Capital One physical branches
  • No physical checks are available

 

 

 

  1. U.S. Bank

Pros

Cons

  • No account fees
  • First cheque book free
  • On-campus college student banking programme

 

  • $25 initial deposit required
  • Hefty overdraft fees ($36 per incident over $5)
  • On-campus banking only available at select schools

 

 

 

  1. Ally Bank

Pros

Cons

  • No fees or minimum balance for accounts
  • User-friendly mobile app with budgeting features
  • High-interest rate on student savings account
  • ATM fee refund

 

  • No physical locations

 

 

 

  1. Bank of America

Pros

Cons

  • Change round-up feature for automatic savings
  • Overdraft protection
  • Built-in budgeting features

 

  • $4.95 maintenance fee after graduation

 

 

 

  1. PNC Bank

Pros

Cons

  • Fee-free chequing and savings accounts for students
  • ATM fees reimbursed (up to $5 per statement period)
  • The savings account portion earns interest

 

  • $36 overdraft charge fee
  • Physical locations are not available in all states
  • Service fees kick in after graduation

 

 

 

  1. . Discover Bank

Pros

Cons

  • Cash-back debit card, earning 1% on purchases
  • No-annual-fee rewards credit card for students
  • Huge selection of nationwide ATMs through Allpoint and MoneyPass

 

  • No physical locations
  • Does not reimburse ATM fees

 

 

Developing money management skills

A student bank account is intended for the age group that hasn’t developed a banking habit yet.  It can help your child build a foundation, grow and enhance money management skills.

Children will learn to save money and set aside some percentage of their deposits in savings. The student bank account has parental control features so you can oversee and control their withdrawals.

Conclusion

BankQuality, a platform that rate and review different banking institutions has gone through multiple banks to list some of the well-respected banking institutions that decently fulfil the banking requirements of a student.