In general, student bank accounts are fee-free or have lower fees that benefit students who may not be dealing with as much money as older customers. In addition, many banks now offer educational content within their mobile apps that can help students navigate the intricacies of personal finance. Finally, they often have no or a low minimum opening balance, which can be great for students just starting out on their savings journey.
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There are no fees for this account. No monthly service fee, no insufficient funds fees, no account closure fees, no replacement debit card fees and free access to 60,000+ ATMs.
Why Students Should Have a Bank Account in 2021
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Fine Prints
Through the bulk of this article, we have talked about student accounts for high schoolers and college students. But the Capital One MONEY Teen Checking is actually great for parents who want to start teaching their kids responsible money management early. You can open a Capital One MONEY Teen Checking for kids 8 and older. When they hit 18, they can roll the account over into a Capital One 360 Checking account, which is actually a great account to have as an adult.
Pros
7 Best Banks for Students in 2021
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Pros
Overall Best Bank for Students: Bank of America
High school and college students may have us adults beat when it comes to calculus and diagramming sentences, but one thing that is severely lacking from most school curricula is personal finance.
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking Account: Key Features
- No monthly maintenance fees
- No overdraft fees
- Physical branch locations for easy access to banking services for students who need more help
- Award-winning mobile app with mobile deposit, easy navigation and plenty of education features in partnership with Khan Academy
- Tie-in to the Advantage Savings with Keep the Change program, which rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits that extra change into your savings account
- Easy debit lock/unlock for students who have a habit of losing their card
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- Monthly fee: $0
- Overdraft fees: $0
- Physical branches: 4,300
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- APY: 0.25%
- Minimum balance required: $0
- Minimum deposit requirement: $0
- Monthly fee: $0
- ATM fees: Access to 80,000+ fee-free ATMs, plus $20 in ATM fee rebates
- Non-sufficient fund item: Free
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- Monthly fee: $0
- Physical branches: 4,700
- Non-sufficient fund item: Free
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- Cash back: Plain and simple, this is some of the best cash back available
- Annual fee: None
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- Monthly fees: $0
- Minimum balance requirement: $0
- Physical branches: In roughly half the country
- Overdrafts: First instance forgiven
- APY: 0.40% for funds in Growth
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- APY: 0.50%
- Monthly fees: $0
- Minimum balance requirement: $0
- Minimum deposit requirement: $0
- Overdraft fees: None if purchase is under $200
- ATM fees: 60,000 in-network ATMs
What’s troubling is that 21% have never had a bank account at all — and even more troubling, 8% don’t know if they have a bank account.
- APY: 10%
- Monthly fees: $0
- Minimum deposit requirement: $0
- Minimum balance requirement: $0
- ATM fees: Access to 70,000+ in-network ATMs
- Parental controls: Yes
Parents do not need a Capital One account to open the Teen Checking account, though it would certainly be more convenient. There are also no foreign transaction fees, which makes the account convenient for study abroad opportunities.
- Savings account: None specifically for students
- College students: Not available; must roll into new account
In recent years, Raddon Research Insights found that only 33% of Gen Zers aged 14 to 22 have their own bank account with a bank or credit union. Another 34% share a joint account with a parent, and 4% had one but closed it.
Pros
How We Chose These Student Bank Accounts
- We focused primarily on student checking accounts. Ideally, students will also open their own savings accounts, but first and foremost, they need to get comfortable with managing money for paying bills. The savings can come later. Thus, student checking accounts were the top consideration. Along these lines, we did not consider money market accounts.
- Maintenance fees are a deal breaker. Most high school and college students don’t have a lot of discretionary funds, so a monthly charge can take its toll.
- Many students will overdraft. A lot. It’s OK, no shame. The best student checking accounts have some kind of overdraft protection or forgiveness.
- The more branches and/or free ATMs available as part of a student bank account, the better. Students may currently be (or soon be) splitting the year between their college town and hometown, so easy access to funds is important. As a point of comparison, mega-institution Bank of America has 16,000 in-network ATMs. Capital One has 70,000 and Chime has 60,000.
- Some students don’t have the funds for a minimum deposit, so we prefer student accounts without a minimum deposit requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Student Bank Accounts
Our roundup of the best banks for students:
Why Should I Open a Student Account Instead of a Regular Account?
What Happens to My Student Account When I Graduate?
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Fine Print
What Are the Best Banks for Students?
Fine Print
How Do I Open a Student Account?
- Some student bank accounts require joint ownership with a parent, meaning you’ll need to work with them to open it.
- If you have selected a bank with physical locations, I highly suggest opening in person so you can ask questions as you go.
- International students who want to bank in the US generally must open an account in person.
Fine Print
Pros