Although most older teenagers and young adults concentrate on their academic education, it is critical that they also be educated in personal finance. Opening a savings account is one of the first moves toward financial freedom. We investigated the best banks for students or the student in your life to get started with, searching for accounts that are tailored towards the student lifestyle. Many with student-friendly features like no fees, online and mobile banking services, ample ATM access, and more are included in the banks that make our list.
Check for accounts (whether or not they directly apply to students) that have the following when searching for a new banking program as a college student: no or quickly eliminated monthly fees, decent overdraft policies, decent interest rates, comprehensive ATM networks, and online banking. In this article, there are records for the following institutions that offer one or several of those characteristics.
Chase
Chase, particularly for college students aged 17 to 24, stands out as the best bank for students overall. To begin with, you won’t have any monthly subscription payments to think about with the Chase College Checking Account as long as you’re in college (for up to five years). Furthermore, Chase also runs deals that can make the account much more appealing. As well as physical ATM access and branches, and online/mobile account functionality, consumers also get the best of all worlds. With access to 16,000 ATMs and approximately 4,900 branches throughout the country, Chase has a wide bank footprint. The comprehensive mobile banking app will also be enjoyed by busy college students, which helps them to make deposits, send and receive money, and maintain their accounts.
Bank of America
For Bank of America’s Advantage SafeBalance account, students under the age of 24 pay no monthly maintenance fees when they are enrolled in college. For professionals, this is a perfect starting account and there are no overdraft penalties to think about. When you don’t have enough money in your account, transfers will simply be denied. There are no paper checks, but online transfers can be made, a debit card can be used for transactions, or Zelle can transfer and receive funds. You can make a smooth turn over to an Advantage Plus Banking account if you know you like checks. The large physical footprint, about 4,300 branches, and 16,800 ATMs, as well as its intuitive smartphone app, with lots of great account management and tracking functionality, also make Bank of America a solid option all around.
Capital One
For teenagers hoping to get a financial jumpstart, the MONEY account of Capital One is targeted towards students under the age of 18. This is simply a shared checking account with a relative, but for students who wish to open a potential account of their own, it is a successful trial run. After they turn 18, students can keep their accounts, but also have the option of switching to a new form of account. Teen account holders get a debit card on their behalf, and via the mobile app, they can view and control the account. Whether it’s setting up automatic allowance transactions or one-time transactions, or getting text reminders and activity messages via the app, parents also have access. Teens can also receive an annual percentage yield (APY) on their account balance of 0.10 percent.
Discover
The Discover Cashback Debit account, although it’s not technically a college account, enters the list of the best banks for students. That’s how it provides the rare ability for debit card transactions to receive incentives. This will be useful for college students aged 18 and over who use their Discover card to fund more of their bills since they can get 1 percent cash back on up to $3,000 per month. That turns out to be a much higher rate than the interest offered by most student checking accounts. The fact that there are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements is one of the other student-friendly features. And, throughout the world, there are 60,000 ATMs that students can use without paying. There’s a handy ATM locator in the Discover app. Since you can still get paper checks, or use the mobile app to deposit checks and pay bills, it’s almost like most checking accounts.
US Bank
U.S. Bank is a good bank for students who want a physical bank, but still want a digital banking interface and student-focused functionality. It’s the fifth-largest bank in the world. It is especially attractive that clients of the Student Checking account pay zero for their first four non-U.S. Transactions of bank ATMs per sentence. Since those costs will rapidly add up for students on the go, it’s nice to know even if you’re not close to one of the 4,400 U.S. Bank ATM locations, that there’s some wiggle-room. . Mobile check deposit, the freedom to send and receive money through Zelle, and the first collection of free personal checks are all included in the account.
TD Bank
When selecting from among the best banks for students aged 17 to 23, TD Student Testing is another solid alternative. The bank is known, in particular, for its top-notch customer service, longer branch hours, and is open even on weekends. For those who don’t want to do their banking in person, TD Bank also has lots of customer-friendly mobile banking features. Customers can pay bills and deposit checks using the mobile banking app. Students can also load their TD Bank Visa Debit Card into their mobile wallet or use the contactless payment tap and go card. TD Bank is now being set up for Zelle transfers. Student status also ensures that on both the checking and TD Basic Savings accounts, monthly maintenance charges are waived.
Ally
While this is another option that does not provide a student-specific account, Ally Bank has all the characteristics on which students depend. Ally is an online-only bank with no monthly fees, known for its interest checking and savings accounts. Because branch costs are not overhead, interest rates on deposits are usually higher than you’ll see at conventional banks. All of their banking from their phones, like mobile check deposits and bill pay, can be achieved by students who don’t care for physical bank branches. The Allpoint ATM network is still used by Ally, meaning you’ll have 43,000 places available to use. Plus, for outside ATM costs, Ally reimburses you up to $10 per statement duration. Ultimately, it’s good to know that after you leave college, your account features will not change, so this account will stick with you even after you get your degree.
Chime
This is an online-only account that incorporates some of Bank of America and Ally’s advantages. It lets you save and pay a high-interest rate automatically. There’s no minimum opening balance and no monthly operating charge, just like Ally. For you to save automatically, Chime offers two ways. When you swipe your debit card, you can round up to the nearest dollar and put the spare change into your bank account. Or a percentage of your salary can be set up to go straight into investments. Chime is one of the ATM networks of MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance, meaning you can have direct access to more than 38,000 ATMs worldwide. This is an online account, but if you prefer in-person banking, it may not be a good choice. Before opening a Chime Savings Account, you are also expected to open a Chime Spending Account.
Alliant
Alliant is a credit union with inclusive membership qualifications and accounts that, even after you graduate, are accessible. For any of its bank accounts, Alliant does not charge an annual fee, and the fee on the regular savings account is simple to skip (just select e-statements). It provides free transactions for overdraft security. The fee is marginally smaller than normal if you do incur an overdraft. A competitive rate of interest is charged for Alliant’s standard savings account. The free account does not pay interest, but its High Rate Checking account does, and the better rate is easy to apply for. Simply pick e-statements and make at least one monthly electronic deposit. There are more than 80,000 fee-free ATMs and up to $20 per month in rebates for out-of-network ATM fees.
