What You Need to Know About Better Bank Account Options for Students

With students attending college in the fall, several will be offered checking accounts or prepaid debit cards from banks that have tied up with these colleges to promote their products.

According to the Government Accountability Office, about 40% of students that attend college obtain financial products thanks to these tie-ups.

But that’s not all – most of the fees that are a part of using these products are no different from what is offered in standard products. In other words, these deals might not be in the best interests of students.

It is imperative that you look at the fine print that details out information related to overdraft charges, minimum balance requirements, ATM surcharges, monthly fees and the number of local in-network ATMs. So, it’s obvious that the ideal account is one that has no strings attached: a free account.

Alternatively, credit unions and community banks offer free checking accounts that don’t impose harsh penalties for overdrawing your account or using out-of-network ATMs.

There are a few national banks that give students an excellent deal. One of them is the U.S Bank Checking account that is free of cost, has no monthly fee, allows four out-of-network ATM withdrawals and offers the first box of checks completely free of cost.

Another online account, Capital One 360 Checking, is also designed for students since it gives them access to 40,000 fee-free ATMs, charges no overdraft fees, pay an interest of 0.2 to 0.9% and gives them their first box of checks completely free of cost.

As for prepaid debit cards, the Bluebird card from Walmart and American Express is an excellent choice too.