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A free 4 year tastecard

Open a Student bank account

A student bank account is a current account designed for those heading off to further education. Find out about additional benefits and apply for a student bank account.

Why open a Student bank account?

Whether you’re already enjoying university life or planning ahead and thinking about your first year on campus, you could apply to open a Student account with NatWest today. 

What else could you get?

Offer - free tastecard for 4 years (worth £29.99 per year)*.

Interest-free overdraft - get an overdraft of up to £2,000 from year one (Limited to £500 in term one, year one) with an instant online decision. Students can apply for up to £3,250 interest free from year three onwards.

No monthly Student current account fees.

 

What is a Student bank account?

Student bank account is a type of current account that’s specifically designed for students. They typically work in the same way as a standard current account, but with added features, such as interest-free overdrafts and a range of discounts and offers. Your student account will automatically switch to a graduate account when you finish studying.

Student bank account offers

tastecard

What is a tastecard?

Tastecard is a discount card which offers you 2 for 1 on meals, 50% off food or 25% off food and drinks at thousands of restaurants or pizza takeaways UK wide. 

We also have exclusive offers just for students. 

  • Cinema ticket discounts 
  • Discounted days out at the UK's best attractions
  • Exclusive membership perks

We’ll send your tastecard redemption code to your email address. 

Offer T&Cs apply.  This offer can be withdrawn at any time. Valid for 4 years. Smartphone required.

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More ways to pay

Debit card

Brand-new plastic

Shop online or pay in-store with a new student debit card.

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Contactless

Shop, tap and go

Tap-and-bleep your debit card to check out up to £100 in shops, restaurants, and more.

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Apple or Google Pay

Banking for any device

Paying for items on your iPhone or Android is simple. You can use it to pay for things online or in-store with a tap.  Criteria and retailer limits apply.

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Direct Debit

Bills, bills, bills

Got a regular bill that needs paid via Direct Debit? You can set that up on a NatWest Student account. Or if you need to split your household bills, check out our Housemate app.

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Make use of a student overdraft

Our Student bank account comes with an interest-free overdraft. A quarter of students budget and monitor their spending. But around one in three are still short of money by the end of the month, says our annual Student living index.

That's when your overdraft may come in handy as a short-term option. And because it’s interest-free, you won’t pay any interest on what you’ve spent.

Interest-free overdraft - get an overdraft of up to £2,000  from year one (Limited to £500 in term one, year one) with an instant online decision. Students can apply for up to £3,250 interest-free from year three onwards. 

Manage your Student account with our app

See how much you have in your Student current account and transfer money between accounts from your smartphone. Students save on average £109 per month, according to our Student Living Index 2023. Easily move money into your savings account with our app.

Be bill savvy with Housemate

Want to take the hassle out of house sharing? With Housemate by NatWest, you can split household bills and pay each other back. You could also build your history with our partner Experian when you register your rent payments with the app. It’s free and you don’t have to bank with NatWest to use it. 

Student FAQs

Switch to NatWest

The Current Account Switch Service will do all the work when it comes to switching, moving everything across from your old account to your new account all within 7 working days, including Direct Debits and standing orders. All you need to do is tell us the details of your old bank account and when you want the Switch to start.

We can not switch savings accounts or ISAs through this service. Any other products you have with your old bank will not be moved at the same time.

Current Account Switch Guarantee (PDF, 39KB)

A Guide to Switching Current Accounts (PDF, 3MB)

How does the Current Account Switch Service work?

Get ready to apply

Before you apply, we need to check you're happy with a few things. And ask you a few questions up front. Then we can make your application as quick and simple as it can be.

First things first. You can apply if you are:

aged 17 or over and have been living in the UK for at least 3 years

completing a full-time undergraduate course that lasts at least 2 years or completing a full-time postgraduate course, or

training as a nurse at a UK university or college of higher education

completing a course that has already started, or is starting within the next 6 months.

Now please take a look at the important legal stuff

How your information might be used

It's important for you to understand how we use and share your information. Please read this short summary before you continue with your application.

As part of the checks that we will complete to verify your identity, we’ll take an image of your face so that it can be compared with your photo ID and this biometric data is captured.

All okay? You’re nearly ready to start.

To speed up your application for our Student account, we need to do a few final checks with you. They'll only take a minute.

Do we already know you?
Have you lived in the UK for:

You're all set

Your application will be completely online, as part of our checks we'll ask our partner HooYu to confirm your identity using; 

  • Proof of your UK student status, such as: UCAS status code, UCAS letter, letter from your University, and many more.
  • We’ll do this by matching your Photo ID to a selfie of you. You’ll need a device with a camera to upload these. We might also ask for other information like proof of address.  If you don’t have your ID to hand, you can finish this step later. 
  • Photo ID, which must be a Passport, UK or EU/EEA Driving Licence or an EU/EEA National ID card
  • Proof of your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, driving license, UCAS letter, Student Finance letter or a letter from your University​.

Sorry, you can't apply for this account

Sorry, we can't offer you the account you applied for.

You can view our full range of accounts and apply for suitable one.

What would you like to do today?
Do you have a current account with us?

Changing to a Student account

You’ll need to change your existing account to a Student account.  It won’t take long, and you only need:

  • The account number and sort code of the account you want to change. You can find these in your app/Online Banking.
  • Proof of your UK student status, such as: UCAS status code, UCAS letter, letter from your University, and many more.

As you're changing your existing account to another, you’ll:

  • Keep your existing sort code, account number and debit card. Your existing standing orders and direct debits will stay the same. 
  • Retain your arranged overdraft limit.
  • See no impact to your credit rating.
Have you lived in the UK for:

You're all set

Your application will be completely online, as part of our checks we'll ask our partner HooYu to confirm your identity using; 

  • Proof of your UK student status, such as: UCAS status code, UCAS letter, letter from your University, and many more.
  • A Liveness check, a short video to compare your photo ID
  • Photo ID, which must be a Passport, UK or EU/EEA Driving Licence or an EU/EEA National ID card
  • Proof of your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, driving license, UCAS letter, Student Finance letter or a letter from your University​.

Sorry, you can't apply for this account

Sorry, we can't offer you the account you applied for.

You can view our full range of accounts and apply for suitable one.

You're all set

During the application, you'll need:

  • The account number and sort code of the account you want to change. You can find these in your app/Online Banking.
  • Proof of your UK student status, such as: UCAS status code, UCAS letter, letter from your University, and many more.

As you're changing your existing account to another, you’ll:

  • Keep your existing sort code, account number and debit card. Your existing standing orders and direct debits will stay the same. 
  • Retain your arranged overdraft limit.
  • See no impact to your credit rating.

Other ways we could help

How much will I spend as a student?

When you’re setting out on your student life, it can be tricky to know how much day-to-day living will cost. Our guide can help you there.

Compare current accounts

If you’re still thinking about which type of account is right for you, don’t worry. We could help you make the right choice.

Build your budget

Not sure where your money goes each month? Want to save a little more? We can help you with our budget calculator.