Bank accounts are becoming a more and more important part of life. Without a bank account you will have difficulty in both paying bills and receiving wages and benefits you are entitled to.
There are many high street banks, all offering a variety of different current accounts. You need to indentify your own needs, and pick the best account for you.
For the ethically conscious, you might be interest to know that there high street banks who take an ethical stance. See the ethical banking section for more information.
Student Accounts
Get a £3000 interest free overdraft or free railcard for up to 5 years of your university course
more
top^
Graduate Accounts
Graduate accounts are day to day current accounts aimed at those finishing higher education. They usually offer extra benefits not available to ordinary current accounts. They usually last for 3 years after graduation, but some only last a year. Some banks define a graduate as someone who has found full time employment after university, however for other banks simply graduating is enough.
Some student accounts will be extended for a year after graduation to allow you to sort out your finances, but it is more likely that you will have to sign up for a graduate account.
more
top^
Savings Accounts
Put your spare cash into a savings account and get 3.46% interest in an easy access account. If you are able to put your money away without any access, you can earn up to 4.27% in a fixed rate account
With a cash-ISA you can save up to £3600 a year and earn an interest rate of up to 3.61% tax free.
more
top^
Ethical Banking
With an ethical bank you can ensure that the bank you are dealing with has some of the same ethical stances as yourself and refuse to deal with organisatitions which don't follow the standards as you
more
top^
