Student Bank Account FAQs

To qualify for TSB’s student bank account, you:

• Must be 17 or over (or 18+ to qualify for the overdraft)
• Must have been a UK resident for at least three years
• Must be studying for a full-time course which lasts a minimum of two years or be on a one-year access course leading onto a full-time degree.

You don’t need to wait until you start your course to apply for a student bank account. You can apply for one as soon as you receive your UCAS confirmation letter. You can also apply for a student bank account once your course has begun.

With TSB’s student overdraft, you can get:

• £500 in the first six months
• £1,000 in months seven to nine
• Up to £1,500 from month ten.

Having a student overdraft will appear on your credit report. However, if you stay within the authorised limit, it shouldn’t negatively affect your score. You will also be required to repay the student or graduate overdraft fully. Read our helpful credit rating guide for more information about your credit score and how it works.

If you go over your overdraft limit, into an unauthorised overdraft, you can be charged interest on the whole amount borrowed.

A payment taking your balance over the overdraft limit may even be unsuccessful. This can result in you being charged a returned item fee to the company you were unable to pay.

You can also use our overdraft calculator for an estimate of costs.

Once you graduate, you can turn your student bank account into a graduate bank account. You can have a graduate bank account for up to three years following your graduation. The optional overdraft remains interest-free for the first three years, up to £2,000.

Whilst you are studying, your overdraft remains interest-free. After you graduate the loan will remain interest-free for another three years, under the graduate bank account. After this period however, you will be required to pay interest on your overdraft if you are still in it.

If you are studying full-time for a master's degree or PHD, you can qualify for, or extend, your student bank account.

Internet Banking

The quick and easy way to control your money. Pay bills, check balances, transfer money between accounts, set up and cancel standing orders, view and cancel Direct Debits and more.

Get started with Internet Banking

Mobile Banking

Make it easier to manage your money on the go. It means you can do your banking on the move from most Internet-enabled mobile devices - either using our app or via your mobile device's browser.

Get started with Mobile Banking

Telephone Banking

You can call our automated Telephone Banking service on 03459 758 758.

Use this quick service to:

• check your balance and recent transactions
• pay your bills
• transfer money
• check your Direct Debits or standing orders

And you can speak to one of our advisers if you have a more complex query between 8am – 8pm Monday to Sunday.

About Telephone Banking

These services are available if you are over 16.

Your TSB Visa debit card is an amazing piece of plastic. Accepted in millions of places and cash machines worldwide, it's incredibly convenient. It's just as safe to use abroad as at home, so it's a simple alternative to carrying cash.

More about the Visa debit card

In your first year of studies you can apply for an interest free Arranged Overdraft up to £1,500 (subject to application and approval). Starting with £500 for the first six months. You can then apply to increase it to £1,000 in months seven to nine and from month ten up to £1,500 – helping you to manage your spending over your first year.

Our Grace Period means that you have until 10pm (UK time) to pay enough money into your account to avoid any Overdraft interest that we may charge that day. The money needs to be immediately available to use, so you could transfer money from another account you have with us by Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, Telephone Banking, paying in cash over the counter in branch or transferring the funds from another provider.

Our Retry Periods mean that if you don’t have enough money in your account to allow us to pay Direct Debits, cheques, standing orders and future dated payments, we’ll give you extra time to put money into your account to allow us to make these payments. 

• Shortly after midnight on the due date or next working day
• Again after 2.30pm that same day

To help you balance your finances you can apply for a TSB Student Credit Card with a minimum limit of £500 Representative 19.9% APR variable (subject to status and being 18 years or over). You'll get up to 56 days interest free on purchases if you pay off the balance in full every month by the payment date shown on your statement.

You’ll need to have had a TSB Student account for at least three months and have a regular income before you can apply for a TSB Student Credit Card

For tips on how to manage your money see our Savvy Student guides which include useful advice and guidance about how to manage your money whilst at university and beyond.

On 14 April we launched our Fraud Refund Guarantee. This is a first in UK banking. And it goes further to cover TSB customers against fraud than anything that has come before it. Put simply, it means that if you’re clearly an innocent victim of fraud on your TSB account, we will refund the money you lost from your account.

Find out more here

There may be lots of different reasons you might need to bank with us differently, either in the short term, or on a continuing basis. It could be because of your physical or mental wellbeing, or because of a life event you’ve experienced. Whatever the reason, we are committed to tailoring our support to your personal needs.

If you choose to tell us about your individual support needs, we will take the time to understand your circumstances and work with you to make sure you have the support you need when banking with TSB. We can add a Support Indicator to your account, which means whenever you talk to us, we'll be aware that you may need tailored support.