No-nonsense banking (Natwest Student Banking)

Member Name: Alternum

Product:	Natwest Student Banking
Date:	06/08/00 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Widespread network; no charges; good overdraft facilities

Disadvantages: Overdrafts are not automatic

Good banks seem harder to come by nowadays. There always seems to be a catch: restrictions on access, hidden account charges, cash machine charges, whatever it is. However, NatWest, at the moment, seems to be thankfully free of those.

From a student point of view especially, this really is a very good bank. The specialised student account offered works in exactly the same way as a current account - you get all the usual facilities, such as a Switch card and a cheque book - except that, by arrangement, you can get an interest-free overdraft of at least £1000, which increases depending on which year you are in. You can also apply for a credit card. The 'incentive' given is £50 cash, which personally I think is much more useful than say a mobile phone - it gives you the opportunity to decide exactly what you want, and that first £50 could come in very useful if there is some problem with your loan cheque.

There is also another account offered, called a Card Plus account, which acts more like a savings account. It offers an interest rate of 4%, together with instant access and a Solo card, which is a scaled-down version of a Switch card. Running the two accounts in conjunction with each other means that you can be sure of having a decent rate of interest on the bulk of your money, whilst having enough still in the current account.

Statements come through as often as you want them to, and there is an extremely useful mini-statement facility available from cash machines, which lists your last few transactions.

Basically you can't go wrong with this arrangement. NatWest seems to be, from talking to friends, the most professional of banks at the moment. They deal with enquiries quickly and efficiently and they are a member of the Link network, which means you can get money from ATMs nearly everywhere, and definitely on most campuses. I recommend them wholeheartedly.

Summary: