There is a good student loan option with up to 5,000 credit available

Bank of Ireland

There is no student-specific overdraft with Bank of Ireland , but students can apply for a Student Mastercard which offers six months’ interest-free credit on purchases .

Student credit card: 500 credit limit for first and second-year students and up to 1,000 credit limit for third-year students and thereafter, % interest rate and 0% on purchases for the first six months.

Student loan: Borrow up to 5,000 at a variable rate of just 5.0% APR. Repayments can be deferred for three months, but the loan must be fully repaid after 60 months (5 years).

Credit Union —

We say: The Credit Union launched its current account offering back in 2019 and since then has gone from strength to strength. Its student account is a full-featured, fee-free account that offers a range of added benefits for freshers. Applicant must be a member of a participating Credit Union first however in order to apply.

Upon signing up you’ll get a Mastercard debit card which is contactless, access to a mobile app and online banking facilities, as well as access to student loans and an overdraft facility.

Students who sign up to this account with the Credit Union will also be able to use not only Apple Pay and Google Pay, but Fitbit Pay too.

Student loan: A reduced rate loan to students is available with flexible repayments. An affordability assessment will need to be www.worldpaydayloans.com/payday-loans-mi carried out first before a loan can be secured. Most students will need to have their parent or guardian act as a guarantor on any student loan taken out.

Features and freebies: As a student current account customer and Mastercard holder you’ll get access to Priceless Cities, which offers exclusive experiences, priority bookings and special discounts,

both at home and abroad. See here for more information.

Revolut

We say: While Revolut doesn’t have a student-specific account, the standard account from the fintech can be a very good option for those starting out in college, especially as many young people may already have an account or be au fait with the user-friendly mobile app, which is coincidentally one of the best in the game at the moment. When it comes to banking this is a full-featured account and will suit a student down to the ground, especially as all accounts come with a BIC and IBAN, so if you work on weekends your wages can be paid directly into your Revolut account.

Revolut is still relatively new to the market in the sense that it has yet to obtain a full banking licence in Ireland so for that reason it still doesn’t offer any credit features such as an overdraft or personal loans, but there are plans to introduce these in the future. What it does offer, however, are all the additional benefits you might imagine from banking with a fintech such as its user-friendly banking app, detailed analytics on your spending, an easy-to-use split-the-bill feature, as well as an effective savings tool in its ‘Vaults’ feature. It’s also super easy for Revolut users to send and request money from each other.

If you’d prefer a bank account that offers the more traditional bricks and mortar experience and you’d like to have credit options available then this might not be the option for you. However, for a lot of youngsters who are well used to doing their banking solely online this account will be just the ticket.

Fees: No maintenance or day-to-day transaction fees. Can only withdraw 200 a month fee-free — then a 1 or 2% commission charge, whichever is greater.