Irish students often choose their bank on the basis of family brand loyalty, but digging a little deeper can uncover significant savings, writes Laura Slattery
As money is usually at best a temporary presence in student wallets, third-level attendees will typically be more concerned about how to earn the stuff, not where to store it when they've too much to carry.
The publication of a student bank account survey by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (Ifsra) earlier this week should nevertheless prove enlightening to any student in search of competitive, readily available loans and overdrafts.
After years of luring unsuspecting first-years into their clutches with the aid of some 10 per cent off vouchers and a free Hot Press CD, the banks have been falling over themselves in recent times to insist that they know that third-level students are just too smart to be sucked in by gimmicks and freebies. They're not going to patronise them by bribing them into opening an account.
In any case, as the banks discovered, some canny teenagers simply went round collecting as much swag as possible, then abandoned their accounts, selfishly refusing to enhance the banks' profit margins either then or at any time in the future.
Others had already opened an account long before they opened the envelope containing their Leaving Cert results, and more still simply didn't care how much mobile call credit the bank was throwing at them.
According to recent research by Bank of Ireland, students are more likely to be influenced by their family in their choice of bank account than any other factor - some 37 per cent cited family influence as the reason they picked their bank, with 20 per cent saying a convenient branch location was the main reason for their choice.
But delve down into the nitty gritty of financial details and students could find there are significant savings to be had if they sacrifice family brand loyalty and add a few thousand steps to their pedometers.
All five current account banks - AIB, Bank of Ireland, National Irish Bank (NIB), Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank - offer free transaction banking to students, which means that the usual €0.20-€0.28 charges for ATM withdrawals, lodgements or direct debit transactions are waived.
That doesn't mean that the student accounts are completely fee-free, however.
For example, the banks will charge as normal if there are insufficient funds in the account to pay a direct debit or standing order. According to the financial regulator's survey, these charges vary from €4.44 at Permanent TSB to €12.70 at Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank.
Only two banks give students any interest on their credit balances. NIB comes out on top in this category, paying a gross rate of 0.1 per cent, while AIB offers a token 0.025 per cent - hardly rates that should influence anyone's decision to open an account.Cheap borrowing, however, should. The average cost of living for third-level students in Ireland is estimated to be €151 per week, according to a recent survey by Ulster Bank.
With students spending more than €6,000 each academic year on accommodation, travel, groceries and socialising, they will never have enough money, no matter how many part-time jobs they squeeze in between seminars.
The Ulster Bank survey suggested that six in 10 students receive parental support for these cash-draining years of further education, with eight in 10 taking up part-time employment.
One in five students has a loan, according to Ulster Bank, with students in Dublin more likely to have a loan than those studying outside Dublin.
Students who think that their budget balancing skills are somewhat lacking should consider either NIB or Ulster Bank, as both banks offer interest-free overdrafts.
At NIB, students who arrange an authorised overdraft can borrow up to €2,500 interest-free. If there is no agreed overdraft facility in place, interest will be charged at the bank's normal unauthorised rate, currently 16.25 per cent.
At Ulster Bank, an interest-free overdraft up to €650 is automatically available as soon as students open an account. Students can also apply for interest-free overdrafts up to €2,800, depending on their year of study.
Bank of Ireland also offers interest-free overdrafts and loans in specific circumstances, tailored to students' most common needs for cash.
These include a nine-month interest-free travel loan of up to €2,000 and a nine-month interest-free grant advance overdraft, aimed at keeping students afloat while they wait for their local authorities to cough up their grants.
By comparison, AIB has little to offer students who need to borrow. According to the financial regulator's survey, it merely offers preferential rates on loans and overdrafts - 8.19 per cent APR (annual percentage rate of interest) and 9.52 per cent APR respectively - and a dedicated student credit card with an introductory APR of 6.9 per cent.
AIB does, however, adopt a more traditional approach to marketing its accounts, throwing in €50 free mobile call credit to first-years.
Permanent TSB does not yet offer a specific student current account. However, for students without a pressing need for an overdraft, it could still be a good choice.
Despite the introduction of a new switching code designed to make it easier for consumers to move their current account from one institution to another, the banking market is still characterised by consumer inertia.
The chances are that the bank account that people pick in their teenage years will still be their main current account decades later.
For that reason, students should think about which bank will be the best value once they have returned their graduation gowns and framed their certificates.
And unlike the "big two" banks, NIB, Ulster Bank and Permanent TSB all offer free transaction banking to non-students.
