A Railcard or a cash gift is a nice extra. It is not the account. These six are a selection, not a ranking of the whole market, and not a personal recommendation. If a provider does not publish a minimum pay-in, the card says so.
NatWest
An interest-free overdraft that can grow, plus a tastecard
The useful part is the arranged overdraft, not the welcome gift. NatWest’s own page sets maximums you can apply for. Approval can be lower, and the tastecard can be withdrawn.
Overdraft by year
NatWest arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| When the account is opened | Up to £500 |
| Second term of year 1 | Up to £2,000 |
| Year 3 onwards, including after you graduate | Up to £3,250 |
Interest-free arranged overdraft. These are maximums you can apply for, not a guaranteed limit. If approved, the limit can be lower. You need to be 18 or over to apply, and it is subject to lending criteria. It is not added automatically. An arranged overdraft is borrowing and repayable on demand.
Eligibility
17 or over and living in the UK for at least three years. The account must be your main account for student finance, wages or other regular income. You need a 16-digit UCAS code (courses without one are not eligible), on a full-time undergraduate course of at least two years, or a nursing course of at least one year, already started or starting within six months. You can hold only one NatWest Group student account (NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank) at a time.
Deposit / pay-in
No minimum amount in pounds is stated. NatWest does require you to use this as your main account by paying in student finance, wages or other regular income.
Perk
NatWest’s student-account FAQ on the same page says £100 cash and a free 4-year tastecard are among the features. The visible perk list leads with the tastecard, which NatWest values at £79.99 as of May 2026. The redemption code is emailed within 10 days of opening. Anyone who has received a NatWest student offer at any time from 1 July 2022 is excluded, and NatWest says the offer can be withdrawn. A meal deal is a poor reason to choose an overdraft.
After graduation
After you leave university, NatWest says it moves you to a Graduate account, with about 60 days’ notice. The interest-free overdraft then reduces until the fourth year after graduation, when you move to a Select account and the interest-free overdraft ends. The page does not publish a pound amount for each of those post-graduation years. The £3,250 maximum is described as applying from year 3 onwards, including after you graduate, while the same page says the interest-free amount then reduces. Read both sentences on the provider page before you rely on a limit.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
Santander
A set overdraft by year of study, if you keep paying in
Santander publishes the arranged limit for each year of study, and it only steps up if you meet the pay-in rule. The 4-year Railcard is the headline perk. Compare the overdraft and the graduate account before you treat the Railcard as the prize.
Overdraft by year
Santander arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| When the account opens, before the pay-in | £250 |
| Years of study 1, 2 and 3, after the pay-in | £1,500 |
| Year of study 4 | £1,800 |
| Year of study 5 | £2,000 |
Interest-free and fee-free arranged overdraft while you meet the conditions: representative 0% APR / EAR (variable) on arranged and unarranged overdrafts, as stated on the account page. Subject to status and repayable on demand. Santander says the higher limits apply automatically at the start of each year of study once you qualify, and you can ask to reduce them. A placement year keeps the previous limit until you return to study.
Eligibility
18 or over, permanently UK resident, and living in the UK for tax purposes. Starting or already on an undergraduate course, or a level 4–7 apprenticeship, lasting at least two years. If you have not started, you need an unconditional offer or a confirmed conditional offer. Proof of study (a UCAS 4-digit status code is the fastest route, or other proof if you do not have one) plus proof of identity and address. From year 2 onwards, Santander says you must switch an account from another provider as part of the application. The account is paper-free unless you later opt into post. International students who are new to the UK are pointed to a Basic Current Account instead.
Deposit / pay-in
Pay in at least £500 every four months. That pay-in is also what lifts the arranged overdraft from £250 to the yearly limit, along with registering for Online Banking. Refunds of card payments, and transfers from another Santander account in your name, do not count.
Perk
A free 4-year Santander 16–25 Railcard, which Santander describes as worth £115, for one-third off rail travel in Great Britain subject to Railcard rules. The code arrives in Online Banking within 5 working days and is valid for 60 days. It cannot be reissued once it expires. There is no monthly account fee. A linked Regular Saver is advertised at 8.00% AER / gross (variable), including a 5.00% bonus for 12 months, up to £200 a month from a Santander current account. That rate can change. Do not open the account only to get the Railcard.
After graduation
Santander says the account automatically transfers to the Santander Edge Grad current account at the end of your course. Its pre-contractual overdraft information (effective 11 May 2026) shows an Edge Grad arranged allowance of up to £2,000 in year 1 with interest not charged, and up to £2,000 in year 2 where £0–£1,000 has interest not charged and £1,000.01 and over is charged at 39.94% EAR (variable), representative 5.97% APR (variable). Apprenticeship dates may not match a standard academic year, so the switch can happen before the course ends.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
Nationwide
Ask for the overdraft. It does not rise on its own.
FlexStudent has no monthly fee and an interest-free arranged overdraft that steps up by year, but only if you ask and you have been paying in. There is no current welcome voucher on the account page. That is the point: choose it for the overdraft terms, not a freebie.
Overdraft by year
Nationwide arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| Year 1 of study | Up to £1,000 |
| Year 2 of study | Up to £2,000 |
| Year 3, and any later year of study | Up to £3,000 |
Interest-free arranged overdraft (Nationwide’s product terms also describe it as interest and charge-free). Nationwide will not increase the limit unless you ask, and an increase depends on its view of your circumstances. You must stay inside the arranged limit: payments and cash withdrawals that would go beyond it are refused. Unarranged borrowing can harm your credit score. You repay what you borrow, during study or after you graduate.
Eligibility
18 or over, UK resident for at least three years, on or starting a full-time UCAS course of at least two years. You need an unconditional offer or a confirmed place starting in the next five months, or at least six months left on the course. A 4-digit UCAS status code will not work until the place is unconditional or confirmed. If you already have a student account elsewhere, Nationwide says it will ask you to switch it across. You should only have one student bank account.
Deposit / pay-in
To keep the interest-free arranged overdraft, and to increase the limit in year 2 or year 3, pay in at least £500 each academic term, or at least £1,500 in two or more payments over the past year. A separate monthly account minimum is not set out beyond that rule.
Perk
No Nationwide fee for using the debit card in a foreign currency, in person, online or for cash. Some retailers and cash machines abroad add their own charges. There is no monthly account fee. The account page’s Just Eat section is for people who already took up an earlier offer. It is not listed as a new-customer gift on the page we checked, so we are not treating it as one.
After graduation
Nationwide says it moves FlexStudent to a FlexGraduate account when you graduate. If you have an arranged overdraft, it reduces the limit steadily to help you pay it off. The FlexStudent page does not state the pound amount for each year after graduation.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
Lloyds
Up to £1,500 interest-free, then £2,000 in later years
Lloyds publishes an interest-free arranged amount by year of study, and a welcome pack that starts lower in the first year of the account. Cashback with selected retailers is the ongoing extra. A short-dated cash and Deliveroo promotion has already ended, so it is not a reason to apply.
Overdraft by year
Lloyds arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| Years 1–3 of study | Up to £1,500 interest-free |
| Years 4–6 of study | Up to £2,000 interest-free |
You must be 18 or over to apply. Subject to application and repayable on demand. If Lloyds agrees a limit above the interest-free amount, it charges daily interest on the part above that amount. Its student welcome pack sets a lower interest-free amount during the first year of the account: £500 in the first 6 months from opening, £1,000 in months 7–9, and £1,500 in months 10–12, then £1,500 in years 2–3 of study. Check the pack you are given as well as the public page.
Eligibility
Aged 17 or over (18 or over for an arranged overdraft), UK resident for at least three years, studying full-time on a course of at least two years or a one-year access course leading to a degree, with a 4-digit UCAS code confirming your place.
Deposit / pay-in
Not stated by provider. The student account page we checked does not set an ongoing minimum pay-in to keep the account or the interest-free overdraft.
Perk
No monthly account fee. Lloyds says you can get cashback on everyday spending with selected retailers. It does not state a cashback rate on the student page we checked. A promotion of £100 cash and Deliveroo vouchers required an account opened between 30 July and 30 October 2026 and a £500 pay-in by 30 October 2026. That window has closed, so we are not listing it as a current perk.
After graduation
Lloyds’ personal banking terms and the student welcome pack describe a Graduate account interest-free amount of £2,000 in the first year after graduation, £1,500 in the second year and £1,000 in the third. In years 2 and 3 the arranged limit can stay higher while the interest-free slice falls, so borrowing above the interest-free amount is charged. The welcome pack says the student account changes to a Graduate account when you complete your course, and Lloyds writes to you first.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
Bank of Scotland
The same year-by-year overdraft shape, under another brand
Bank of Scotland publishes the same interest-free maximums as Lloyds: £1,500 then £2,000. It is a separate account with its own page. Read that page. Do not assume a Lloyds perk, or a Lloyds first-year phasing, applies here.
Overdraft by year
Bank of Scotland arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| Years 1–3 of study | Up to £1,500 interest-free |
| Years 4–6 of study | Up to £2,000 interest-free |
18 or over to apply for the arranged overdraft. Subject to assessment and repayable on demand. Interest is charged on any arranged borrowing above the interest-free amount. A Bank of Scotland guide said that from 1 August 2025 the year-1 interest-free amount is up to £1,500 from the day the overdraft is taken, which is not the same first-year phasing as the Lloyds welcome pack. Use the Bank of Scotland documents for this account.
Eligibility
Aged 17 or over (18 or over for an arranged overdraft), a permanent UK address for the past three years, a 4-digit UCAS code confirming your place, and full-time study of at least two years or a one-year access course leading to a full-time degree. If you have not been UK resident for three years, this account is not available.
Deposit / pay-in
Not stated by provider. The student account page we checked does not set a minimum pay-in.
Perk
No debit-card fee from Bank of Scotland when you use the card abroad. It also advertises cashback and Save the Change. No cashback rate is stated on the page we checked. There is no monthly account fee mentioned alongside these features. Overseas retailers and cash machines may still charge you.
After graduation
The Bank of Scotland welcome pack says the student account changes to a Graduate account when you complete the course, after they write to you. You can apply for an arranged overdraft of £2,000 in the first year after graduation, interest-free if you stay within that amount. In the second year the interest-free amount falls to £1,500, and in the third year to £1,000. Borrowing above the interest-free amount is charged daily, even if the arranged limit itself has not fallen.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
HSBC UK
Up to £1,000 at opening, and you ask for the later increases
HSBC’s interest-free limit starts at up to £1,000 in any year, and can be raised later if you ask and the account has been used in a way HSBC accepts. The home&Away discounts are optional extras. The overdraft is the part that still matters after the discount email is forgotten.
Overdraft by year
HSBC UK arranged overdraft, as stated by the provider
| When | Amount |
|---|
| When you open the account, any year of study | Up to £1,000 interest-free |
| Year 2, if you ask and are approved | Up to £2,000 interest-free |
| Year 3, if you ask and are approved | Up to £3,000 interest-free |
Optional arranged overdraft, subject to status, for short-term borrowing. Representative example on the student page: 0% EAR (variable), representative 0% APR (variable), based on an arranged overdraft of £1,000. Increases in year 2 and year 3 depend on status and how the account has been used. Going over the arranged limit can mean an unarranged overdraft, and an unarranged overdraft lasting more than 30 days can harm your credit rating. HSBC reports overdraft use to credit reference agencies.
Eligibility
18 or over, living in the UK and resident in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for the past three years, with proof of a place on a qualifying full-time course at a UK university or college (or part-time if you receive Disabled Students’ Allowance). Online applications need a 16-digit UCAS status code. Qualifying courses include undergraduate and certain postgraduate degrees, DipHE, specified BTECs and NVQs at levels 4 and 5, foundation degrees and pre-registration nursing and midwifery. A postgraduate or second degree requires an undergraduate course completed in the last three years. Apprenticeships, access courses and A-levels do not qualify. If you have lived in the UK for under three years, HSBC points you to a different bank account.
Deposit / pay-in
Not stated by provider. The student account page we checked does not set a minimum pay-in.
Perk
No monthly account fee. Access to HSBC’s home&Away offers. No discount rates are stated on the student page we checked. Also access to a Regular Saver at 5.00% AER / gross, from £25 to £250 a month for a fixed 12-month term, with withdrawal restrictions. The rate is the provider’s, and it is a savings account rather than a gift.
After graduation
HSBC’s student-account FAQ says most student accounts convert to a graduate account and that the interest-free amount reduces each year. It does not give those later amounts on the student page. On HSBC’s overdrafts page, the Graduate Bank Account row is: year 1, 0% EAR (variable) on the first £3,000 and 39.9% EAR (variable) after that; year 2, 0% EAR (variable) on the first £2,000 and 39.9% EAR (variable) after that. Treat that as the graduate product’s published example, and check the terms you are actually offered.
Checked 6 November 2026. Figures can change. Direct provider link, not an affiliate link.
Overdrafts are borrowing, repayable on demand and subject to status. Check the provider page before you apply.
