Banking Tips for College Students and Parents

Students often attend college far from home – and far from their traditional neighborhood brick and mortar banks. Parents who are involved in funding student accounts are faced with frequent trips to their local bank to make deposits and are often in the dark about where the money goes. By choosing to open checking or interest checking accounts with an Internet bank, parents are able to transfer money to their student’s account from their home or office, any time of the day, any day of the week. And, they can monitor their student’s spending habits. The following tips can help students and parents successfully handle money issues during the college years.

• Open two checking accounts at an Internet bank. One for the parent and one for the student. Why two accounts? The parent can transfer funds online from their account into the student’s and at the same time, teach the student financial responsibility by monitoring his or her spending habits. Students can be blocked from access to parents’ accounts.
• Most Internet banks offer great rates on interest checking accounts, which benefits the parents and no-fee checking accounts appropriate for students. With less brick and mortar expenses, many Internet banks offer interest checking account rates as high as from 5 percent to 6 percent APY.
• Students and their parents have access to their account balances and activity 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. Transactions can be tracked instantaneously. Forget to write down a check or a check card transaction? Not a problem, it’s already recorded on-line and available for your review.
• Funds can be transferred between accounts with the click of a mouse at any time.
• Make sure you sign up for overdraft checking on both accounts. Some Internet banks don’t charge for overdraft balance transfers. Parents can check balances on a daily basis. If a student has an overdraft, it’s easy to transfer funds to pay off the overdraft amount.
• Look for an Internet bank that offers on-line bill pay. Parents and/or students can process routine bills quickly and easily without having to write checks, buy stamps or make it by the post office. This can be especially convenient when paying for housing, utilities and other living expenses.
• Most Internet banks offer ATM and check cards. Parents and/or students can use the check cards for purchases at retail stores. Another added feature, you can view your ATM and check card transactions, online, anytime without waiting for your month-end statement.
• Need cash? ATM and check cards can be used at any ATM. Plus, when you use your check card, most retail outlets – the grocery store or drug store for example – offer the option of receiving cash back at the time of purchase.
• Worried about ATM fees? No need to! Look for an Internet bank that credits ATM fees back to the account.
• With Internet banks, accounts are opened on-line. Internet banks do not keep banker’s hours. They are available when you need them.
• Worried about making deposits into your Internet bank account? You don’t have to. Internet banks provide postage paid envelopes you can use to mail in your deposits. You can also use direct deposit, electronic funds transfer and wire transfers. Its easy, and you don’t have to waste time standing in line.
• Nervous about banking with an Internet bank? Don’t be. You can check out your Internet bank at www.fdic.gov. All legitimate Internet banks will be listed.
• For the student who needs more than a free checking account, most Internet banks pay exceptionally high rates on Money Market Accounts and CDs. Check out these rates.

These are only some of the reasons why Internet banking for college students and their parents is appealing. There are many more!