Overlay
A free 4 year tastecard. Criteria and T&Cs apply.

Open our Student bank account

Why apply for our Student bank account?

Whether you’re already enjoying university life or planning ahead and thinking about your first year on campus, you could apply to open a Student account with Royal Bank of Scotland today. 

What else could you get?

Interest-free overdraft - get an overdraft of up to £2,000 from year one (Limited to £500 in term one, year one) with an instant online decision. Students can apply for up to £3,250 interest free from year three onwards.

No monthly Student current account fees.

Student bank account offer

Open a Royal Bank Student account and receive a free 4 year tastecard worth £79.99 per year*

 

*Annual tastecard value excluding any offers. Correct as of February 2025.

Information Message

tastecard

What is a tastecard?

Tastecard is a discount card which offers you 2 for 1 on meals, 50% off food or 25% of food and drinks at thousands of restaraunts or pizza takeaways UK wide.

We also have exclusive offers just for students.

  • Cinema ticket discounts
  • Discounted days out at the UK's best attractions
  • Exclusive membership perks

 

We'll send your tastecard redemption code to your email address. Offer T&Cs apply.

This offer can be withdrawn at any time.

If you have received a student offer from Royal Bank of Scotland at any time from 1st July 2020 you will not be eligible.

Information Message

More ways to pay

Debit card

Brand-new plastic

Shop online or pay in-store with a new student debit card.

Information Message

Contactless

Shop, tap and go

Tap-and-bleep your debit card to check out up to £100 in shops, restaurants, and more.

Information Message

Apple or Google Pay

Banking for any device

Paying for items on your iPhone or Android is simple. You can use it to pay for things online or in-store with a tap.  Criteria and retailer limits apply.

Information Message

Are you an international student?

If you’ve lived in the UK for more than 3 years, you can apply for our Student account. If you’ve lived in the UK for less than 3 years you’re recognised by us as an international student and are not eligible for our Student account. See our current accounts hub for more options. 

Switch to Royal Bank

The Current Account Switch Service will do all the work when it comes to switching, moving everything across from your old account all within 7 working days, including Direct Debits and standing orders. All you need to do is tell us the details of your old bank account and when you want the Switch to start.

We can not switch savings accounts or ISAs through this service. Any other products you have with your old bank will not be moved at the same time.

Current Account Switch Guarantee (PDF, 39KB)

A Guide to Switching Current Accounts (PDF, 3MB)

How does the Switch Service work?

Make use of a student overdraft

Our Student bank account comes with an interest-free overdraft. A quarter of students budget and monitor their spending. But around one in three are still short of money by the end of the month, says our annual Student living index.

That's when your overdraft may come in handy as a short-term option. And because it’s interest-free, you won’t pay any interest on what you’ve spent.

- get an overdraft of up to £2,000  from year one (Limited to £500 in term one, year one) with an instant online decision. Students can apply for up to £3,250 interest-free from year three onwards. 

Manage your Student account with our app

See how much you have in your Student current account and transfer money between accounts from your smartphone. Students save on average £109 per month, according to our Student Living Index 2023. Easily move money into your savings account with our app.

Student FAQs

Information Message

Get ready to apply

Before you apply, we need to check you're happy with a few things. And ask you a few questions up front. Then we can make your application as quick and simple as it can be.

First things first. You can apply if you:

  • are aged over 17 and have been living in the UK for at least 3 years,
  • are a Student. To be eligible for this account, you must provide your unique 16 digit UCAS code. Courses without a UCAS code are not eligible for our student account,
  • are completing a full-time undergraduate course that lasts at least 2 years,  or are training as a nurse at a UK university or college of higher education,
  • Have your unique 16 digit UCAS status code,
  • are completing a course that has already started, or is starting within the next 6 months.

Now please take a look at the important legal info

If you carry on applying, it means you're happy with what's in these documents, including the FSCS information sheet. And happy to view your statements in Digital Banking - not posted. Please take some time to review, print and/or save the important information.

How your information might be used

It's important for you to understand how we use and share your information. Please read this short summary before you continue with your application.

All okay? You’re nearly ready to start.

To speed up your application for our Student account, we need to do a few final checks with you. They'll only take a minute.