Personal finance is among the most important aspects of life, and one should start understanding their financials and maintaining them by the time they are in college. The first step toward financial independence is opening one’s own bank account. There are a vast number of student-friendly bank accounts, and the process of opening a bank account is also fairly simple today. Let’s understand the steps to open a bank account for students:

• Understand your credit rating
  Your credit score is the most important figure when it comes to opening a bank account or getting a credit card. The overdraft offered will also depend on your credit rating and financial background. While this is not a step to open a bank account for students, it is definitely an important pre-opening exercise that will determine the type of bank account you can opt for.
• Choose the right bank account
  An important step is to understand the different types of bank accounts that are available and then select the one that meets your requirements. An important factor here is the monthly maintenance fee, which plays a big role for students. Banks that offer student account openings with zero fees are always favorable, but if that isn’t available, you can opt for a bank that offers the most perks and does not charge for regular activities like using the ATM services to withdraw money.
• Schedule an appointment
  Once you’ve chosen the bank and the type of account you want to open, you need to meet the branch manager of the local branch. You will be needed to provide details like your full name, contact number, complete address, and details of the campus and campus address before opening an account. Documents like a tenancy agreement also come in handy.
• Deposit some amount of money
  An amount of money has to be deposited in order to open a bank account, and this amount may vary depending on the bank and the type of account you’re opening. It’s advisable to choose a bank that lets you open an account with a low deposit amount.
• Submit the required documents
  Providing certain documents is an integral step to open a bank account for students. These include a passport and a certificate of eligibility or I-20, for foreign students to get non-immigrant student status. A secondary identification form is also needed, and you can use your student ID card, driver’s license, or a letter from the university. Further, a letter of acceptance from the university is also required to open a bank account.

Once these steps to open a bank account for students are complete and all the required documents are submitted to the bank, the rest of the process is taken care of by the financial institution.