Bank Account for 16 year old

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flango

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Just got my 16 year old daughter enrolled in college for A levels and it dawned on us she could now do with a bank account. Does anyone have any good experiences of an account suitable for teenagers? She is going to do her A levels close to home which will take her to 18 and then on to Uni so could do with an account that is easily convertible into a student account acessible on line with National branches and comes with a cashpoint card.

Had a look but choices are numerous so prefer to go by recommendation also does anyone now the benefits of a Visa debit card Vs a Solo card

The Accounts that on first glance look reaonable to me are Lloyds TSB under 19's account, HSBC My Account, Abbey under 18's

As always any help appreciated
 
Visa debit will probably have better acceptance than Solo, especially online.
 
Banks are a great big much of a muchety muchness.

Go for Visa debit card, as it's universally accepted. Solo isn't.

Don't worry about converting to a student account. You're daughter is best making a decision when she goes to university based upon:

1. Which bank is on site (or closest).
2. Which bank offers the best incentive at that time!!

More likely the latter. ;)
 
I'd go with a visa debit for reasons stated above, but use the same bank as yours for the account.

-This will allow you pretty instantaneous transfers from your account to hers when she needs cash !!

Richard
 
Don't worry about converting to a student account. You're daughter is best making a decision when she goes to university based upon:

1. Which bank is on site (or closest).
2. Which bank offers the best incentive at that time!!

More likely the latter. ;)
At which point she can open multiple accounts and collect incentives.

I'd go with a visa debit for reasons stated above, but use the same bank as yours for the account.

-This will allow you pretty instantaneous transfers from your account to hers when she needs cash !!
That's an advantage???
 
My kids at that age had Abbey junior accounts with electron cards. Widely enough accepted for their purposes, but you couldn't go overdrawn with them.

Not sure how many junior accounts offer internet banking; as mine got to 18/19 their accounts were altered into the full adult versions.
 
From personal experience i opened an account at 16 with Lloyds TSB and was given a Visa Electron card ( i think with lloyds they are all Visa Debit now). I've been with them ever since, upgrading accounts as i got older to 'Student', then 'Undergraduate' and i'm now currently on a 'post graduate' account at 23.
 
I generaly rate Barclays. I dislike HSBC in Doncaster quite a lot. They were fine when the student person was their, but not so fine when they were on holiday. Mind you that was 12 years ago!

Barclays also handy in Doncaster as they the ten pound walk branch, although if your daughter is going to Donny college she will be near the town centre anyway...

Not sure that there is that much difference in every day usage between Solo and Visa now. Might be different abroad though.

Former colleague found Halifax to be awful several times over.

Hope my take helps

David
 
Any one of the 4 main clearing banks. HSBC would be my choice as it seems to be about the only one who is turning in a reasonable profit at the moment. Which to me indicates a fair level of efficency and business accumen. However, its more or less a personal choice and often comes down to which is the most handy and convenient for your own needs.
 
I generaly rate Barclays. I dislike HSBC in Doncaster quite a lot. They were fine when the student person was their, but not so fine when they were on holiday. Mind you that was 12 years ago!

Barclays also handy in Doncaster as they the ten pound walk branch, although if your daughter is going to Donny college she will be near the town centre anyway...

Not sure that there is that much difference in every day usage between Solo and Visa now. Might be different abroad though.

Former colleague found Halifax to be awful several times over.

Hope my take helps

David

Hi David

Just to make my life interesting she's going to college in Rotherham (Thomas Rotherham) as that is the best one in terms of reputation and results for the courses she wants to do and has joint courses with Loughboro and Leeds Uni.

Rotherham is a bit of a ghost town these days so it would have to really be HSBC or Lloyds, I too have heard many stories about the Halifax. Main difference between HSBC & Lloyds is HSBC issue a solo card (which many retailers including some supermarkets don't take) but Lloyds issue a Visa debit card.

Time to go in and have a chat to their student person I think.

Thanks for the help
 
I first openend my Natwest account when I turned 16, and hated them... very unfriendly, very cold and generally they looked down on me (agreed, I didn't open it in a "student friendly" branch, but a normal high street branch.

Upon mentioning this to a friend, her father set up a HSBC student account for me... It was fantastic, and I've never regretted it! Great service, great features and overall, a very usefull account...

It may have helped that he was the chap that did the training for the branch managers at HSBC :p

M.
 
I'm in the same boat with my kids and this thread has arrived just in time :)

Has anybody tried First Direct ?....I think they have changed all their cards to Visa.
 
I'm in the same boat with my kids and this thread has arrived just in time :)

Has anybody tried First Direct ?....I think they have changed all their cards to Visa.

I actually bank with First Direct who are owned by HSBC and they are nothing short of brilliant never had a poblem and been with them since they started, but for teenagers / students they do not automatically give cards and are very reluctant to give out cards until they see the account has been operated in a proper manner, which sort of defeats the object in my opinion. The card they give is a solo, and from the replies to my post it looks as though Visa debit is the way to go?

We have an appointment at Lloyds on Thursday so will let you know how I get on, if thats no good then I think it's on to HSBC
 
I'm in the same boat with my kids and this thread has arrived just in time :)

Has anybody tried First Direct ?....I think they have changed all their cards to Visa.


Aren't they a subsidiary of HSBC?

In my opinion, i think there all much of a muchness to be honest. As others have said, see what card they get. Visa Debit over Solo if possible.
 
I would go with the provider that offers the best package of services that your daughter needs. Now the Faster Payments system is in place for almost all UK banks, having your daughter's account with the same bank as your own doesn't have the speed advantage for funds transfer that it used to, so that needn't be a consideration.

Most banks want student business because it conforms to their inertia selling model, but some are better at meeting the needs (rather than the wants) of students than others - even down to branch level. Branch access may not be as important as it used to be for many of us, but for someone starting off and getting used to managing their own money in their own bank account it can be very useful to be able to walk in and ask questions.

In short, all other things being equal, it will come down to who you/she feels comfortable dealing with. Just remind her that once she completes her education she doesn't owe whoever she banks with any loyalty and to switch to whoever gives her the best deal as her circumstances and needs change.
 
Doesn't really matter which bank you choose - they may all well end up as HMG PLC......:D

Seriously I would recommend the Visa route over solo - and Richard's advice makes a lot of sense in opening one with the same bank you bank with...
 
Doesn't really matter which bank you choose - they may all well end up as HMG PLC......:D

Seriously I would recommend the Visa route over solo - and Richard's advice makes a lot of sense in opening one with the same bank you bank with...

That would be 'UKFI LTD'. :)

HSBC are moving all their Maestro cards over to Visa Debit at the moment (probably lower charges for them I guess?). I have most of my accounts with them and quite happy, although I get decent service out of them.

Main consideration for me would be to use a bank with convenient and accessible branches. Natwest are good because of their Saturday opening which is handy.
 
Take her to Barclays, get a Current & savings account set up for her, and when she goes to uni, a quick pop in or call to your branch and they can convert it into a student account
 

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