- Free 4-year 16-25 Railcard
- Win up to £100K in our prize draw
- Interest-free arranged overdraft
What you’ll get with our Student bank account
A free 4 year Santander 16-25 Railcard worth £115. Save 1/3 on rail travel throughout Great Britain. Plus exclusive deals on holidays, eating out, top attractions and more.
An interest-free arranged overdraft of £1,500 in years 1-3 and up to £2,000 by year 5. An overdraft is for short term borrowing. Subject to status – see our Overdraft and charges section below.
No fees for using Santander cash machines when you travel.
Earn 8.00% AER/gross (variable) with access to our Regular Saver account. This includes a 5.00% AER/gross (variable) bonus for the first 12 months. Save up to £200 a month from your Santander current account.
Access over 1,000 free courses, scholarships, and content to help boost your career prospects through Santander Open Academy
Sign up to Santander Boosts to receive cashback, exclusive vouchers, prize draws and personalised offers – all designed to help you save as a student
Freeze that student debit card we’ll give you, make or block online payments, view your PIN or card details and much more – all with just a few taps in our Mobile Banking app
Can I apply for a student account ? Yes if:
You’re 18+ and live in the UK permanently
You’re starting, or have started, an undergraduate course or a level 4-7 apprenticeship that’s at least 2 years long
You plan to pay in at least £500 into your account every 4 months.
You’re happy to have a paper-free account – learn more in ‘Key documents and account information'
Going to university
If you’ve not yet started your course, you must have an unconditional or a confirmed conditional offer.
You'll need proof of study when you apply. This could be your UCAS 4-digit status code if you have one.
Proof of ID and address is also required
Studying for an apprenticeship
If you’re starting, or have started, a level 4-7 apprenticeship, you can apply if your place is confirmed.
You’ll need proof of your apprenticeship when you apply.
Proof of ID and address is also required
Student life and money management
Student life can be busy – My Money Manger helps you stay on top of your finances. Through our Mobile Banking app, it lets you track your spending, get valuable money tips and manage your student banking account anytime, anywhere
Hints and tips to help make student life a little easier.
Our student life and money management hub has savings and budgeting tips, making money at uni and much more.
My Money Vibe gives you a clearer view on your money with a personalised plan, practical guidance and tools to help you take the next step.
Account details
Account fee
There’s no monthly fee to maintain the Santander Edge® Student current account.
The Fee Information Document (PDF - 146 KB) details the main fees and charges on this account. For further explanation of our main terms and services take a look at our Glossary
Arranged overdraft
An arranged overdraft is borrowing through your current account. This is a short-term borrowing method. It can give you a bit of extra money for urgent, unexpected costs that might come up.
Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions. We may ask you to repay all or part of your overdraft at any time but we'll try to notify you of this in advance. For more information on overdrafts click here
An arranged overdraft is when we let you borrow up to a pre-agreed limit – you can ask for one when you open your account or at any other time.
An unarranged overdraft occurs when your account goes overdrawn without an arranged overdraft in place or if your account goes over your arranged overdraft limit.
When you try to make a payment that would take you into an unarranged overdraft, we make the decision whether to allow or reject the payment based on your individual circumstances. If we allow a payment, it will take you into an unarranged overdraft. We don’t charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.
Our cost calculator helps you understand the costs associated with using an overdraft facility.
When you open your account you’ll get an arranged overdraft limit of £250. To increase this to £1,500 you’ll need to:
- register for Online Banking
- pay in £500 and continue to pay in at least £500 into your account every 4 months
- we’ll automatically increase your overdraft limit as shown below at the start of each year of study. You can ask to reduce the limit at any time.
Overdraft
The table below shows you how you’ll be charged for using your overdraft.
How does our overdraft compare? The purpose of a representative APR is to enable customers to compare the costs associated with different credit products.
| Arranged overdraft interest and charges | Representative 0% APR/ EAR (variable) |
|---|---|
| Unarranged overdraft interest and charges | Representative 0% APR/ EAR (variable) |
Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions.
Account alerts
We'll send you free alerts when:
- you make a payment that may take your account into an unarranged overdraft
- you make a payment that may take your account into an arranged overdraft
- we intend to refuse a future payment due to a lack of funds
- we refuse a payment due to lack of funds.
We’ll send these alerts before your account's charged so you have time to pay in money to avoid or reduce these charges. We’ll send these alerts by text, push notification, and/or email, so it’s important you tell us if your mobile number or email address changes.
You'll be automatically registered for these alerts. You can manage your alerts settings at any time by using Online Banking. For more information, visit our account alerts page.
Need more help? Please contact us or visit your local branch
If you need help managing your money or if you’re in debt, please visit our money worries page.
Tips for using your overdraft:
- keep track of your spending through Online or Mobile banking
- don’t go over your arranged overdraft limit
- stay up-to-date with any changes to your current account or overdraft, including fees
- remember that anything you spend from your overdraft will need to be paid back
You’ll get a free Santander 16-25 Railcard which could save you 1/3 on rail travel in Great Britain letting you travel all over England, Scotland and Wales for less. The Santander 16-25 Railcard also gives you access to exclusive deals on holidays, eating out, top attractions and more.
How to get your 16-25 Railcard
- Once you’ve opened your Santander Edge Student current account and registered for Online Banking, a unique code will be sent by secure message to your Online Banking within 5 working days of account opening.
- Use the unique code at our Railcard website to order your free 16-25 Railcard.
- Your unique code is valid for 60 days from the date of issue and cannot be re-issued once expired.
- You can choose to have a digital or a plastic Railcard when you order it.
If you choose a digital Santander 16-25 Railcard, you can use it straight away. You’ll get a code and instructions on how to download it on your phone. Rail Delivery Group will send this to the email you registered with on the Railcard website.
If you choose a plastic Railcard, you’ll get it in the post within 5 working days.
For more information on the Santander 16-25 Railcard take a look at the Rail Delivery Group FAQs page.
We won't charge you when you use your Santander Edge Student current account debit card to make withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad. You'll find our cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA. Make sure you choose to pay in the local currency to avoid being charged any other fees.
Key documents
- Santander Edge Student current account Key Facts Document (PDF - 482 KB)
- Santander Edge Student current account Fee Information Document (PDF - 146 KB)
- General Terms & Conditions (PDF - 770 KB)
- Santander 16-25 Railcard Terms and Conditions
- Santander Edge Grad current account Key Facts Document (PDF - 388 KB)
To view these documents you may need to download Adobe Reader
You can apply if
- You’re 18 or over
- You live in the UK for tax purposes
- You’re about to begin or have started an undergraduate course, or degree-level apprenticeship (level 4-7) that is at least 2 years in length.
If you're about to begin your university studies, you must have a ‘confirmed conditional’ offer (this is given once you have received your results) or an ‘unconditional’ offer of a university place. If you have a conditional offer only, please wait until your place has been confirmed following your results before applying.
If you're about to begin an apprenticeship, your place on the apprenticeship must have been confirmed. If your offer is subject to you achieving certain results, please wait until your place has been confirmed following your results before applying.
You can use your UCAS 4-digit status code as proof of study in your application. You can find your code by logging onto UCAS.
If you didn’t apply for university through UCAS, or are studying an apprenticeship you can provide:
- a student ID card
- a letter from your higher education provider, or
- an apprenticeship confirmation from your university or employer.
Paper-free
This is a paper-free account which means:
- Your documents, statements and some of your letters will be sent as e-Documents to your secure inbox on Online Banking (unless you require documents in an alternative format, such as Braille).
- You'll need to provide us with an email address when you open the account as we’ll send you an email to let you know when a document is ready to view.
- Once the account has been open for at least 24 hours, you can update your account settings at any time to start receiving statements and other correspondence by post.
Apprenticeships
As your course period may not match a standard university academic year, you may find that your overdraft limit changes earlier than expected in line with the account’s overdraft structure and that your account may move to the Santander Edge Grad current account before you finish your course.
At the end of your course
Your account will automatically transfer to our Santander Edge Grad current account Key Facts Document (PDF - 608 KB) at the end of your course.
Ways to bank with us
You can access the Santander Edge Student current account anytime, anywhere.
- Online Banking
- Mobile Banking
- Get personalised spend insights with My Money Manager
- Contactless payments with your mobile by linking your Santander debit or credit card to your Apple, Android or Samsung device.
Face-to-face support in branch and UK-based telephone support:
- In branch
- Telephone Banking
- ATM
- Post Office to make withdrawals, balance enquiries, cash deposits and cheque deposits
Security
Keep your banking details private and secure.
For more information about our approach to security as well as more useful information to help you stop the threat of fraud visit our Security Centre
How we manage scam claims
We’ll support you if you’ve fallen victim to fraud. Find out more about our approach to fraud
If you have a 1|2|3 Mini Current Account and are in, or going into your first year of study on an undergraduate course, you can change your account online. You must be able to provide your UCAS 4-digit status code.
If you have a different current account, or don’t have a UCAS code because you’re doing a level 4-7 apprenticeship, or you’d like any more help, you can change your account in one of our branches. You may need to book an appointment
Apply for a Santander Edge Student current account
We'll start by sharing some important information and documents you'll need. This helps prepare everything in advance and makes the whole process smoother for you. To apply you must be 18+, live in the UK, plan to pay in at least £500 into your account every 4 months and be on an eligible course.
Student Account eligibility
You have an unconditional offer, or you have exam results and a confirmed conditional offer and studying (or about to start):
- an undergraduate course with a higher education provider of 2 years or more or
- a level 4-7 apprenticeship of 2 years or more
If you're in your 2nd year of university or above, you must switch an account from another provider to us as part of your application.
If you already have a Santander current account, you'll need to transfer it to this account
Student prize draw
If you open a Santander Edge Student current account between 14 July and 16 October 2026 and make a debit card purchase before 31 December 2026, you'll be entered into our student prize draw. With up to 40 entries per month.
Important documents
Read and consider these documents before you apply (you can print or save them). We’ll email you copies when you submit.
We’ll carry out a credit check when you apply.
- Santander Edge Student current account Key Facts Document (PDF - 482 KB)
- Fee Information Document (PDF - 146 KB)
- General Terms & Conditions (PDF - 770 KB)
- Prize draw T&CS (PDF - 718 KB)
You'll need proof of ID and address and your proof of study to open this account.
University students – don’t forget having your UCAS 4-digit status code is the fastest way to apply
Open a student account Transfer my existing Santander account
Information correct as at 14 July 2026.