Best student bank accounts
We’ve assessed all student bank accounts available in NZ to help you get the one with the right benefits for you.
Updated 24 December 2023
The breakdown
- Several student bank accounts come with an optional interest-free overdraft of up to $2,000.
- International students can open a student bank account, but they are not eligible for an interest-free overdraft.
- Other benefits include discounts at some stores and no annual fee for a credit card for the first year.
Author: Kevin McHugh, Head of Publishing at Banked.
What is a student bank account?
A student bank account is one that has additional benefits over a regular bank account — usually reduced or no fees. They are also only available to people in some form of tertiary education, whether that is at a university, a polytechnic, an institute of technology, or an apprenticeship.
The biggest difference that some student bank accounts have from regular accounts is the availability of an interest-free overdraft. These give students access to up to $2,000 that they must pay back at some point, but while they are in study they are not charged interest or fees on the overdraft.
International students in New Zealand can have a student bank account, but they are not eligible for an interest-free overdraft.
If you’re more interest in saving money, compare savings accounts with our guide.
Which is the best student account right now?
There is currently little difference between the three leading student accounts available right now. These accounts are the ANZ Jumpstart Account, the ASB Streamline Account, and the Westpac Tertiary Account.
All three of these accounts offer the following benefits:
- No monthly or transaction fees.
- A free debit card.
- Support for Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay.
- Pay to Mobile support (the option to transfer money to someone using their phone number, rather than their account).
- A mobile app.
Each of these accounts also comes with the option of an interest-free overdraft of up to $2,000 which has no establishment fee or monthly fees (unless you go over your agreed overdraft).
However, the ANZ Jumpstart Account just about has the edge over ASB and Westpac for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, Jumpstart Account customers can apply for any ANZ personal credit card and the annual fee will be waived for the first year. This means that if you were interested in the ANZ Airpoints Visa, and your application was successful, the annual fee of $65 would be waived for the first year.
Note that most banks do have at least one annual fee-free card option available. See our guide to credit cards with no annual fee.
ANZ customers also have the option to personalise their debit card with their choice of image or design, at no extra cost.
What about international students?
International students studying in Aotearoa New Zealand can apply for any student bank account, just like NZ residents. However, there is one key difference: international students cannot get the interest-free overdraft that some banks offer.
For this reason, international students might be more interested in Westpac’s International Student Account. This account comes with the option of a free foreign currency account and a discount on foreign exchange fees.
Student bank accounts available in New Zealand
Here we review all the student bank accounts that are available, and the benefits and downsides of each.
ANZ Jumpstart Account
ANZ’s Jumpstart Account is available to students and non-students who are under 21 (meaning you can still apply if you are a full-time student and over 21).
Many of the benefits of the Jumpstart Account are standard, but there a couple of extra benefits that become available for account holders who are 18 or older:
- Interest-free overdraft: Jumpstart Account holders can apply for an interest-free overdraft of up to $2,000. There is also no monthly management fee and no establishment fee.
- An ANZ credit card: If you have an ANZ Jumpstart Account and decide to take out a credit card with the bank they will waive the annual fee for the first year. Note that ANZ’s Low Rate Visa already has no annual fee, but the bank has several credit cards that do have an annual fee as standard.
International students can apply for a Jumpstart Account, but they must do so in person at a branch. International students are not eligible for the interest-free overdraft, although they can take advantage of the ANZ credit card with the annual fee waived for the first year.
ANZ Jumpstart account benefits
- No monthly account or transaction fees.
- Free Visa debit card.
- Annual fee waived for an ANZ credit card.
- Interest-free overdraft up to $2,000.
- Support for Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay.
- Pay to Mobile support.
- A mobile app (iOS and Android).
- Personalise your debit card with your choice of photo or design with ANZ MyPhoto.
Learn more about the Jumpstart Account on the ANZ website.
ASB Streamline Account
ASB recently stopped it’s student-specific tertiary account, but it’s Streamline Account (which is available to everyone) has the same features.
Unlike some student accounts, the ASB Streamline account also comes with the option of an interest-free overdraft of up to $2,000 for students. There is also no establishment fee and no monthly management fee.
Students are free to apply for an ASB credit card, but ASB does not waive the annual fee for the first year like ANZ does. But note that one ASB credit card, the ASB Visa Light, has no annual fee anyway.
Streamline Account holders between the age of 18 and 24 will also have access to limited promotions and discounts from Samsung. ASB does not advertise what these may look like and it is unsure how (if at all) they might differ from the discounts Samsung offers all students through its education store.
ASB no longer has its free fries at McDonald’s for students promotion.
ASB Streamline Account benefits
- No monthly account or transaction fees.
- Free Visa debit card.
- Interest-free overdraft up to $2,000 (students only).
- Support for Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay.
- Pay to Mobile support.
- A mobile app (iOS and Android).
Learn more about the Streamline Account on the ASB website.
Cooperative Bank Tertiary Student Package
The Cooperative Bank’s student account comes with the usual benefits, such as no monthly transaction fees.
The bank also has an interest-free overdraft option for students, although at a maximum of $1,000, it’s not as high as some other banks. As with options from other banks, overdraft set-up fees are waived for students.
The Cooperative Bank does not have support for services such as Google Pay or Apple Pay and it does not have a Pay to Mobile option.
Cooperative Bank Tertiary Student Account benefits
- No monthly account or transaction fees.
- Free Mastercard debit card.
- Interest-free overdraft up to $1,000.
- A mobile app (iOS and Android).
Learn more about the Tertiary Student Package on the Cooperative Bank website.
Westpac
Westpac actually has two student accounts: one for New Zealand residents, and the other for international students.
The bank’s Tertiary Account, is specifically for NZ residents. On top of the standard bank account benefits, Westpac’s Tertiary Account also has an interest-free overdraft of up to $2,000 with no establishment fee.
Westpac’s International Student Account is similar to the Tertiary Account, but it does have a couple of important differences.
The account does not come with the interest-free overdraft that NZ residents can benefit from. However, the International Student Account does include an optional fee-free foreign currency account that can hold money in most major currencies.
Westpac also offers discount foreign exchange rates on this account. However, these discounted rates and the overall cost of transferring money are unlikely to be able to compete with non-bank money transfer services, such as Wise.
Benefits of Westpac’s Tertiary Account and International Student Accounts
- No monthly account or transaction fees.
- Free Visa debit card.
- Interest-free overdraft up to $2,000 (Tertiary Account only)
- Foreign currency account (International Student Account only)
- Support for Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay.
- Pay to Mobile support.
- A mobile app (iOS and Android).
Learn more about Westpac’s Tertiary Account and International Student Accounts.
Other accounts
Students can also apply for regular bank accounts that do not have special benefits for students.
TSB advertises a Student First Account, but it doesn’t differ from its standard Everyday bank account. There are no monthly or transaction fees, but this is also true of the Everyday account. It doesn’t offer students an interest-free overdraft.
BNZ doesn’t have a dedicated account for students and there are no benefits to banking with BNZ as a student when compared to having a regular BNZ YouMoney account.
The bank used to have an interest-free overdraft for students, but it no longer offers it for new customers.
What you need to open a student bank account
In order or open a student account, you must meet particular criteria. These can vary a little from bank to bank, but generally they are as follows:
- You must be enrolled at a government-recognised tertiary institution, an NZQA-approved language school, or learning a trade at an institution such as the BCITO.
- Your student loan or other income must be directed to your student bank account.
For most banks you will have to make an appointment at a branch and open the account in person. For the appointment, you will need to bring:
- evidence of your study (such as an acceptance letter from the higher education institution you will be studying at)
- proof of address
- proof of identity (such as an NZ driver’s licence or your passport).
Looking for more help and money-saving tips? Check out our other student guides:
