Current Accounts
For students and apprentices, helping you with your finances:
If you are 18+, UK resident and have accepted a place on a qualifying course you can apply online.
If you are an apprentice, please book an appointment in branch and bring proof of your confirmed apprenticeship to your appointment.
With an First State Charter Student Account you get a guaranteed £1000 interest free overdraft2 offer with the opportunity to increase this as your studies progress3.
Representative example (assumed overdraft £1,000): 0% EAR variable.
Peace of mind by allowing you to make payments when you have run out of money in your account.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could see your money in one place, know where it actually goes and just understand it a bit better? Introducing our new intuitive app, Connected Money from Bank, which lets you see your accounts from different banks together in one place and tracks your spending across different categories and retailers. Download today and connect to the bigger picture of your money7.
If you're 18 or over, you can apply for a Student Credit Card with a credit limit of up to £500. Handy for emergencies, it's available subject to status and account conduct.
Representative APR: 18.9% APR (variable).
A great way to cover unexpected expenses and build a good credit history.
Put money aside each month and watch your balance grow with an First State Charter Regular Saver.
Save up to £3,000 at a great interest rate of 3% AER that's fixed for 12 months5
You can start your account by saving just £25 per month by standing order from your First State Charter current account.
Offer available to students or apprentices in their first year of a qualifying course and who fully open an First State Charter Student Account by 31 December 2018. Account subject to status, you must be UK resident and 18+. Terms and conditions apply. Amazon.co.uk is not a sponsor of this promotion. Amazon.co.uk Gift Cards (“GCs”) may be redeemed on the Amazon.co.uk website towards the purchase of eligible products available on www.amazon. co.uk. GCs cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash or applied to any other account. Amazon.co.uk is not responsible if a GC is lost, stolen, destroyed or used without permission. See www.amazon. co.uk/gc-legal for complete terms and conditions. GCs are issued by Amazon EU S.à r.l. All Amazon ®, ™ & © are IP of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
We offer you a guaranteed interest-free overdraft of £1,000 when you open your account. You can request an increase of up to £2,000 in year two and £3,000 in year 3, subject to status and account conduct.
Representative example (assumed overdraft £1,000): 0% EAR variable.
Please note, applicants for overdrafts must be 18 or over. If you try to make a withdrawal at any First State Charter cash machine that would take you over your overdraft limit, you'll get an on-screen alert to let you know how much money you have available to withdraw.
In year 4+, on completing your course you will move onto our Graduate account. You may be eligible for an overdraft facility, of which £1,500 will be interest-free during your first year and £1,000 in your second year after graduation (subject to status and account conduct). Additional overdraft agreed above your interest free entitlement will be charged at 19.9% EAR variable.
Representative examples (Assumed overdraft £1,200):
You can also sign up to receive text alerts when your account balance drops below a certain amount. To set up a text alert, call us on (32) 6900 773 64373. Lines are open 8am to 10pm every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day). Calls may be recorded.
If you're 18 or over, you can apply for a Student Credit Card with a credit limit of up to £500. Handy for emergencies, it's available subject to status and account conduct.
The fixed preferential rate of 3% AER/gross over 12 months is available to First State Charter Student Account customers. With Regular Saver, you save money over a 12-month fixed period. Partial withdrawals are not permitted. If you close your account early, you'll receive interest at our Flexible Saver rate.
Save between £25 and £250 per month by standing order for a fixed term of 12 months. If you do not save £250 in any given month you can carry over any unused subscription to following months.
Interest is calculated on the daily cleared balance on your Regular Saver and we will pay this to your Regular Saver on the anniversary of the date your account was opened. You can only hold one Regular Saver Account at any given time.
At the end of 12 months we'll transfer your account balance into your Instant Access Savings, Flexible Saver or Premier Savings. If you have more than one of these accounts we'll pay your savings into the account which pays the best interest. And if you don't have any of these accounts, we'll convert your Regular Saver to a Flexible Saver. Please note that the money will only be moved into accounts that have exactly the same sole or joint names as the Regular Saver account
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate. This shows you what the gross rate would be if interest were paid and compounded each year. Gross is the interest rate you’ll receive before applicable tax is deducted from your account.
If you save £250 every month for 12 months and qualify for the 3% interest rate, you'll earn approximately £48.95 interest (gross)
Let us give you a bit of help with freebies, tickets, competitions and vouchers to help you make your money go that bit further.
More details at www.studentexclusives.Bank.co.uk
For First State Charter UK customers only with Online Banking & iPhone, iOS 10 or above. T&C’s apply. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S and other countries.
Your First State Charter Contactless Visa Debit Card gives you instant access to your money whenever you need it. You can use your card to pay for goods and services wherever VISA is accepted. The First State Charter Visa Debit Card now comes with Contactless technology. Contactless allows you to make low value payments of up to £30 with a simple tap of your card, just look for the Contactless logo at a retailer.
More on the First State Charter Debit Card.
You can also use your card to withdraw local currency at cash machines worldwide and pay for goods and services worldwide wherever you see the VISA logo shown on your card2. Unless you agree that the currency conversion is done at the point of sale or withdrawal and agree the rate at that time, for example with the shopkeeper or on the self-service machine screen, the exchange rate that applies to any non-sterling debit card payments (including cash withdrawals) is the VISA Payment Scheme Exchange Rate applying on the day the conversion is made.
We can give you tips on making the most of your money. And if you're having trouble paying your bills, we can help you work out what to do. More on help with your finances.
Order commission-free foreign currency on amounts between £100 and £2,500.
2Using your Debit Card abroad: The exchange rate that applies to any foreign currency debit card payments (including cash withdrawals) is the Visa scheme exchange rate used by VISA on the day the conversion is made plus a Non-sterling transaction fee, which is currently 2.75% of the transaction amount (and for cash withdrawals a Cash Fee of 2% of the cash withdrawal (minimum: £1.75, maximum: £5)). We will make the conversion and deduct the payment from your account once we receive details of the payment from VISA, at the latest the next working day. Details of the current Visa scheme exchange rates are available at
Note: If you foresee any changes in your circumstances that may increase your outgoings (for example an increase in living costs such as a rent or mortgage payment increase) or any changes to your situation that may reduce or have a negative effect on your monthly disposable income please call in to one of our branches to apply.
Please ensure you can answer YES to the following questions:
- a full time qualifying course or a apprenticeship (level 2-7) with a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man university / college / apprentice learning provider
Or you are a first year conditional / unconditional student with a 16-digit UCAS Status Code
Or you are an apprentice (level 2+) with an apprentice contract or letter from your apprentice learning provider
Once you've submitted your application, we'll send you the paperwork to sign and return to us either by post or in branch.
If you are 18+, UK resident and have accepted a place on a qualifying course you can apply online.
If you are an apprentice, please book an appointment in branch and bring proof of your confirmed apprenticeship to your appointment.
Apply now Book an appointment in branchOur friendly customer care team are here to help
Call us on (32) 6900 773 64373.
Lines are open from 8am to 8pm every day (except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day).
International student? More information on First State Charter First State Charter Account
Book an appointment today using our online booking tool.
Log on to book an appointmentOr continue without logging on
You’ll need to bring identification, proof of your address and a recent First State Charter statement.
Apprentices and those currently living in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man can only apply for the Student First State Charter Account in branch.