How to Open a Student Account in Nigeria

Having a student bank account is one of the exigency many students put into consideration in their college days. The importance of students accounts have made a lot of these students inquire about how to open this type of bank account. Due to the benefits of this account, the undergraduates are the most seeker of it. One intriguing advantage of student account is that it gives students below age 18 the eligibility to have a bank account. Nonetheless, this article will express more about student account and the guide to opening it in Nigeria.

What is a Student Account?

Though the meaning of the account can be deduce from the name, it's important to first know what this type of account really is before starting anything. 

A student account is a type of bank account designed exclusively for university, polytechnic and college students. This kind of account is based on the standard accounts offered by banks, but the variation is that, student account is specifically designed for students. By this, students are open to benefits including freebies and interest-free overdrafts regarding their study. When opening a student account, to prove your studentship, you will need to prove your student status, something we'll come to later in the article.

Eligibility and Requirements

Since a student account is only for students, a category of people outside this is initially not eligible for this type of bank account. Apart from this, other variables like age limits and documents, are also the bases for qualifying for a student account. 

Moreso, there are essential requirements for a person to be eligible for a student account in Nigeria. Below is the list of these significant prerequisites;

• Age Limits: Anyone applying for a student account must be up to 16 years, and not more than 25 years (though this varies across banks). The age limits for having a student account in Nigeria falls between 16 – 25 years.
• Passport Photographs: Copies of your recent passport photograph will also be required in processing your student account.
• A Valid Means of Identification: This a very critical thing that will be required to open a student bank account. This includes documents like: ID card (such as national ID card, school ID card, Voter's card, etc.)
• Citizenship: Nationality is also one of the factors that is considered before granting a student account. Before making a plan for a student account, you should have a viable means of national identification. For international students, it may be applicable if the meet the requirements by the bank.

That's it! Afterwards meeting all these prerequisites, you will be left with the registration process. Go to your intending bank with the aforementioned documents, and register a student account.

Guides on How to Open a Student Bank Account in Nigeria

Opening a student account is just like doing the normal bank account opening. There are many ways in which the process can be carried out. A student account can be opened: by going directly to the bank; filling and processing the online application forms; opening through the bank's agent; or by using the designated USSD code. All of these ways still lead to the same account opening, but is preferable you go to the bank directly, so as to avoid complications and errors. 

How to open a student account is quite varying among banks in the country. With this slight variation, there is much similarity on how to open these accounts. To keep you abreast of how to get it done, we will specifically highlight the steps involved in account creation in different banks in Nigeria. Without much ado, below is the rundown of how to open a student account in Nigerian banks;

UBA Student Account

The United Bank of Africa student account is known as the UBA NextGen account. The account is open and restricted to students between the age of 16 to 25. Features of UBA student account include: Having a 50% discount on the first card issued to you.

How to Open UBA Student Account

1. Firstly, you will have to go to any UBA branch close to you.
2. Request for student account opening and you will be given a form to open the NextGen account.
3. Fill in the correct details in the form and submit it when completed.

Zenith Bank Student Account

Alternatively known as the “Zenith Bank Aspire Account”, the Zenith Bank student account is aimed to help undergraduates save more money for their schooling. The account also allows students get access to cashless banking via ATM, mobile banking or POS.

How to Open Zenith Bank Student Account

1. Take a visit to any Zenith Bank branch nearest to you.
2. Pick a Zenith Aspire account opening form.
3. In the other way, you can open a Zenith bank student savings account by dialing the USSD code *966# on your mobile device.

GTBank Student Account

Nigeria's emerging bank, GTBank also offers student account opening for its customers. This type of the bank's account is called the GTCrea8 account.

The GTCrea8 account is specially designed for students between the age of 16-25 years, and it encompass both secondary and tertiary institution students who are qualified.

How To Open A GTBank Student Account

1. Go to any of the bank's branch close to you.
2. Make a request to open a student account.
3. An application form will be given to fill. 
4. Fill in your information correctly.
5. Submit and wait for account processing.

Benefits of Opening a Student Account

In case you are oblivious of the intriguing advantages of having a student account, below are some of it that might give you interest;

• Many banks offer incentives like discount schemes, rail cards or cash in return for opening a student bank account with them.
• Interest on savings.
• You will be able to make transactions anywhere in the world with our debit cards on ATM, POS and Online.
• Having this account makes you to be entitled to have a MasterCard.
• Access to the mobile app and internet banking.
• Bank whenever you want, pay bills and send money quickly, easily and securely, 24 hours a day on any of the bank's channels.

This and many other benefits is what attributes a student account.

Conclusion

That's the size of this write-up, as I have been more explicit on how to open a student account in Nigeria. This piece was a guide to help you open the account with any of the banks in the country. We believe this way helpful.