Student

£100 plus a 4-year tastecard. Offer T&CS apply.
Get an interest-free overdraft while you're studying.
No monthly account fee.

Student bank account offers

Get £100 cash.
Get an annual tastecard, worth £79.99 per year*. Get 25% off the total bill, 2 for 1 meals or 50% off food as well as the newest addition of 25% off barista-made drinks, available at thousands of restaurants and coffee shops across the UK, with exclusive offers for students with discounts on movie streaming, attractions, membership perks with a tastecard membership, valid for 4 years.
Receive your cash offer within 10 working days of opening your account. We'll send your tastecard redemption code to your email address. Offer T&Cs apply.

NatWest have the right to withdraw this offer at anytime. If you have received a student offer from NatWest at any time from 1st July 2022 you will not be eligible. *Annual tastecard value excluding any offers. Correct as at May 2026.

Eligibility: Apply online only. You must be 17+ and have been living in the UK for at least 3 years. If you’ve lived in the UK for less than 3 years you’re recognised by us as an international student and are not eligible for our Student account. You must use your Student account as your main account by depositing student finance, wages or other regular income into it. Courses without a UCAS code are not eligible for our student account. See our current accounts hub for other options.

Study details: You need to be a full time undergraduate student (on at least a 2 year course at a UK University/College) or nursing course lasting a year or more. You can apply within 6 months of your course start date.

Student status: To confirm you're a student and eligible for this account, you must provide your unique 16 digit UCAS code. Courses without a UCAS code are not eligible for our student account.

Interest free overdraft: You can apply for an overdraft of up to £500 when you first open your student account. You may be able to apply to increase your overdraft over time - up to: £2,000 from your second term in the first year of your course, and £3,250 from Year 3 onwards.

Overdraft details: You need to be 18+ to apply for an overdraft. Overdrafts are subject to status and lending criteria.

You can apply for an overdraft on your account at anytime once your course has started with an instant online decision. If approved, your overdraft limit could be lower than the maximum limits shown.

Lifestyle benefits

tastecard membership

If you love eating out or relaxing with a hot drink, you’ll love this offer: get 25% off the total bill, 2 for 1 meals or 50% off food as well as the newest addition 25% off barista-made drinks, available at thousands of restaurants and coffee shops across the UK.

What you should know:

Always check the details on the individual listing in the tastecard app before visiting, as some venues may have limitations, including maximum number of diners.
Where restaurants offer 2 for 1, this does not include side dishes or extras.
Remember to take your digital membership with you.
Bookings must be made by the account holder, and some restaurants may ask that you book in advance when using your tastecard.

Other features

Arranged overdrafts

An overdraft is a form of short term borrowing and is repayable on demand. If you don't repay what is owed, you could harm your credit score and borrowing capability. Understand the cost and impact of overdrafts and use our eligibility checker to find out if you’re likely to be approved below.

How do overdrafts work?

There are two different types of overdraft:

An arranged overdraft, which allows you to go overdrawn up to an agreed limit. This is the type of overdraft you could apply for here. During your application for an arranged overdraft, we'll run a full credit check to determine how much we can offer you.
An unarranged overdraft. This is when you spend more money than you have in your current account without already having an arranged overdraft, or when you exceed your current arranged overdraft limit.

We charge interest on both types of overdraft. Going in to an unarranged overdraft limit can lead to payments being rejected.

How much will an overdraft cost?

This account offers an overdraft facility (subject to eligibility). You can check if you're likely to be accepted for an overdraft using our eligibility tool.

Looking to understand the costs of an overdraft of more or less than £500 over different periods of time? Use our handy cost calculator.

More about Overdrafts

Information Message

Your overdraft limit could be lower than the maximum limit.

Switching to NatWest

The Current Account Switch Service will do all the work when it comes to switching, moving everything across from your old account all within 7 working days, including Direct Debits and standing orders.

How does the Switch work?

All you need to do is tell us the details of your old bank account and when you want your switch to start.
We can't switch savings accounts or ISAs through this service. Any other products you have with your old bank won't be moved at the same time.

Current Account Switch Guarantee (PDF, 36 KB)

A Guide to Switching Current Accounts (PDF, 3 MB)

Third Party Permissions

If you have given permissions to Third Party Providers to make payments on your behalf, or to access your financial data, access to these services won’t be transferred automatically to your new account as part of the Current Account Switch Service.

Before you close your old account, check whether you have any Third Party Provider permissions set up and if so, who with.

Once your new account is open you can give your permission to the Third Party Provider to access your new account by providing them with your new account details. You will need to contact the Third Party Provider directly yourself to set this up.

If you are unsure as to whether we will support the Third Party Provider permissions on your account, you can contact us for further information and support.

Please check our account terms and conditions for more information about Third Party Providers.

Important information

Please take some time to review, print and/or save the important information.

Your Current Account Terms (PDF, 267 KB)

Financial Services Compensation Scheme Information Sheet (PDF, 70 KB )

Fee Information Document (PDF, 365 KB)

What You Need To Know (PDF, 370 KB)

Student offer T&Cs (PDF, 47 KB)

It's important for you to understand how we use and share your information. Please read this short summary before you continue with your application.

Information Message

By continuing you're confirming you've been provided with, and have acknowledged our important documents, including the FSCS information sheet.

All okay? You’re nearly ready to start.

To speed up your application for our Student account, we need to do a few final checks with you. They'll only take a minute.

Continue

Do you have a current account with us?

Please choose an option below to continue

Yes

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Previous question

Changing to a Student account

Head back to your mobile app home screen.
Select the account you wish to change.
Once selected, go to ‘Change my account type’ to find options for changing.

You will need the most up to date version of the app, to make changes to your account.

Have you lived in the UK for:

Please choose an option below to continue

3 years or more

Less than 3 years

Continue

Previous question

You're all set

Your application will be completely online, as part of our checks we'll ask our partner Mitek to confirm your identity using:

A Liveness check, a short video to compare your photo ID.
Photo ID, which must be a Passport, UK or EU/EEA Driving Licence or an EU/EEA National ID card.
Proof of your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement or driving licence.
Proof of your UK student status, which must be your 16 digit UCAS code.

Sorry, you can't apply for this account

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