It's the best of times (and sometimes the worst of times), but being a student isn't always easy on the finances. Check out our top tips on getting the most out of your money.
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Four things every student can do to boost their banking
1. Track your spend and set up a budget
It sounds simple, but knowing how much money you have coming in and out each month is the first step to managing your money better. Bankwest Easy Alerts can help you do this - they're push notifications to your phone that let you know how much you're spending, and alert you when your account balance falls under a certain amount.
It may also help to split your income into two or more accounts - one for non-negotiable expenses such as rent, and one for spending money. Our Easy Transaction Account lets you open more than one account, to help you do this. Plus, it has no monthly maintenance fees and lets you withdraw money from all major bank ATMs without charging you a fee.
2. Upgrade to a Debit Mastercard® when you hit 16
Our Easy Transaction Account comes with a debit card that lets you withdraw money and make EFTPOS transactions as and when you need. Once you turn 16 though, you can choose to get a Debit Mastercard linked to your account. It works in a similar way to your debit card, but also lets you make contactless payments using Tap & go™, shop securely online and over the phone, and more.
Once you have a Debit Mastercard, you can also utilise convenient payment options. At Bankwest, we offer our Debit Mastercard customers the option to use Apple Pay or Google Pay™ on their mobile.
If you're already 16 and would like to upgrade to a Debit Mastercard, head to the 'Self Service' section of Bankwest Online Banking, click on 'Forms' and select 'Debit Mastercard Request'.
3. Open a savings account
While you might not have loads of extra money to be stashing away at this time in your life, it's never too early to kick start good habits. One of our most popular savings accounts is the Hero Saver account, which offers a bonus rate when you deposit at least $200 a month and make no withdrawals. It's a great way to encourage you to save more.
If you don't think you'll make the $200 deposit each month, our Smart eSaver account lets you put as much or as little money away as you like and pays bonus interest each month you don't make a withdrawal.
It's easy to set up regular payments to your savings account through Online Banking or the Bankwest App – even small contributions made regularly can add up to big savings.
4. Enjoy banking at your fingertips
Do your banking anytime, anywhere with the Bankwest App. Featuring fingerprint login, the App is the most convenient way to access and manage your money. You can see all your bank statements in the one place, and there's an international section so that you can quickly and easily let us know when you're travelling overseas.
What’s the difference between a Debit card and a Debit Mastercard?
Debit card
- Used to make EFTPOS transactions when you're shopping using 'savings' or 'cheque' account options
- No ATM fees when you withdraw money at any major bank ATM in Australia.
Debit Mastercard
In addition to the debit card benefits, enjoy these great features:
- Use your money from your own everyday transaction account to shop online and overseas
- Shop faster with Tap & go™ technology
- Global ATM access to your cash when you select 'credit'
- Only for customers aged 16 and over. 1 Debit Mastercard access is available to Australian citizens and temporary or permanent residents over 16 with an Australian residential address (limited exceptions may apply subject to conditions).
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- Debit Mastercard access is available to Australian citizens and temporary or permanent residents over 16 with an Australian residential address (limited exceptions may apply subject to conditions).
Bankwest Easy Alerts are available for your mobile personal transaction and savings accounts. Limited alerts only are available for credit card transactions. Bankwest Easy Alerts will be sent to any compatible iOS and Android device on which you have the Bankwest App and enabled notifications. Whilst some alerts may be sent to your device once you have enabled notifications, in order to receive the full range of Easy Alerts available you will also need to activate the Bankwest Easy Alerts service within the Bankwest App. Terms of Use apply. Bankwest Easy Alerts is currently supported on iOS 11 and Android 5.0 devices and above. Bankwest Easy Alerts is not available on tablets and Windows devices.
Fingerprint recognition is available on Android devices running Android 6 Marshmallow or later and iPhone devices running iOS 9 or later (except for the iPhone X). Fingerprint Login is not available on tablets and Windows devices.
Terms of Use apply to the use of Apple Pay. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Pay, iPhone and the App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Terms of Use apply to the use of Google Pay. Android, Google Pay, Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks, and tap & go is a trademark, of Mastercard International Incorporated.
The information contained in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to be nor should it be considered as professional advice. You should not act on the basis of anything contained in this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. Also to the extent permitted by law, Bankwest, a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL / Australian credit licence 234945, its related bodies corporate, employees and contractors accept no liability or responsibility to any persons for any loss which may be incurred or suffered as a result of acting on or refraining from acting as a result of anything contained in this article.