Once your university studies come to an end and you’ve got that hard earned degree certificate safely tucked away – what happens next regarding your student overdraft?
You’ll be relieved to hear that the banks aren’t going to come knocking on your door and demanding immediate repayment.
All the banks offer a graduate account giving you the chance to repay your existing student overdraft interest free over the course of 2-3 years.
Some banks are more generous than others as you’ll see from the table below, however, one word of warning – try to stay within you agreed free overdraft limit if at all possible, otherwise you’ll get stung with overdraft interest rates of between 35% and 40% – ouch!
| Account Provider | Max Student A/C limit | Graduate Interest free overdraft details | Cost of overdraft outside Int Free Limit |
| Barclays | £1,500 | Up to £1500 for 3 years | 35% |
| Halifax | £1,500 | Up to £1500 for 3 years | 39.9% |
| HSBC | £3,000 | Up to £3,000 year 1 Up to £2,000 year 2 In year 3 you will be moved to an HSBC Advance account with a maximum £1,000 interest free overdraft | 39.9% |
| Lloyds Bank | £2,000 | Up to £2,000 year 1 Up to £1,500 year 2 Up to £1,000 year 3 | 39.9% |
| Nationwide Building Society | £3,000 | Up to £3,000 year 1 Up to £2,500 year 2 Up to £1,750 year 3 At end of year 3 reduced to £1000 and account transferred to flex direct or flex account | 39.9% |
| NatWest | £3,250 | Up to £3,250 year 1 Up to £2,250 year 2 Up to £1,250 year 3 In the fourth year after you graduate you will automatically move onto a Select account and your arranged overdraft will no longer be interest free. | 39.49% |
| Santander 123 Graduate | £2,000 | Up to £2,000 free Year 1 Up to £1,000 free Year 2 | 39.94% |
| TSB | £1,500 | Up to £2000 for 3 years | 39.9% |
