What you can get
- A free 4-year Santander 16-25 Railcard to save 1/3 on rail travel in Great Britain
- An interest-free arranged overdraft of £1,500 in years 1-3, £1,800 in year 4 and £2,000 if you stay on to year 5 - Learn more in our 'Overdrafts and charges' section below
- Earn up to 15% cashback with Retailer Offers. Just switch on, choose your offers and shop with any of your Santander cards
- 1|2|3 World offers
Eligibility
- You’re 18 or over and live in the UK permanently
- You’re studying or are about to begin an undergraduate course that is at least 2 years in length, or level 4 to 7 apprenticeship. If you’re about to begin your course, you must have an ‘unconditional’ or ‘confirmed conditional’ offer (i.e. you have your exam results) before you apply
- You pay in at least £500 per academic term
- You don’t already have an existing Santander current account.
- If you do hold a Santander current account, you’ll need to transfer it.
There’s no monthly fee to maintain the account.
The Fee Information Document (116 KB) details the main fees and charges on this account. For further explanation of our main terms and services take a look at our Glossary
An overdraft lets you borrow through your current account. It’s intended mainly for short term costs or emergencies and isn’t generally suitable for longer-term borrowing. There is a cost associated with using an overdraft. The way you manage your overdraft, for example if you don’t repay your interest and charges regularly, may affect your credit file. This could make it harder or more expensive to get credit with us or other providers in the future.
Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions. We may ask you to repay all or part of your overdraft at any time but we'll try to notify you of this in advance.
An arranged overdraft is when we let you borrow up to a pre-agreed limit – you can ask for one when you open your account or at any other time.
An unarranged overdraft occurs when your account goes overdrawn without an arranged overdraft in place or if your account goes over your arranged overdraft limit.
When you try to make a payment that would take you into an unarranged overdraft, we make the decision whether to allow or reject the payment based on your individual circumstances. If we allow a payment, it will take you into an unarranged overdraft. We don’t charge fees for allowing or refusing a payment due to lack of funds.
How much will it cost?
When you open your account you’ll get an arranged overdraft limit of £250. To increase this to £1,500 you’ll need to:
- register for Online Banking
- pay in £500 and continue to pay in at least £500 per academic term
- we’ll automatically increase your overdraft limit as shown below at the start of each year of study. You can ask to reduce the limit at any time.
The table below shows you how you’ll be charged for using your overdraft.
How does our overdraft compare? The purpose of a representative APR is to enable customers to compare the costs associated with different credit products.
| Arranged overdraft interest and charges | Representative 0% APR/ EAR (variable) |
|---|---|
| Unarranged overdraft interest and charges | Representative 0% APR/ EAR (variable) |
Overdrafts depend on your circumstances and you must repay any overdraft when we ask in line with our General Terms and Conditions.
You’ll be automatically set up to receive text alerts when:
- your account makes or may make use of an unarranged overdraft
- you have regular payments due on your account and you don’t have the funds to cover them
- where a payment is refused as you don’t have enough funds.
You’ll also be automatically set up to receive an alert when your account goes further into arranged overdraft which may cause the cost to increase.
We’ll send the alerts before your account is charged so that you have plenty of time to pay in money and either avoid or reduce overdraft charges. If we don’t have a valid mobile number for you, we might not be able to reach you.
You can also register for other account alerts to help you to stay on top of your finances. For example, alerts to advise you when your balance has fallen below a set limit, or you have had a deposit into your account greater than a set amount.
For more information visit Account alerts
You can manage your alerts settings at any time by using Online Banking. If you require further support please contact us or visit your local branch
If you need support with managing your money or if you’re in debt, please visit our money worries page for further support.
You’ll get a free Santander 16-25 Railcard which could save you 1/3 on rail travel in Great Britain letting you travel all over England, Scotland and Wales for less. The Santander 16-25 Railcard also gives you access to exclusive deals on holidays, eating out, top attractions and more.
- Once you’ve opened your 1l2l3 Student Current Account and registered for Online Banking, a unique code will be sent by secure message to your Online Banking within 5 working days of account opening.
- Use the unique code at our railcard website to order your free 16-25 Railcard.
- You'll receive your 16-25 Railcard within 5 working days of completing your order.
- Your unique code is valid for 60 days from the date of issue and cannot be re-issued once expired.
For more information on the Santander 16-25 Railcard please see the Frequently Asked Questions in our help and support section or visit the Rail Delivery Group FAQs page.
- 1|2|3 Student Current Account Key Facts Document (pdf) (1.59 MB)
- 1|2|3 Student Current Account Fee Information Document (pdf) (116 KB)
- General Terms & Conditions (2.41 MB)
- Santander 16-25 Railcard Terms and Conditions
- 1|2|3 Graduate Current Account Key Facts Document (1.57 MB)
To view these documents you may need to download Adobe Reader
- You’re 18 or over
- You live in the UK for tax purposes
- You’re about to begin or have started an undergraduate course, or degree-level apprenticeship (level 4-7) that is at least 2 years in length.
If you're about to begin your university studies, you must have a ‘confirmed conditional’ offer (this is given once you have received your results) or an ‘unconditional’ offer of a university place. If you have a conditional offer only, please wait until your place has been confirmed following your results before applying.
If you're about to begin an apprenticeship, your place on the apprenticeship must have been confirmed. If your offer is subject to you achieving certain results, please wait until your place has been confirmed following your results before applying.
You can use your UCAS 4-digit status code as proof of study in your application. You can find your code by logging onto UCAS.
If you didn’t apply for university through UCAS, or are studying an apprenticeship you can provide:
- a student ID card
- a letter from your higher education provider, or
- an apprenticeship confirmation from your university or employer.
Retailer Offers makes it easier to earn a little extra from a variety of Retailers. Once you switch on Retailer Offers in Online or Mobile Banking, you’ll be able to choose the offers you’re interested in and earn up to 15% cashback just by using your Santander cards.
You can access the 1|2|3 Student Current Account anytime, anywhere.
- Online Banking
- Mobile Banking
- Get personalised spend insights with My Money Manager
- Register to receive mobile-to-mobile payments with Paym
- Contactless payments with your mobile by linking your Santander debit or credit card to your Apple, Android or Samsung device.
Face-to-face support in branch and UK-based telephone support:
- In branch
- Telephone Banking
- ATM
- Post Office to make withdrawals, balance enquiries, cash deposits and cheque deposits
This is a paper-free account which means:
- Your documents, statements and some of your letters will be sent as e-Documents to your secure inbox on Online Banking (unless you require documents in an alternative format, such as Braille).
- You'll need to provide us with an email address when you open the account as we’ll send you an email to let you know when a document is ready to view.
- Once the account has been open for at least 24 hours, you can update your account settings at any time to start receiving statements and other correspondence by post.
Keep your banking details private and secure.
For more information about our approach to security as well as more useful information to help you stop the threat of fraud visit our Security Centre
As your course period may not match a standard university academic year, you may find that your overdraft limit changes earlier than expected (in line with the account’s overdraft structure) and, that your account may move to the 1|2|3 Graduate Account before you finish your course.
Your account will automatically transfer to our 1|2|3 Graduate Current Account (1.57 MB) at the end of your course.
If you have a 1|2|3 Mini Current Account and are in, or going into your first year of study on an undergraduate course, you can change your account online. You must be able to provide your UCAS 4-digit status code.
If you have a different current account, or don’t have a UCAS code because you’re doing a level 4-7 apprenticeship, or you’d like any more help, you can change your account in one of our branches. You may need to book an appointment
Santander Universities’ mission is to support students into university, work and self-employment. We’ve spent over 10 successful years removing barriers to higher education and in turn providing life-changing opportunities to students from across the country.
This year, Santander Universities is offering 200 students from any UK university – including undergraduates and postgraduates – the chance to receive a Santander grant worth £500. Successful applicants will be able to use the grant as cash towards living expenses or purchase a variety of resources directly from the Santander Aspire webstore, including laptops, printers, internet data, magazine subscriptions, and much more.
To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is register on the Santander Scholarship Platform and enrol into the prize draw
Eligibility criteria
- Applicants must meet one of the two following criteria:
- Applicants must be studying an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at any UK university at the time of applying (this does not include students who have graduated at the end of the 2021/2022 academic year and who aren’t commencing postgraduate studies in the 2022/2023 academic year)
- Applicants must be about to begin an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at any UK university at the time of applying (starting in September/October of the 2022/2023 academic year)
- Applicants must be UK resident.
- Applicants must confirm they meet the above criteria upon submitting their application.
- Applicants must be able to provide a valid university student ID number. This will be validated by the respective university, should they attend one of the Grantor’s partner universities.
- Applicants must provide the name of the UK university they attend.
- Applicants must apply for the grant via the Santander Scholarship platform any time from 09:00am (UK time) on 10/08/2022 until 11:00pm (UK time) on 31/10/2022. The Grantor reserves the right to close the Grant early in exceptional circumstances.
This account also comes with
Switch quickly and easily
We offer a simple, reliable and stress-free way to switch your current account to a new or existing account with us
Information correct as at 2 August 2022.