Research shows that students favour budgeting over big incentives

Over half of students feel that the current resources being provided by banks to help students manage their finances are simply inadequate, according to research carried out by accounting software firm, Accountz.

The survey taken from a sample of 200 British university students identified that when it comes to finances there is a misconception that students are somewhat laissez-faire when it comes to managing their money. In fact over 66 per cent admit to regularly monitoring their bank account activity, as well as budgeting for expenses.

The survey also shows that over 70 per cent of students felt that the incentives on offer from banks to encourage them to join were useless to them when it came to managing their money and they would like more support from their bank when it comes to budgeting.

Students would like to see more tools offered that would allow them to manage their finances in a clear and easy-to-use way. Over 84 per cent of surveyed students felt that this would dramatically improve their ability to budget and help them gain control of their finances. Over half of students felt that this would be a key incentive encouraging them to join a bank.

Key findings of the survey were:

• 52 per cent of students are now managing their weekly budgets through online banking
• Over half of students have more than one bank account to help them manage their money
• Travel incentives were the most common enticement offered by banks to students with over 40 per cent saying they had been offered discounted travel cards as well as reduced travel insurance
• Despite the option of extended overdrafts and student loans 60 per cent of students still had concerns when it came to managing their money

Quentin Pain, chairman and founder of Accountz, stated: “Banks need to get in touch with the needs of the modern student, having free iPods and driving lessons as incentives are all well and good but they aren’t going to help them manage their money. With the impact of the financial crisis and more recently the protests over increased student fees still being felt, more should be done to help students manage their money and avoid the pitfalls of debt.”

* This survey was carried out on 1-4 February, across a sample of 200 students from London based universities