As the high school graduation dust settles, young adults everywhere are forging their own paths into society. While each possibility requires some financial preparation, going away to college or technical school often comes with questions about how to access money during a temporary move.
Your child’s chosen university or trade school often has an agreement with a nearby bank with on-campus locations. That may sound easier, but often it is not.
The good news is our bank’s technology now allows your young adult to bank from anywhere with the financial institution they grew up with. We hope this makes accessing their money easier for them and easier on you.
Why it Makes Sense to Stick with Your Home Bank
Slightly more than one in three college students – 37% – transfers to another school at least once before completing a degree, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Even if your student stays put until they earn their degree, most students typically return home for summer and winter breaks and often find their first job in a city different than their alma mater.
With all the online tools available that make banking easier than ever when away from home, why put time and energy into moving your money for a temporary time period?
The financial transactions that require in-person banking do not usually apply to students – like a mortgage loan, for instance – or can be handled easily on a weekend visit home or during school breaks.
Tools to Use to Bank from Anywhere
There tend to be two main concerns when it comes to your young adult managing money from afar:
- Students accessing their own accounts
- Parents getting money to their student(s) quickly and easily
Keeping your student’s money in the same financial institution makes transfers from your parent account to your child’s account seamless.
In addition, the following tools make banking from anywhere a breeze. Consider them as categories for creating a complete toolbox of financial fixes.
- Accounts. While many parents set up a savings account for their children at a young age, it is common to overlook opening a checking account until after high school. A checking account enables your young adult to use a debit card and/or order physical checks – sometimes required by landlords. It might also be a good idea to set up subaccounts to help your child budget accordingly.
- Online Banking. Create an online account to give your student 24/7 access to all our online banking tools, including Bill Pay, Account Transfers, Direct Deposit for jobs, and more. They can also check their account balances and review eStatements any time from any place. Go to lakeridge.bank and click on LOGIN in the top right corner. In the drop down menu, click on “Enroll in Online Banking Today.” Learn more about online banking in this video.
- Mobile Banking. Make sure your student has downloaded our mobile banking app to their smartphone to enable mobile banking access. Using the app, they can deposit a check, view their real-time account balance, transfer money between accounts easily, set up alerts to help prevent fraud, and tap into tools like digital wallet and Zelle. Learn more in this video.
- Card Services. If your young adult does not have their own debit or credit card, now might be the time to consider making that happen. A debit card is tied to their checking account and makes it easy to buy groceries and make other purchases. With each purchase, money is withdrawn in real time from their account, making it simple to track expenses and stay within budget. In addition, a credit card is an important tool for building their own credit history while having a handy way to cover an emergency.
- Fraud Prevention. With greater financial freedom comes greater responsibility to protect their assets. Teach your student to use basic safety measures, such as checking their balance regularly for discrepancies, setting alerts for unusual activity, and recognizing red flags. For example, your bank will never call and ask for your account information. Your child should always hang up and call a known number (not the number a caller provides) to confirm the legitimacy of any request.
Setting Your Student Up for Success
While most people diligently prepare to pay for college by opening education savings accounts and filling out the FAFSA, managing money once they get to college often gets overlooked.
It’s not too late! We’re here to help.
Call or stop in to get guidance on opening the right accounts, learning how to use online and mobile banking tools, applying for a credit card, and setting up fraud alerts.
