The Best Way For Students To Avoid High Fees With Campus Banking Products Is To Barely Use Them

All around the country, new and returning college students are being handed IDs they can use as debit cards or they’re being told they can have their aid disbursals deposited straight onto a school-branded card. It all seems incredibly convenient, especially for those who have limited experience handling their own finances, but these school-backed banking products are rarely the best available options for students, who could end up being nickel-and-dimed into debt.

A newly released study [PDF] by our colleagues at Consumer Reports examined the terms and average costs of campus banking products offered by nine different financial firms and once again found that these products full of high, varying fees that can quickly deplete financial aid funds.

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