As students head off to college, many parents focus on academic readiness—but financial preparedness is just as critical. For institutions that serve families with college-age children, this is a prime opportunity for you to offer guidance and tools that help parents equip their young adults with a strong financial foundation, thereby securing your role as their primary financial institution for life. Here are key tips and campaign ideas you can share with your account holders to help ensure their college students are set up for long-term financial security:
1. Open a Student-Friendly Bank Account
Communicate with parents about setting their students up with a checking and savings account in the student’s name. You can also look at your member email addresses and target any “.edu” addresses and send messages directly to students. In the messaging, promote accounts with no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and digital banking tools.
2. Educate both Parents and Students, Together
Host an event or a webinar for both parents and students, collect registrations and ask a few key questions using the Events tool in Digital Communication to dial in the experience. Educate the students on budgeting, while meeting separately with parents at the same event to discuss tips for setting up their student for financial success. You could even have someone available to open new accounts during the event.
3. Introduce Credit Responsibly
This is a smart time to educate students on credit. A secured credit card or a low-limit student credit card—managed responsibly—can help them build a credit history. Search your data for young adults, ages 18-26, then send them (or their parents) an email with an info request form to fill out and submit, using a Digital Communications web form. Your staff can call them back and provide info on your student card options.
4. Promote Digital Security Awareness
College students are frequent targets of phishing scams and online fraud. Send an email to students and parents to highlight the importance of strong passwords, recognizing suspicious emails, and avoiding public Wi-Fi when banking. Offering digital banking education and fraud alerts can be a major value differentiator for your institution.
5. Encourage Emergency Savings
Even a modest emergency fund can provide a sense of security. Encourage families to help their student build a small savings cushion—enough to cover a flight home, car repair, or medical bill. Automating deposits from checking to savings is a simple way to grow this fund over time. Promote any budgeting tools within your app—highlight these features as value-adds. You can send a link to your mobile banking app in the messaging for easy adoption.
Institutions that serve parents of college-age children are in a unique position to onboard the next generation of financially responsible adults. By offering resources, education, and secure digital tools, you can help families build financial confidence and set their students on a path toward long-term financial health, while securing your place as their future institution of choice.