Student life
This page includes tips and advice for students on everyday financial matters such as saving, investment and housing, and day-to-day spending. If your banking and insurance are in good shape, you’ll be free to focus on student life.
Financing your studies
With OP-mobile, you can easily manage all your daily banking using your smartphone. Pay your invoices and check your account balance whenever you want. Read more
With OP-mobile’s Siirto payment, you can split expenses easily. All you need is the payee’s phone number. Read more
With your own life choices, you can have a major influence on how much you need to pay for electricity, phone and food. The Consumers' Association of Finland, for example, has assembled tips for saving money. Read tips (in Finnish)
When you want to start saving and are looking for a place for your savings, you can open a cost-free Money Box on OP-mobile or the op.fi service. Money Box is an easy and fun way to save. Read more
A current account is an account to which you can link a payment card and from which you easily pay bills, purchases and loan repayments. Read more
Our credit card for students is a payment card that combines a debit and credit feature. As a higher education student, you can get an OP Classic card or OP Gold card with a 2 000 euro credit limit as soon as you have a study place. Read more
OP Debit is a debit card, with which you can also pay abroad and online. Read more
If you are OP’s customer and aged 18–25 or an OP cooperative bank owner-customer and aged 18–29, you get one card (OP Classic or OP Debit) and daily banking services, meaning current account and OP's digital services, free of charge. You can also get OP Gold card with even better benefits for just 4 €/month.
Managing your finances is not expensive! If you are under 26 you can have all the needed banking services from us free of charge:
- Current Account and online bank statement
- One payment card (OP Basic, OP Debit or OP Classic credit card for higher education students)
- OP eServices
- Home and travel insurance -21%
Want more benefits? If you are an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, your savings, loans and insurance transactions generate OP bonuses which can pay some insurance premiums or banking service fees for you! An owner-customer gets discounts on banking services and insurance policies, too.
Read more about being an owner-customer
Student loan
In case study grant and housing supplement prove insufficient and you want to focus on studying, a student loan comes in useful. With OP, applying for a student loan and drawing it down can be done conveniently online. A student loan requires a guarantee, but it is granted to all students by the government ‒ you do not need any other collateral.
For planning your student loan, the student loan calculator is helpful.
The loan must be paid back in every case. Repayment begins about two years from the last time you received student financial aid. You will pay interest on the loan before then. After student financial aid has ended, interest must be paid every six months, on 15 June and 15 December.
A student loan is primarily intended to support your daily spending but you can use it as you like: rent, school supplies, clothing or, say, travelling.
The student loan may also come in useful if the student wants to buy something necessary, such as a computer.
Student accommodation
Many rental companies require that their tenants take out home insurance. Whether you live in a rented or owned dwelling, home insurance is necessary because it provides protection for your home and belongings in the case of e.g. burglary or damage.
If you are aged between 18 and 27, your home insurance will be cheaper at OP, since we will give you a 21% discount on almost all home and family policies.
If you are dreaming about your first own home, we recommend you saving under the ASP scheme. It is an easy and rewarding way to save for your first home. It is beneficial to start saving well in advance, even if you don’t plan to buy a home for several years.
Why is the ASP savings scheme suitable to students?
- You can start saving under the scheme already at the age of 15.
- You do not need regular income to open an ASP account. You can start by saving as little as 50 euros a month.
- The savings plan is flexible according to your life situation.
Saving with an ASP account is beneficial because it offers a better interest rate on your savings. When you have saved 10% of your home’s purchase price, the bank can grant you the remainder as an ASP loan.
The Rent Deposit Account is an ideal solution for depositing your security deposit. The tenant deposits an amount corresponding to a maximum of three-month rent, as agreed with the landlord, to a current account and pledges the account.
Saving and investing
The earlier you start, the more returns your investments can yield. You can start with a sum suitable for a student budget, such as 10 euros a month. If you have the opportunity to save and are looking to make a profit, why not start monthly investing in a fund?
History shows that investing in stocks is an excellent way of making your money grow. It’s a good option for you if you are seeking a high return and can handle market fluctuations. Thanks to affordable brokerage fees, you can start with 100 euros, for example.
OP Investment Partner is your digital investment advisor on OP-mobile that helps you achieve your investment targets. With the service, you can start investing regularly in a fund easily and can change the amount you invest at any time depending on your situation.
OP Unit-linked Insurance offers an opportunity for the lifelong accumulation of wealth and financial security. OP Unit-linked Insurance is suitable for both active investors and monthly saving. You can get started with just 50 euros a month.
Apply for a student’s credit card as soon as you have been admitted to your place of study.
In case study grant and housing supplement are insufficient, student loan comes in useful.
ASP account is an easy and rewarding way to save for your first home. Open an account online.
If you are aged between 18 and 27, you are entitled to a 21% discount on almost all home and family policies.
Pay easily by using only a phone number.