Finance is never an enjoyable conversation subject. There's just too much to get your head around: the various available rates, accounts and banks, as well as the confusing jargon. Other times, it is enough for us to imagine keeping our money under the mattress instead of just the possibility of queuing at the bank to be served by a teller! So just imagine how much harder it is if you have just arrived to study in a foreign country, without setting up a local bank account. In fact, before they leave to research, some prefer to organize their banking, which we suggest.

Starting a new course is difficult, because it needs your full attention to get off to a good start; because moving to another country to do this brings its own challenges, as enriching as the experience is. In order to learn how to use campus facilities and more information about your schedule, all institutions will have different orientation activities and events that you should attend. These are important, so make sure you attend them! Then there are all the social events taking place at the beginning of the term that are suitable for making your first friends. Visiting the bank is the last thing you'll want to do with all this going on, and it can slip by the wayside easily before you're in an emergency.

Although you're going to say goodbye to friends and family, before you go, you're going to have a whole summer free-you may as well use all this time productively. You will also be surrounded by people that you know, trust, and can freely speak to. Parents and guardians will have a lot of banking background anyway, and will already be aware of your financial condition. At home, to find the right one for you, you can search various accounts with them, with your parents likely to ask questions you might not think of.

If you need to access or pass funds quickly and without trouble, if everything is set up for when you arrive, it is much simpler. For your first lecture, you can need to rapidly access cash, such as purchasing an important book in time; or paying for furniture when you move into your accommodation. If you're not concerned about money, you'll arrive much more relaxed and ready to take on new challenges. Plus, if you keep using an existing bank account or card abroad, if your home bank doesn't know you're leaving the country, you risk it being cancelled or stopped. Even if you have told your bank in advance that you are going to be overseas, there are always times where they can ask for purchases you make overseas and they can place a hold on your card right when you need it.