Simplest and cheapest way to get a student credit card.

To buy goods online or sign up with services like paypal, you need a proper Visa or Master card. Have a look at your bank card now, if it has a “Visa Electron” or “Maestro” logo then you basicly have the little kid or debit card version of these cards, which is pretty much useless for international purchases. Paypal does not accept Visa Electron cards from South Africa.

So what are your options?

Apply for a Credit Card (Not worth it)
You could apply for a credit card, but that usually requires some minimum monthly income of between R2000 and R4000 per month. And the CC companies require proof of this, so be prepared to send them at least 3 months worth of bank statements or payslips. Also, credit cards usually have some annual fee and all kinds of arbitrary costs involved. The only credit card I am aware of without annual fees is Virgin’s credit cards.

OR

Apply for a Standard Bank Student Achiever Account (Magical Goodies Creator)
Link to Standard Bank’s Student Achiever Account page .
This really is the best banking option for any South African student at the moment. Not only is internet and cellphone banking 100% FREE, but you have NO monthly bank charges. Just about any transaction is done without any additional costs. And the best part is, you get a Maestro debit card and a proper Master Card that you can use to buy stuff online. \o/

There is one little snag though: to change the monthly transaction limit on your account, you have to physically go to a branch and have them change it. It cannot be set online like with FNB’s Student Lifestart account. But this is not really a problem, just tell them that you will be depositing at least X amount into your account every month, and they will set the limit to that.

So far, I have made 3 online purchases with my new Standard Bank magical goodies creator, and it worked perfectly. No bank charges, free internet banking, your very own Master Card… What more can I say?