Here's the email they sent out:
Good afternoon,
We need your help to figure out what’s the deal with financial products marketed to students, like debit cards and checking accounts.
Email us at CFPB_StudentsFedReg@cfpb.gov by March 18 to tell us about any aspect of your experience.
That may include:
- Signing up for the card or account
- Fees you’re charged to use the card or account
- Which cards or accounts you chose, whether your school recommended them or you
shopped around
College is a time when many of us signed up for our first bank account. Often schools set up agreements with financial companies to offer cards and accounts to their students. Today, many students can add banking services on to their student ID card to pay for everything from a load of laundry to shopping online.
While credit card issuers publicly disclose these types of agreements with schools, we know less about these arrangements when it comes to other student products, like student checking accounts and debit cards to access student loan funds. We want to see if students are getting a good deal and what schools can do to help them through the process.
That’s why we need your help. We want to hear about your experience with financial products designed for college students.
We’ll use your comments to work with school officials on ways they can make sure that schools and students are getting off on the right foot when it comes to managing their money during college. We’ll also publish a summary for everyone who contributes and let you know how you can continue to help make sure the market is working for everyone.
Thank you,
Rohit Chopra
Student Loan Ombudsman
P.S. — Learn more about our work for students.