The account is available to first-year university students and apprentices on accredited schemes beginning their course in the 2019/2020 academic year.

Alongside £100 in cash, the HSBC Student Account also offers 12 months membership of British Cycling worth £24, access to a Regular Saver account paying 3 per cent, and access to a HSBC Student Credit Card with up to £500 credit and no annual fee (subject to status).

Accountholders will have a guaranteed interest-free overdraft of £1,000 on account opening. They can then request a £2,000 overdraft in the second year of study, and £3,000 in their third year.

HSBC said feedback from current students and those planning to go to university showed that a cash incentive was the most desirable offer when opening an account.

Fiona McCaffrey, HSBC UK’s head of customer propositions, said: “We are making significant improvements to our Student Account to give customers the offers they find most useful and to make applying easier, especially for those who have a conditional offer of a place on a university course or an apprenticeship.

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“We have listened to what students really want when opening a current account. We are giving them the flexibility to decide for themselves what is important to spend it on, whether that is a subscription to a streaming service, purchasing books for the terms ahead, or putting it into the linked high paying Regular Saver account and starting a good savings habit.”

The HSBC Student Account offer is available now, enabling applications from students with a guaranteed offer from a university or apprenticeship scheme, whereas previously applications were only accepted after A-level results were known.

Compare accounts

Although £100 cash might sound tempting, it’s a good idea for new students to wait and see what other banks offer before making a decision on their student bank account. Traditionally banks fight a fierce competition to gain students as customers as they hope they will stay with the bank for life.

Typically banks compete on the amount of interest-free overdraft they offer – this typically goes up each year of study. An interest-free overdraft will be the most important thing for many students but banks also tempt freshers with freebies such as a 16-25 Railcard, National Express Coachcard, Amazon vouchers, or a NUS Extras card.