Fincare Small Finance Bank vs SBI: Children’s Savings Accounts

Fincare Small Finance Bank vs State Bank of India: Children’s Savings Accounts

Fincare Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s account though it is likely to offer its Smart Saver or Priority Accounts to minors as a joint account with a parent or guardian. SBI offers two children’s savings accounts, Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan.

Children’s Savings Accounts from Fincare Small Finance Bank

Fincare Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s account but it is likely that it allows guardians to open a minor account under its Smart Saver or Priority Accounts.

Smart Saver Account

This is the standard savings account of the bank.

Features

  • Needs an average monthly balance of Rs. 1,000
  • Fincare Bank offers a RuPay Silver debit card to account holders
  • The card entitles the shareholder to a personal insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh
  • Smart Saver accountholders also get access to 5 free transactions at non-metro ATMs and 3 complimentary transactions in metros

Priority Account

The priority account is a step above the Smart Saver Account.

Features

  • The account needs an average monthly balance of Rs. 10,000 or at least Rs. 1 lakh in fixed deposit
  • There are no mentions in the website of whether the Priority account can be opened by a minor or on behalf of a minor but considering the standard procedure in other banks, it is likely that any minor account that has a minimum balance of Rs. 10,000 as balance would qualify as a Priority Savings Account

Children’s Savings Accounts from State Bank of India

Pehla Kadam

This account is meant for all children and may be opened jointly with a parent or guardian.

Features

  • There are no minimum balance requirements in this account
  • There is a limit of Rs. 5,000 on daily transactions. Transactions such as bill payments, prepaid mobile top-ups have a limit of Rs. 2,000 within the Rs. 5,000 limit
  • SBI offers an auto-sweep option with this account called SBI Multi Option Deposit Scheme (MODS). If the accountholders opt for this, then any amount above Rs. 20,000 in the account is put in a term deposit. The MOD is initially for a sum of Rs. 10,000 and in Rs. 1,000 multiples thereafter. As is common for banks, there is no clarity on the website if the auto-sweep facility kicks in if the account has a balance of Rs. 30,000
  • There is a cap of Rs. 10 lakh on the maximum balance in a Pehla Kadam account
  • The kid is eligible to get a specially branded chequebook and passbook, and also a personalised debit card with her own photo

Note: The links to specific accounts may not work. The above data was taken from internet searches. We have put the links here in the hope that they work some day. Even the WayBack Machine shows an error when we tried to pull a page from July 5, 2017.

Pehli Udaan

The account is meant for kids above 10 years of age. They are allowed to open and operate the account on their own.

Features

  • As mentioned, any child above the age of 10 years who can read and write, may open the account in her own name without the need for any parent or guardian
  • Except for the age criteria, the other features of the Pehli Udaan account are same as for the Pehla Kadam account

Reference Facts

  • Fincare Small Finance Bank Website: www.fincarebank.com
  • Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 3010 0111
  • State Bank of India Website: https://sbi.co.in and www.onlinesbi.com (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 425 3800, 1800 112 211, 1800 110 009 (pensioners only)