Canara Bank vs ICICI Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Canara Bank vs ICICI Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Canara Bank has a Canara Junior Saving Account for children and the Canara NSIGSE Savings Bank Deposit Account for the girl child. The bank also has a children’s deposit scheme called the Canara Champ Deposit Scheme. ICICI Bank also has two dedicated children’s accounts called the Young Stars Account and Smart Star Savings Account.

Children’s Savings Accounts from Canara Bank

Canara Junior Saving Account

The account is targeted at children above 10 years of age who can operate the account under their own name. Details are not available on the account’s page in the Canara Bank site whether children below 10 years can open the account or not as of September 2019.

Features

  • Kids above 10 years can open the account under their own name and operate the account independently
  • They get a debit card in their name with a monthly withdrawal limit of Rs. 5,000
  • The bank mandates a monthly withdrawal limit of Rs. 10,000. Read with the debit card limit, this means that the child can withdraw another Rs. 5,000 by online transfer or cheques (not clear if bank provides these two facilities for this account) or by visiting the branch and putting in a withdrawal slip
  • The account has two other restrictions. The first being that the balance at any point of time cannot be more than Rs. 50,000 and the second being the total credit cannot exceed Rs. 1,00,000 (1 lakh) in a year
  • A declaration is required from the parent or guardian at the time of opening the Canara Junior Saving Account and for SMS alert facility

Canara NSIGSE Savings Bank Deposit Account

The account has been designed under the directives of the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, to reduce school dropout rates among girl children.

Features

  • The account is available for the girl child who has passed class 8 and (a) belongs to an SC/ST group, or (b) has passed from a Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and has enrolled herself for class 9 in state government, government-aided or local body school. Girls studying in private or Central Government schools are not eligible for the account
  • The parent or guardian has to provide a declaration that the child has sufficient knowledge to operate the account
  • No chequebooks are issued with the account until the kid reaches the age of 18 years. Until then, withdrawals are mainly through withdrawal slips
  • There is no minimum balance requirement in the Canara NSIGSE Savings Bank Deposit Account, which can even have zero balance

Savings Bank Account

The generic savings bank account that can be opened for minors jointly with the parent or under their guardianship.

Features

  • The accounts need an average monthly balance of Rs. 500 for rural areas and Rs. 1,000 for urban and metro areas
  • The savings account pays interest in quarterly instalments in a year February, May, August and November

Canara Champ Deposit Scheme

A deposit scheme that is especially targeted at children up to the age of 12 years.

Features

  • The deposit scheme will be opened in the child’s name. There is no facility for opening the account jointly with the parent or guardian
  • The deposit can be opened for kids below the age of 12 years. After they attain maturity, it is converted into the standard savings account
  • The bank offers an eye-catching savings box to help the child inculcate saving habits
  • The kid also receives a personal photo folder with 16 pouches to record her life stages through photographs
  • In case there is no withdrawal from the account, the account holder is eligible to receive a Loan Eligibility Card for an educational loan from the bank
  • The interest rate in the Canara Champ Deposit Scheme is same as applicable for savings bank accounts. As of July 2018, this is 4% per annum
  • The minimum deposit amounts are same as that for savings bank accounts, i.e. Rs. 500 for rural and Rs. 1,000 for urban and metros
  • The bank offers the option to convert balances over Rs. 15,000 into the fixed deposits under its Kamadhenu Deposit Scheme (Re-Investment Plan)

Children’s Savings Accounts from ICICI Bank Limited

India’s second largest private sector bank offers two dedicated children’s accounts called the Young Stars Account and Smart Star Savings Account.

Young Stars Account

The account can be opened by a parent or guardian for the child who is between the ages of 1 day old and 18 years

Features

  • The children get a debit card with per day limit of 2,500 for ATM and POS transactions (A caveat here: the wording on the site is not clear if the limit is Rs. 2,500 or Rs. 5,000 but the FAQs section of the account puts the limit as Rs. 2,500 (for withdrawal and spends?)
  • The Young Star – Minor Under Guardianship Account has no transaction limit
  • The card has a Zero Liability feature that protects against unauthorised transactions if the card is lost or misplaced provided the same is communicated to the bank within 15 days
  • Kids can earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 200 spent on the card
  • The minimum monthly average balance needed for the Young Stars Account is Rs. 2,500. The charges in case of non-maintenance of this minimum amount is 5% of the shortfall
  • Parents can put in standing instructions to debit money directly from their account to the kid’s account
  • The account has a Money Multiplier facility or the sweep in-sweep out option to put the money in a fixed deposit if the amount crosses a certain limit

Smart Star Savings Account

The account is available for kids above 10 years and up to 18 years of age to open and operate independently on their own. It comes in two options. More on the second point in the features below. Most of the features and fees and charges are same as the Young Stars Account

Features

  • The account comes in two variants – with guardian consent and without guardian consent. In the former case, the account will have a limit of Rs. 2 lakh on debit transaction every fiscal. If the account does not have guardian consent, this limit is Rs. 50,000
  • Accountholders get a debit card with per day limit of 5,000 each for ATM and POS transactions
  • As with Young Stars Account, the card for Smart Star Savings Account has the Zero Liability feature that insures against unauthorised transactions if the card is lost, stolen or misplaced if the bank is told of the same within 15 days
  • Even here, the child earns 1 reward point for every Rs. 200 spent through the card
  • The minimum monthly average balance is also same at Rs. 2,500 and so are the fees for non-maintenance of this minimum amount

Reference Facts

  • Canara Bank Websites: www.canarabank.com/english/ and www.canarabank.in/ (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
  • Call Centre Toll-Free Number: 1800 425 0018
  • ICICI Bank Website: www.icicibank.com
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 200 3344, 1800-103-8181 (Private Banking). Has specific number for different cities