Bandhan Bank vs State Bank of India: Children’s Savings Accounts

Bandhan Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s savings account but it does offer its standard savings account to minors. SBI offers two children’s savings accounts, Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan.

Children’s Savings Accounts from Bandhan Bank

Bandhan Bank is one of the most promising upcoming banks in India but it does not provide a dedicated children’s savings account. However, from a perusal of the account opening form, it appears the bank allows individuals to open and operate minor accounts. It also offers the option for minors above 10 years of age to open and maintain the account under their own name.

Standard Savings Account

Since it does not offer a dedicated children’s account (from a reading of the accounts in the bank’s website), here is a look at some features of the bank’s standard savings account.

Features

  • The account holder needs a monthly average balance of Rs. 5,000
  • One can deposit up to Rs. 5 lakh for free per month
  • Offers chequebook of 20 leaves per month for free which is more than the usual practice of offering one every quarter by most banks
  • Offers 5 free withdrawals at ATMs of other banks

Children’s Savings Accounts from State Bank of India

Pehli 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 Pehli Kadam account

Reference Facts

  • Bandhan Bank Website: www.bandhanbank.com
  • Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 258 8181
  • 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)