Bank of Baroda vs HDFC Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Bank of Baroda vs HDFC Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has the Baroda Champ Savings Account. The bank is also supposed to have a Gen-Next Junior account which seems to be offered only in the Gen-Next Pune branch of the bank. HDFC Bank offers a dedicated children’s savings account called Kids Advantage Account.

Children’s Savings Accounts from Bank of Baroda

Note: There is limited information on BoB accounts for minors and it seems it did not offer a dedicated children’s account before the Champ and Gen-Next accounts. Possibly, minors could open a standard savings account through a parent or guardian.

Baroda Champ Savings Account

This account is meant for children in the 10-18 years age category. The account was launched in the run-up to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017 that was hosted in India.

Features

  • Minors can open the Baroda Champ Savings Account with a minimum deposit of Rs. 1,000
  • The maximum balance in the account is capped at Rs. 1 lakh
  • BoB allows up to 50 free withdrawals per year. Accountholders can withdraw another 50 times from the account but the bank charges Rs. 15 per transaction
  • Children (or parents) can withdraw money from the account using withdrawal slips and cheques. The bank allows withdrawals as low as Rs. 25 in rural and semi-urban areas and Rs. 50 in urban locations
  • The debit card for the account is issued in the name of the parent or guardian for kids in the 10-15 years age group. For children over 15 years, it will be in their own name
  • The transaction limit is restricted to Rs. 3,000 per day through ATM banking, mobile banking, POS and e-commerce though the overall limit is kept at Rs. 5,000 per day. This means you can go to the branch and withdraw Rs. 2,000 even if you have used up Rs. 3,000 limit
  • The bank offers a free passbook for accountholders and cheque book facility with up to 45 free leaves
  • Free ATM transactions at other bank ATMs is capped at 3 for 6 Tier I metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad) and at 5 for other cities

Gen-Next Junior

From the bank’s website, it seems the account is only offered the Gen-Next branch in Pune, Maharashtra.

Features

  • Minors up to 18 years can open this Gen-Next Junior account
  • The average quarterly balance required is Rs. 500 and the bank charges Rs. 50 per quarter if the balance falls below this limit
  • Children below 10 years can open the account jointly with parents or guardians; those above 10 years can have an account in their own name provided they are literate
  • There is a ceiling on of Rs. 1,00,000 as balance outstanding on any day if the minor holds the account in her own name. In case the account is held jointly by a minor of 14 years or above and the parent or guardian, then there is no such limit
  • Debit cards will have the parent’s or guardian’s name if the child is below 15 years; if above, then the kid’s name will be on the card
  • The rules for a standard savings account will apply for this account also

Bank of Baroda Savings Account

The standard savings account of the bank.

Features

  • The bank has a put an upper limit of Rs. 1,00,000 as the maximum limit outstanding on any day if a minor, aged 10-14 years, operates the account on her own
  • The minimum balance requirement is Rs. 500 for rural and semi-urban areas and Rs. 1,000 for urban areas and metros

Note: We are not getting into details here about the savings account. If you wish to know more of the features, you can visit the specific page of the bank website here.

Children’s Savings Accounts from HDFC Bank Limited

HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank in the country in terms of market capitalisation as of September 2019, offers a dedicated children’s savings account called Kids Advantage Account.

Kids Advantage Account

The primary aim of the account is to help build a corpus for the child for her future financial needs.

Features

  • The account is available for every child up to the age of 18 years
  • The bank mandates a minimum average monthly balance of Rs. 5,000 below which it charges service fees. The service fee is Rs. Rs. 150 in case the balance is between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 5,000, and Rs. 300 in case the balance is less than Rs. 2,500
  • Minors above the age of 10 years can open and operate the account on their own
  • HDFC Bank requires the parent or guardian to have a savings account with the bank before they can open a Kids Advantage Account
  • The international ATM-cum-Debit card debit card comes with a Rs. 2,500 ATM withdrawal limit and Rs. 10,000 POS limit per day
  • HDFC Bank also offers an education insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh for the child in case the parent or guardian passes away in a road, rail or air accident
  • Its MoneyMaximizer option allows the accountholder to agree to a sweep-out option. Under this when the account reaches or crosses Rs. 35,000, any sum in excess of Rs. 25,000 is automatically transferred to a fixed deposit for 1 year and 1 day
  • The accountholders get a free payable at par chequebook of 25 leaves at the time of account opening and every year thereafter
  • The account comes with free net, phone and SMS banking facilities

Reference Facts

  • Bank of Baroda Website: www.bankofbaroda.com and www.bobibanking.com (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Baroda (Vadodara), Gujarat
  • Call Centre Toll-Free Number: 1800 223 344, 1800 102 4455
  • HDFC Bank Website: www.hdfcbank.com
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 258 3838