Bank of Baroda vs Jana Small Finance 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. Jana Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated minor savings account even though the standard savings account can be opened by a minor jointly with a parent or guardian.

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 Jana Small Finance Bank Limited

Jana Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated minor savings account and though it does not mention clearly on its website if the regular savings account is open for minors, reading of the Terms and Conditions of the service charges file shows that the account can be opened by or on behalf of minors.

Regular Savings Account

This is the standard savings account of the bank.

Features

  • The bank needs an average monthly balance of Rs. 2,500
  • The Regular Savings Account comes with a RuPay Debit Card
  • The bank has not put a cap on the number of withdrawals the accountholder can make though the bank’s ATMs, except for minors where it has been pegged at Rs. 10,000 per month
  • The bank has put a limit on the amount that can be withdrawn from the ATM or be spent at POS transaction for minor accounts. The cash withdrawal limit is Rs. 5,000 and the POS limit is Rs. 10,000 per day
  • The bank accountholder gets 3 complimentary cash transactions at other bank ATMs in metro locations and 5 at non-metro locations
  • Accountholders get one complimentary chequebook for each quarter
  • The company offers the customer the option of getting an SMS alert facility on payment of Rs. 15 per quarter

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
  • Jana Small Finance Bank Website: www.janabank.com
  • Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 2080, 1800 4200