Bank of Baroda vs Karur Vysya 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. Karur Vysya Bank meanwhile offers two dedicated accounts for children called the Jumbo Kids Savings Account and the Student Savings 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 Karur Vysya Bank Limited

Karur Vysya Bank offers two dedicated accounts for children called the Jumbo Kids Savings Account and the Student Savings Account.

Jumbo Kids Savings Account

Unlike most other banks that offer children’s accounts for kids up to the age of 18 years or more, Karur Vysya offers this account for children below the age of 12 years. This by itself is something that makes this account special. Let us look at features too.

Features

  • The account is available for children up to the age of 12 years (we are repeating what we have written above but we like what the bank has done and so there)
  • There is no minimum balance requirement
  • The account is in the name of the child though the authorised signatory is the guardian
  • All cash withdrawals are to be done through the ATM and the bank offers a Visa ATM card for that purpose
  • One can send or use (remittance is the word used on the bank website) up to Rs. 50,000 per day at the branch
  • Children who open a Jumbo Kids Savings Account get a Jumbo (elephant) Doll
  • The account does not come with a chequebook and neither does it have online or mobile banking facilities

Student Savings Account

The second account offered by the bank for children. It is meant for kids who have go to school or college and offers facilities that are meant to help children with school fees and other education-related payments.

Features

  • The account can be opened by kids below 12 years of age through a guardian, while they can open and operate one on their own if they have reached the age of 12 years
  • The maximum age limit up to which one can have the account is 29 years
  • The ATM debit card can be used for cash withdrawals for free at Karur Vysya ATMs and up to 5 times for free at other ATMs of banks that belong to the National Financial Switch. There is an annual maintenance charge of Rs. 75 on the card
  • The chequebook is only offered to students after they have crossed 18 years of age
  • There is no limit on cash remittance at the base branch though it is capped at Rs. 10,000 at non-base branches for the Student Savings Account
  • An important thing to note here is that the total number of debit transactions on the account and any other linked accounts for the same person cannot be more than 90 for every six months

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
  • Karur Vysya Bank Website: www.kvb.co.in and www.kvbin.com (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Karur, Tamil Nadu
  • Call Centre Number: 1860 200 1916