Catholic Syrian Bank vs Punjab National Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Catholic Syrian Bank allows parents and guardians to open its various savings accounts – Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum – on behalf of minors. Punjab National Bank offers dedicated accounts for kids such as PNB Junior SF Account and the PNB Vidyarthi SF Account.

Children’s Savings Accounts from Catholic Syrian Bank

Catholic Syrian Bank is one of the oldest banks in the country having been established in 1920. The bank does not offer a dedicated children’s savings bank account but its Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum savings accounts can be opened on behalf of minors by their parents or guardian.

Blue Savings Account

This savings account comes one step up the InstaDigital Savings Account but offers lesser number of features than the Gold and Platinum accounts.

Features

  • Offers up to 5 free use of other bank ATMs
  • Allows up to Rs. 40,000 in withdrawals from ATMs per day
  • The Blue Savings Account comes with the RuPay Platinum Debit Card
  • Minimum quarterly balance needed is Rs. 1,000 for urban areas and Rs. 500 for rural regions

Silver Savings Account

The Silver Savings Account is one step up the Blue Savings Account and comes with the following features.

Features

  • Unlimited free access to any ATMs in India
  • Allows up to Rs. 75,000 in withdrawals from ATMs every day
  • Users get 20% discount on locker rentals
  • The Silver Savings Account comes with the VISA Platinum Debit Card and offers all its benefits
  • Minimum quarterly balance needed is Rs. 5,000 for urban and rural areas

Gold Savings Account

The Gold savings account from Catholic Syrian falls between the Silver and Platinum accounts. Most of its benefits are similar to the Silver account.

Features

  • Unlimited free access to any bank ATM in the country
  • Allows customers to withdraw up to Rs. 75,000 from ATMs every day
  • Users get 30% discount on locker rentals
  • The Gold Savings Account comes with the VISA Platinum Debit Card
  • Minimum quarterly balance requirement is Rs. 25,000 for urban and rural areas

Platinum Savings Account

The top savings account from Catholic Syrian Bank portfolio.

Features

  • Users have unlimited free access to any ATMs in India
  • Customers can take out up to Rs. 75,000 from any ATM every 24 hours
  • The customers also get 50% discount on locker rentals
  • Platinum Savings Account comes with the VISA Platinum Debit Card like the Silver and Gold accounts
  • Minimum quarterly balance requirement is Rs. 1 lakh for both urban and rural branches

Children’s Savings Accounts from Punjab National Bank

PNB is the second largest bank in India after SBI and offers specific accounts for children such as the PNB Junior SF Account and the PNB Vidyarthi SF Account.

PNB Junior SF Account

The account can be opened by a child through her parent or guardian or she can open and operate it herself if she has crossed 10 years of age.

Features

  • As mentioned, any child of any age can open the PNB Junior SF Account through her parent or guardian. Children over 10 years of age can open and operate the account under their own name
  • There is no minimum deposit needed to open the account. Plus, there is no need for any minimum balance either
  • The child can get a free cheque book of 20 leaves per six months, i.e. two chequebooks of 40 leaves per year
  • Demand drafts made out to pay school or college fees are free of cost
  • The bank, however, has put a limit of Rs. 5,000 on debit card use per day, be that through ATM withdrawals, POS transactions at shops (card swipe in case you are wondering) or online payments
  • Kids or their parents can have a view of the account balance and transactions through both online and mobiles but transactions are not allowed

PNB Vidyarthi SF Account

The account as the name suggests is for children studying in recognised educational institutions.

Features

  • The account is available for children up to 21 years of age. Once they reach adulthood, the account becomes a standard savings account with all its perks and limitations
  • Like the PNB Junior SF Account, there are no minimum balance requirements for initial deposit and average quarterly balance in the PNB Vidyarthi SF Account
  • All demand drafts made out for any type of fees are free of cost
  • Like the children’s account, the child is eligible to receive two chequebooks of 20 leaves each per year
  • Most fees and charges in the account have been waived off by the bank through there is an annual maintenance charge for the debit card

Reference Facts

  • Catholic Syrian Bank Website: www.csb.co.in
  • Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 266 9090
  • Punjab National Bank Website: www.pnbindia.in and www.netpnb.com (net banking)
  • Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 180 2222, 1800 103 2222