ICICI Bank vs Suryoday Small Finance Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

ICICI Bank has two dedicated children’s accounts called the Young Stars Account and Smart Star Savings Account. Suryoday Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s account but instead offers minors the option to open a standard savings account as a minor account.

Children’s Savings Accounts from ICICI Bank

India’s second largest private sector bank offers two dedicated children’s accounts called the Young Stars Account and Smart Star Savings Account.

Young Stars Account

The account can be opened by a parent or guardian for the child who is between the ages of 1 day old and 18 years

Features

  • The children get a debit card with per day limit of 2,500 for ATM and POS transactions (A caveat here: the wording on the site is not clear if the limit is Rs. 2,500 or Rs. 5,000 but the FAQs section of the account puts the limit as Rs. 2,500 (for withdrawal and spends?)
  • The Young Star – Minor Under Guardianship Account has no transaction limit
  • The card has a Zero Liability feature that protects against unauthorised transactions if the card is lost or misplaced provided the same is communicated to the bank within 15 days
  • Kids can earn 1 reward point for every Rs. 200 spent on the card
  • The minimum monthly average balance needed for the Young Stars Account is Rs. 2,500. The charges in case of non-maintenance of this minimum amount is 5% of the shortfall
  • Parents can put in standing instructions to debit money directly from their account to the kid’s account
  • The account has a Money Multiplier facility or the sweep in-sweep out option to put the money in a fixed deposit if the amount crosses a certain limit

Smart Star Savings Account

The account is available for kids above 10 years and up to 18 years of age to open and operate independently on their own. It comes in two options. More on the second point in the features below. Most of the features and fees and charges are same as the Young Stars Account

Features

  • The account comes in two variants – with guardian consent and without guardian consent. In the former case, the account will have a limit of Rs. 2 lakh on debit transaction every fiscal. If the account does not have guardian consent, this limit is Rs. 50,000
  • Accountholders get a debit card with per day limit of 5,000 each for ATM and POS transactions
  • As with Young Stars Account, the card for Smart Star Savings Account has the Zero Liability feature that insures against unauthorised transactions if the card is lost, stolen or misplaced if the bank is told of the same within 15 days
  • Even here, the child earns 1 reward point for every Rs. 200 spent through the card
  • The minimum monthly average balance is also same at Rs. 2,500 and so are the fees for non-maintenance of this minimum amount

Children’s Savings Accounts from Suryoday Small Finance Bank

Suryoday Small Finance Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s account and offers minors the option to open a standard savings account as a minor account. All of the bank’s savings accounts can be opened by a minor under a parent or a guardian. We take a look at the two base variants of the bank’s savings account line-up.

Savings Ujjwal

The account is the most basic of the savings accounts offered by Suryoday.

Features

  • The average monthly balance requirement is Rs. 2,000, though anyone choosing to open an account has to start with an initial deposit of Rs. 3,000
  • Accountholders can choose to keep a fixed deposit of Rs. 10,000 in lieu of the minimum balance
  • The bank offers a higher rate of interest than most other banks for similar slabs of balance. Accounts with balance up to Rs. 1 lakh earn 6.25% per annum and those with balance between Rs. lakh and Rs. 10 lakh earn 7.25%. This is as of March 2019
  • The Savings Ujjwal account comes with a RuPay Classic Secure Chip Debit Card
  • The daily ATM and POS limits is restricted to Rs. 20,000
  • Online money transfers such as RTGS, NEFT, IMPS are chargeable after 3 transactions
  • The bank offers a personal accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh with the account

Savings Aditya

This savings account is ranked one step up the Savings Ujjwal.

Features

  • The account has a minimum average monthly balance of Rs. 5,000 and needs Rs. 7,500 to open the account
  • Accountholders can create and keep an FD of Rs. 25,000 if they want to forego the minimum balance requirements
  • The Savings Aditya account also comes with a RuPay Classic Secure Chip Debit Card
  • The limit on daily ATM and POS transaction is pegged at Rs. 40,000
  • Accountholders get 10 free ATM transactions on the bank’s own ATMs and up to 5 on other bank ATMs
  • The accountholder can access up to 10 free RTGS, NEFT or IMPS payment transfers
  • Like with the Ujjwal account, the Aditya offers a higher rate of interest

Note: Suryoday in its savings account page/tabs for each account clearly mentions that all bank’s savings accounts from Ujjwal to Savings Supreme can be opened on behalf of a minor

Reference Facts

  • ICICI Bank Website: www.icicibank.com
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 200 3344, 1800-103-8181 (Private Banking). Has specific number for different cities
  • Suryoday Small Finance Bank Website: www.suryodaybank.com
  • Headquarters: Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 266 7711