Punjab National Bank vs Karur Vysya Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

Punjab National Bank offers dedicated accounts for kids such as PNB Junior SF Account and the PNB Vidyarthi SF Account. 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 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

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

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