Punjab National Bank vs Union Bank of India

Punjab National Bank vs Union Bank of India

Punjab National Bank offers dedicated accounts for kids such as PNB Junior SF Account and the PNB Vidyarthi SF Account. Union Bank of India does not offer dedicated children’s account but instead offers minors the chance to have an account through its Regular Savings Account and Union Family Savings Scheme products.

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 Union Bank of India

Union Bank does not offer a dedicated children’s account. However, minors can have accounts under its Regular Savings Account and Union Family Savings Scheme products. From a reading of the website, it seems minors can also open an account through parent or guardian under the Union Flexi Savings Deposit and Union Flexi Plus Savings Deposit schemes.

Regular Savings Account

The standard savings account from the bank.

Features

  • Can be opened by an individual for her child
  • Just like adults, the child is entitled to receive a free chequebook of 20 leaves every year
  • Allows students to keep the account with zero balance

Union Family Savings Scheme

A savings scheme under which up to 6 family members can open accounts.

Features

  • The average quarterly balance for the entire group is Rs. 1 lakh
  • Each account holder gets up to 2 chequebooks per account
  • They also can make up to Rs. 20,000 in pay orders or demand drafts each month
  • Each account holder can make ATM withdrawal or POS transaction of Rs. 25,000 each per day
  • Family members who can be included in the account are parents, grandparents, spouse, sibling and children

Union Flexi Account and Union Flexi Plus Savings Deposit

These two are higher end savings accounts, which also come with sweep facilities to put the excess money in a fixed deposit once the transaction limit crosses a specified limit. Though the Union Bank website does not specifically mention that the accounts are available for minors, it does say that individuals can open the account.

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
  • Union Bank of India Website: www.unionbankofindia.co.in and www.unionbankonline.co.in (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 208 2244, 1800 22 2244