SBI vs Punjab National Bank: Children’s Savings Accounts

SBI offers two children’s savings accounts, Pehla Kadam and Pehli Udaan while 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 SBI

Pehla Kadam

This account is meant for all children and may be opened jointly with a parent or guardian.

Features

  • There are no minimum balance requirements in this account
  • There is a limit of Rs. 5,000 on daily transactions. Transactions such as bill payments, prepaid mobile top-ups have a limit of Rs. 2,000 within the Rs. 5,000 limit
  • SBI offers an auto-sweep option with this account called SBI Multi Option Deposit Scheme (MODS). If the accountholders opt for this, then any amount above Rs. 20,000 in the account is put in a term deposit. The MOD is initially for a sum of Rs. 10,000 and in Rs. 1,000 multiples thereafter. As is common for banks, there is no clarity on the website if the auto-sweep facility kicks in if the account has a balance of Rs. 30,000
  • There is a cap of Rs. 10 lakh on the maximum balance in a Pehla Kadam account
  • The kid is eligible to get a specially branded chequebook and passbook, and also a personalised debit card with her own photo

Note: The links to specific accounts may not work. The above data was taken from internet searches. We have put the links here in the hope that they work some day. Even the WayBack Machine shows an error when we tried to pull a page from July 5, 2017.

Pehli Udaan

The account is meant for kids above 10 years of age. They are allowed to open and operate the account on their own.

Features

  • As mentioned, any child above the age of 10 years who can read and write, may open the account in her own name without the need for any parent or guardian
  • Except for the age criteria, the other features of the Pehli Udaan account are same as for the Pehla Kadam 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

Reference Facts

  • State Bank of India Website: https://sbi.co.in and www.onlinesbi.com (net banking)
  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Call Centre Number: 1800 425 3800, 1800 112 211, 1800 110 009 (pensioners only)
  • 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