How to Open Bank Account For Kids?

Minors, that is individuals less than 18 years of age are provided with 'minor account' options by banks that help kids cultivate the habit of savings at an early age. Many banks these days have come up with special features on kid's savings account like education insurance, fixed deposit facilities, and also provide higher interest rates.

In order to teach your child how to manage money and also to help them develop a corpus for their future, you should consider opening a bank account for your kids.

Requirements

The parent or legal guardian of the child can open a savings account under the name of the minor, even a baby.

Some common requirements for that would be:

• Savings account in the same bank: Most banks require the parent/guardian to hold a savings account in the same bank to open one for their child.
• ID proof: a government ID proof of the child, as well as the guardian, is required to be submitted to the bank, including Aadhaar card of the kid.
• Signature specimens of the child (if over 10 years of age) as well as the guardian.

Features

The features of the kid savings account vary from bank to bank. You will have to look at the requirements of:

• Minimum balance requirement (Ex- HDFC requires a minimum balance requirement of Rs 5,000 for minors)
• Interest rate: Kid savings accounts usually fetch higher interest rates. Some banks allow the joint account facility that can fetch the same rate on the guardian's account if the minimum balance requirement is maintained.
• Debit card facilities (Ex- Kotak Mahindra provides debit cards to a junior savings account with the maximum withdrawal limit of Rs 5,000 per day)
• Recurring deposit facility- a fixed amount will be transferred from the parent/guardian's account to the kid's account automatically.
• Fixed deposit- Ex: HDFC has a 'money maximiser' feature in kid accounts that automatically locks any amount above Rs 25,000 as FD and will help gain higher returns.
• Education cover: Top banks even provide education insurance cover to the child incase of the guardian's death.
• Cheque book, netbanking and other such facilities.
• Bank account operational facility-most banks allow children to operate their account after they turn 10 years old.

You can look at the top 10 kids bank accounts in India to make an informed decision.

Points to note

• Once the child turns 18, the account will be converted into a regular savings account and the right to operate the account will be withdrawn from the guardian. Additionally, the account details will have to be updated and required forms will have to be filled to transfer the account completely under the major's name.
• Despite the limits set by banks on transactions, some banks provide the facility to guardians to further regulate the maximum withdrawal or usage limits of the child's account. They also allow the parent/ guardian to check account activity.