On Nov 7, 2017, the State Bank of India tweeted the launch of two savings accounts (Pehli Udaan and Pehla Kadam) for children. Pehla Kadam is meant for children below 18 years of age and Pehli Udaan will be for to children above 10 years of age.
The aim behind launching the savings accounts for minors is to help them learn the importance of saving and the nuances of modern-day banking. Pehla Kadam savings account can be jointly opened with parent/guardian and Pehli Udan savings account can be opened solely by the child in his/her name provided the child can sign uniformly. As per the reports by NDTV, the bank has packed both savings accounts with modern banking features such as Internet Banking and Mobile Banking.
For both accounts, the monthly average balance required for metro customers is Rs. 5,000, for urban customers is Rs. 3,000, for semi urban is Rs. 2,000 and for rural customers is Rs. 1000. Also, the maximum balance limit for both accounts has been set to Rs. 10 lakh. To ensure children don’t overspend, the daily transaction limit in both the accounts is Rs. 5,000.
In addition, the rate of interest for these accounts will be same as the other savings accounts. Other facility applicable to the minor savings account is that without changing the account number, the accounts can be transferred to any SBI branch. The bank is also offering nomination facility to their minor customers.