Obtaining the right savings account for your children
As a responsible parent, it is your duty to teach your child the importance of saving money. Hence the greater becomes your responsibility to choose a right savings account for your child. Nowadays nearly all the banks have the facility of having a Savings Account for Children. Since the account is meant for the child the following factors has to be taken into consideration while opening Savings Account for children.
- Accessibility or the location of the bank
- The age criteria
- The interest rates
- The charges or fees taken by the bank
- The extra services provided by the bank
- The different types of banksÂ
As the savings account is meant for children, it is advisable to choose a bank which is located in the neighbouring area to the place of residence. This would act as a motivation for the child to save more as they can frequently visit the bank due to its proximity.
Before opening a savings account for children, one must verify the age criteria with the bank. The facilities required by you would differ with the age of the child. For a smaller child, just the facility of depositing money would suffice but for an older child, withdrawal facility, through ATM card or cheque would also be a criterion.
As a parent you should also look at the various interest rates offered by different banks. Different banks can have different interest rates; choose the one that suits you the best. After all the idea for having savings account for children is to save and let the money grow.
One of the major criteria before opening a savings account for children is the various fees or charges levied by the bank in the account. Since it would be children’s account it is advisable to choose the bank which has minimum or no charges for the transactions in the account. Minimum balance or non maintenance charges should not be a pre-requisite in the account.
Check out for the extra facilities provided by the banks. The facilities could vary from free insurance coverage, ATM Card, online banking, customised cheque book, special student loan schemes and so on. Choose the bank that offers facilities or services that closely suits your need or requirement.
One of the deciding factors could be the type of bank it is. It can be a bank run by the government or a privately run institution. The credibility and the schemes play a major role in your decision before opening a savings account for children.
With the growing needs of the child it is important that money is accumulated and saved to meet their time to time requirement and to give them a strong financial base to succeed in life. It is important that we ensure that the money put in the savings account also grows along as our child grows. It is also important that the money saved also gives good return at regular intervals so that the requirement of the child is met at the various stages of its life.
