Bank Fees: Kids Saving/Transactional Accounts

“All under 18’s bank accounts are equal.” Well that is what I thought. Surely they don’t charge management fees to a child! Can I not deposit the coins my child has saved for months in his piggy bank into his account for free? Doesn’t everyone give a good interest rate to children to inspire a culture of saving from a young age?


If you are anything like me, you have never shopped around looking for the lowest rates on your bank account, especially not on your child’s bank account. If your child has a bank account you probably did what I did and opened an account at the same bank you currently bank with. But is this always the best decision?

This morning I received a statement on my child bank account and was shocked. He had paid a monthly account free, a cash deposit fee and an ATM withdrawal fee. These fees totalled: R 54,50. For a child of 9 years of age I felt this was a lot. He also has a balance in his account of over R 2000.00 and earned a measly R1.90 interest.

In these times where a poor saving habit is a culture, it should be more important than ever to encourage our children to save. After speaking to the call centre consultant at the bank I decided to compare under 18 bank accounts to find the best deal for my child.

I have drawn up a comparison table between the 4 major South African banks. I have not included all the fees as most of these fees would probably never be charged on this account. I have only added the most commonly used fees and interest rates, omitting items like dishonoured cheques (most children do not have cheque book) and R/D cheque returns (Most children do not receive cheques from anyone). Telephone and Internet banking fees (can your under 18 really perform complex transactions?) Debit orders (under 18’s don’t have credit accounts) etc.


So for basic banking fees that your child will probably use:

Click here!

From my rankings I have decided on the Standard Bank sum1 account. Even though the fees could be higher if the account is misused, the interest rate is much higher.

Transactions limits for my child are set at:

• 1 Cash withdrawal a week.
• Piggybank saving deposits are limited to R100 once a month.

This seems reasonable and ensures R0 bank charges with an interest income of 2% on savings! Seems to me the best of both worlds.