ICICI Bank targets children with new account

N Rao
20 April 2006

"The Young Stars account is another pioneering product from ICICI Bank that initiates children to the world of banking and finances," says Chanda Kochhar, executive director of the bank. "With this innovative product, the entire family is involved with the Bank and while parents can monitor their child's expenses, children learn to manage their expenses themselves."

With 54 per cent of India's population currently under the age of 25, marketers cannot afford to ignore the young and banks are realising the enormous size of the under-18 market in India, and are eager to sign up youngsters.

The new account, Kochar believes, will inculcate the habit of saving money amongst kids, while making it a fun filled and exciting experience.

The Young Stars Account allows children, up to the age of 18, to learn and manage their finances, even though it is operated and monitored completely by their parents. Children above the age of seven will get a personalised international debit card with the account. Other facilities include a special recurring deposit, free international debit card and even internet banking.

But there are some facilities that only parents can access, such as online opening of fixed deposit, recurring deposit and funds transfer from parent to child's account.

ICICI Bank has a customer base of over 17 million accounts, and operates 610 branches and extension counters and over 2,200 ATMs across India. The bank, with assets of nearly Rs2,125 billion, provides a wide spectrum of financial services to individuals and companies, and to NRIs.