This is how to open a bank account for your child: a joint selfie can be worth tens of thousands

Account packages for the youngest age group, under the age of 14, are appearing at banks in a row, with the help of which elementary school children – sometimes even younger – can partially manage their finances independently.

“The circle affected by bank account packages for children is by no means negligible in Hungary: according to the latest data of the Central Statistical Office, reflecting the situation at the beginning of 2024, nearly 1.4 million of the Hungarian population belong to the age group under 15 (in 2024, according to the data of the Central Statistical Office, nearly 1 million 385 thousand), while most of them are in primary school, The 7-14-year-old group also has roughly 730,000 people. After currently banks maintain approximately 10 million retail accounts in Hungaryit is clear that it is a significant customer base,” Péter Gergely, financial expert of BiztosDöntés.hu, told our paper.

Long-term customer relationship

Of course, it should also be seen – he added – that it is intended for the age group under 14 for bank accounts the goal is not primarily to generate a lot of traffic, but rather to introduce financial services to children at a very young age, and develop a lasting customer relationship with them later.

It is also important that with the account packages for children, practically everything is done with the knowledge of the parent or within the limits set by the parent, that is, an adult customer is also connected to these accounts, who also presumably belongs to a group that strives for financial awareness and is very valuable from the point of view of the banks.

With account packages for the under-14 age group, of course, banks also try to meet the special needs of the age group: in addition to the fact that a number of services are free or discounted for these plans, services supporting regular, smaller savings are common in the supply.

– drew attention to the expert.

Viewing only

A CIB Bank the ECO Start Bank account is available for this age group: a card can be requested in addition to the bank account, but the associated limit can only be set by the legal representative, which can also be done via the CIB Bank Mobile Application. The CIB provides minors with access to electronic channels – mobile application, internet bank – but only with the right to query: young people can only view their balance and functions.

The At Erst several discounts are associated with the account named Erste Cseperedő: when opening the account, if the customer also requests a bank card in addition to the child’s account, the bank card issuance fee is waived. (It is important that it can be applied for at Erste from the age of 7 children’s bank cardi.e. for children younger than this, the existence of the discount is by definition not a condition.) The financial institution also maintains other promotions: the essence of one the child receives a fee discount of HUF 2,000 no more than six times in 12 months, if his bank account receives at least HUF 2,000 per month.

With the other promotion, there is also a fee discount of HUF 4,000 up to 6 times in a 12-month period, if the parent starts a new, regular Erste Future Junior savings account or opens an Erste Diák Céldebet for their child on the account opening day, and makes at least two monthly payments to both the bank account and the savings account. two thousand forints will arrive. However, it is important that the latter two discounts cannot be combined. At Erste, parents can see the movements on their child’s account through the web or mobile phone interface of the online platform called George, so they can give them advice on how to use the account – and if necessary, they can also intervene. Erste now also gives an educational storybook as a gift when you open a Cseperedő account.

Virtual piggy bank

A Granite Bankat Gránit Family Junior account is recommended for this age group. In the current promotion, if the parent opens an account together with the child – with a selfie – at the bank, they can also receive a HUF 40,000 credit. The financial institution offers a HUF zero account management fee and a fee-free bank card alongside the account, while the NetBank, eBank, TeleBank and VideoBank services are also free.

At Gránit, a virtual piggy bank – which can be hacked at any time – can also be operated at the account, with the help of which the child can save in order to achieve various goals. After adding a new goal, the child’s money earns interest on the Gránit Family Savings account, now at a discount rate of 5 percent per year.

A K&H also offers its youth account package, which can be requested up to the age of 14, with a zero HUF account management fee, which includes a free savings account, in addition to easy-to-use services.

The OTP Bank It can also be opened between the ages of 7 and 14 with a Junior account monthly account management is free of chargewhile the issuing and annual fee of the Mastercard Online Junior Start card is HUF zero.

From the age of 14

The UniCredit Student account You must be 14 years old to apply for the Zéró account package, but here the bank already gives a HUF 35,000 credit when opening an account online. The account maintenance fee is HUF 0 and the Mastercard Standard bank card, which can be applied for alongside the account, does not charge an issuance fee and the first annual card fee is also waived, as well as a 50 percent discount on the current card fee.

A at MagNet Bank there is no separate student account, but young people from the age of 14 can open the Csillag account package. It is interesting here that the card fee must be paid monthly and the account management fee is also chosen by the customer, which can be HUF 0.