INDEXO Bank introduces a free Junior account with savings vaults earning 3% per year

INDEXO Bank has started offering Junior accounts for children aged 6 to 17, complete with their own bank card and mobile app. Junior account is a practical, safe opportunity to start acquiring financial literacy from an early age. Alongside making payments, children can also purposefully build savings in savings vaults for larger purchases directly within their account. The bank account and card are free of charge; furthermore, the child’s money earns 1% annually in the checking account and 3% in the savings vault. Parents can easily top up and monitor the Junior account from their own INDEXO Bank app.

A parent survey conducted by INDEXO shows that primary school age is precisely when the topic of a child’s first bank account becomes relevant in many families. 54% of children aged 6 to 8 represented in the survey do not yet have their own bank account, whereas after the age of 12, almost all of them have one. 280 parents with a total of 435 children aged 6 to 18 participated in the survey.

The survey also reveals that when parents choose a bank account for their child, the absence of commission fees is most important to them. This is followed by a user-friendly app for the child and the option to use the child’s account at the same bank the parent uses. Meanwhile, the most frequently mentioned desired extra feature was the ability for the child to set aside savings for specific goals.

“Keeping money in a sock teaches a child to save, but it doesn’t foster financial literacy. If a child’s pocket money sits in an account with zero interest for years, it is essentially that same sock, just digital. We want children to see from day one that their savings can grow, while parents have the opportunity to guide and monitor,” says Jānis Mūrnieks, Member of the Board and Head of Retail Banking at INDEXO Bank.

Data from the initial days shows that 41% of children have already created their own savings vaults, holding 76% of all money present in Junior Accounts. Children are saving for various goals, ranging from a computer, phone, and gaming console to a pet, driver’s license, motorcycle, and even retirement.

In their INDEXO Bank app, parents can see the child’s account balance and transactions, top up the account within seconds, set daily spending limits for the child, and freeze or block the child’s card if necessary. The account, card, and the money in it belong to the child, and the parent cannot make payments on the child’s behalf.

Opening a Junior account is completely digital and takes 10 minutes. The parent initiates the process in their INDEXO Bank app, while the child completes it on their own phone. To open an account, the child needs their own phone with their own phone number and one of the supported identity verification methods: Smart-ID, eParaksts mobile, passport, or ID card.

More information here: Junior account