The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is now allowing minors aged 10 years and above to open and operate term deposits and term deposits.
This new directive released on 21 April is designed to promote maximum financial inclusion among young people. The new guidelines were issued on 21 April, the purpose of the new guidelines is to promote financial inclusion. Banks should follow these guidelines by July 1, 2025, while ensure to examine and monitor accounts.
Under the new rules, minors over 10 years of age will be allowed to manage their accounts without the need of a guardian, provided the accounting terms align with the bank’s risk management policies.
Minors will still be able to open accounts through their legal or natural parents, including their mothers. For minors reaching the age of the majority, banks are required to update the operating instructions and signature of the sample in the account records.
Banks can offer additional services such as internet banking, debit cards, or check books based on their risk policies suitable for customer and their risk policies. Whether the account is managed independently or by a parent, it should always remain in a positive balance (balance never falls below zero).
Prior to recent changes, RBI allowed minors to open savings accounts, but they needed to do so through a guardian, such as parents or legal guardians. The parent will operate the account on behalf of the minor. The minors could not manage their accounts independently until they were a certain age (usually 18 years) to reach the age of the majority. Accounts opened by minors were usually subject to conditions set by the Guardian, and other banking facilities such as debit cards or internet banking were not usually available to minors.
