BCR tackles teenage market

Children now have a new solution to save the money they receive for Christmas: their own banking accounts. The Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) was the first to launch a product aimed at minors, trying to enter a market niche that has not been exploited yet, but which may become very profitable in several years.

“This is the first time when a bank launches such a product, as it is generally considered that minors cannot manage their own money. The Law does not say such an account cannot be opened, but imposes several restrictions,” Cezar Predeanu, head of the banking products and services for natural persons department within BCR, told Ziarul Financiar.

He says that this product gives minors the legal possibility to benefit from donations and aids and, on the other hand, “will teach them to save and manage the money.”

The initiative is not completely novel, as in the 70s and 80s, the Savings Bank (CEC) offered a passbook to the pupils, which was accessible to minors from the moment they attended gymnasium. The pupils saved money in a deposit by buying stamps issued by CEC and sticking them into a notebook.

When the notebook was full, it could be changed for a passbook and this procedure was running through the Education Ministry. Now, this is an attempt to build a market on virgin territory.

“The idea was grounded on previous requests and the presumption that any teenager who gets an amount of money from relatives, parents, or from Christmas carols, should learn to manage it by himself,” BCR officials said.

The deposit for minors launched by BCR allows teenagers between 14 and 18 years old to open deposits in both foreign and domestic currency. The minimum amount to open a current account is 100,000 lei, 100 dollars or euros respectively, while the minimum amount to open a maturity deposit is 500,000 lei, 500 dollars or euros, respectively.

Minors are allowed to deposit money without the permission of parents, tutors or curator if the amount does not exceed the level secured by the Fund for deposits guarantee in the banking system. If the amount they want to deposit is higher, teenagers need the parents’ written agreement.

Minors will be allowed to withdraw money from the deposit only with the parents’ agreement, which will be a written statement made before the bank’s employees or a public notary.

The bank offers a variable interest rate for the minors’ domestic currency deposits, which currently stands at 7% for current accounts, 30% for one-month deposits, 31% for three-month deposits, 32% for the six-month deposits, 33% for nine-month deposits, 34% for twelve-month deposits and 36% for the eighteen-month deposits.