In a modern banking, people are aware that there are different schemes under Savings Account portfolio that is offered by banks and these are tailor made to suit the customers’ needs. Few of them are:
- Senior Citizens’ Account
- Women’s Account
- Students’ Account
- Non-Resident Individuals
- No Frill Account
- Salaried Accounts and so on….
Different accounts carry different Average Quarterly Balance to be maintained. Few points related to Women Savings Accounts and its features under Indian conditions are enumerated below.
- Women in Indian families are becoming more empowered, not only in urban areas but also in semi-rural India and are more independent financially like never before.
- Women are becoming equal contributors when it comes to monetary support to the family and the concept of “sole bread winner” is changing drastically.
- Women now run everything from savings to investments and loans.
- Indian financial institutions have taken note of this and have come up with an unique product – Savings account, exclusively for women.
- Women’s account generally require lower average minimum balance and comes with insurance options.
- All popular banks in India including Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and South Indian Bank offer savings account for women.
Features and Benefits of Women Saving Account
You get an array of benefits with women’s savings account. Of-course, its use obviously depends on your requirements and how you are going to use the account. These illustrations will help you in deciding your requirements.
| SN | Type of Option | Details |
| 1 | Insurance Options | If you already have a full-fledged insurance policy separately, you can comfortably ignore this one feature. For example, Citibank Women’s account comes with a critical illness insurance cover for women less than 55 years, worth Rs.50,000. |
| 2 | Children’s Account | Consider UTI Bank Smart Privilege Account to which all women above 18 years can apply. The account comes with the facility of opening a zero-balance children’s account if required. The children’s account itself comes with a suite of advantages. This might be an interesting feature to consider if you are planning to open a savings account for your child. |
| 3 | Debit &Credit Cards | Many of the women’s savings account comes with an international debit card which allows the users to avail exclusive discounts and offers on products from select merchant partners. For example, Citibank Women’s Account offers a photo debit card that will also delight the customer with special discounts from restaurants, jewellers and department stores |
Women’s Accounts Offered by Indian Banks
Here are some of the popular women’s savings account in India.
HDFC Women’s Saving Account
Some of the main features of HDFC Women Saving Account are:
- It is mandatory to maintain a minimum average monthly balance of Rs. 10,000 for metro & urban branches, Rs.5000 for semi-urban & rural branches
- Accidental Death Cover of Rs. 10 lakhs
- Accidental Hospitalization Cover of Rs. 1 lakhs
- Daily cash allowance of Rs. 1,000 per day for a maximum of 10 days per year, for each day of hospitalization due to an accident
- Get Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC) waiver on the first year for Demat Account
- Get preferential rates on loans
- Get 50% discount on the issuance of a Gift Plus Card when you load a minimum of Rs. 5,000 on the card through the branch or via NetBanking
- Avail a daily cash withdrawal limit of Rs. 25,000 and a daily shopping limit of Rs. 1.75 lakhs, and enjoy Cashback upto of Re. 1 for every Rs. 200 spent on your EasyShop Woman’s Advantage Debit Card
- Get up to 90% finance on the on-road price of a vehicle and 7 year tenure when you apply for an Auto Loan
- Get 2% lower interest rate on Two Wheeler Loan and a 50% discount on processing fees
- Enjoy exclusive shopping benefits available on select brands
- Personal Accident Death Cover (rail, road, air) of Rs 5 lakhs (Conditions Apply)
ICICI Bank Advantage Woman Savings Account
Some of the main features of these Savings Accounts are:
- Zero balance, if you can do recurring deposit of Rs 2,000 per month for 6 months. Such RD would any way earn RD interest.
- Cashback up to ₹ 750 per month on dining, entertainment and jewellery on usage of Debit Card
- 50% discount on first year locker rentals – exclusively for Advantage Woman Savings Account holders
- Preferential rates on Home Loan
- Apply easily for iProtect Smart which has a comprehensive premium for Life, Accidental Death & 34 Critical illness cover
- Earn higher interest by setting a balance limit above which money in the Savings Account will get converted into Fixed Deposit on request
IDBI Super Shakti Women’s Account
Some of the main features of IDBI Super Shakti Women’s Savings Accounts are:
Two free accounts for their children below the age of eighteen years
- MAB – Rs. 5000 (Metro & Urban), Rs. 2500 (Semi Urban), Rs. 500 (Rural)
- Two zero balance account for your child below the age of 18 years
- Auto Sweep out / sweep in facility above Rs. 15,000
- Specially designed Women’s International ATM cum Debit card
- Higher ATM cash withdrawal Limits- Rs. 40,000/- per day
- Online options to pay your bills or tax
- Personalized PAP Cheque Book
- 25% discount on Locker services
- 50% discount on Demat AMC
South Indian Bank Mahila Plus Account
- This is specially designed to meet the banking needs of Indian women
- This account can be opened with a minimum balance of Rs.5000 and
- Additionally, this account is covered under travel and accident death insurance.
Axis Bank Women’s Savings Account
Below mentioned are some of the primary features of Axis Women Savings Account:
- Low minimum opening deposit of Rs. 10,000 in metros, and monthly e-statements to track transactions of your Women’s Savings Account
- Get one free payable-at-par cheque book per quarter
- Access to 13,000+ Axis Bank ATMs, 3,000+ Axis Bank branches as well as internet and mobile banking services
- Visa Classic Debit Card at an issuance fee of Rs. 200 and annual fee of Rs. 150 in metro and urban locations
- High daily withdrawal limits of Rs. 40,000 at ATMs and Rs. 1,00,000 for shopping transactions
- First 5 transactions free at Axis Bank ATMs
- First 3/5 transactions free at Non Axis Bank ATMs in a metro / non-metro location respectively
- Personal accident insurance cover of up to Rs. 2 lakhs, if card is swiped once, every 6 months
- Combined Lost Card Liability and Purchase Protection Liability of uptoRs. 50,000 to protect debit card from fraudulent use and also cover for damage or loss of articles purchased using the debit card
- Earn Axis eDGE reward points for completing transactions
- With Axis Bank Savings Account for women, you are not required to pay any processing fees, prepayment fees, and pre-closure fees when you apply for education loan to suit any type of educational requirements.
Kotak Silk Women Savings Account
Below mentioned are some of the primary features of Kotak Silk Women Savings Account:
- Get cashback on Kotak Silk Debit Card Spends
- 35% discount on Locker Rentals for the first year
- Use Kotak Bank’s Silk Debit Card and get special offers, privileges, lifestyle benefits and much more
- Get updates of all accounts in a single account statement
- For NMC# waiver in Junior Account Minimum monthly RD or MF-SIP installment value of Rs. 2000/- (Rs. 1000 or above for Semi-Urban & Rural Branches); Minimum tenure of 36 months; Maximum cap on RD monthly installment: Rs. 50,000 for tenure up to 120 months / Rs. 1,00,000 for tenure up to 36 months
- Get 50% discount on the issuance fee of Best Compliments Card
- Get Swipe Limit at Merchant Outlet (Point of Sale Limit) of Rs. 1,50,000 and Cash Withdrawal at Merchant Outlet (Cash @ POS) of Rs. 1,000
- Higher ATM Withdrawal Limit of Rs. 75,000
- Lost Card Liability – Rs. 1,50,000
- Get Purchase Protection – Rs 50,000
Factors to Consider Before Applying for a Women’s Savings Account
There are certain important factors one should consider before applying for a women’s account:
- Are you being offered an insurance cover? What is the charge that you must pay for the cover?
- What are the minimum balance requirements? What are the charges for non-maintenance of account? Will you be able to maintain the minimum balance?
- Do you get a debit or credit card with the account? What are the charges for the cards? What benefits do you get with the cards?
- Are any investment options offered with the savings account?
- Is the savings account for women any different to that of normal savings account? Which account will serve your purpose to the maximum?
- Is the internet, mobile and phone banking facilities offered with the card?
To conclude, savings account for women helps them to manage their finances better apart from several other advantages.
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