The Hindu Business Line : South Indian Bank lures school-goers with ‘SIB Junior’

And this the bank does by educating students in semi-urban and rural schools about banking habits and offering every student customer aged 12 and above an ATM card. “Students are enthused and keen to park their savings with us rather than putting it in a traditional hundi at home,” its Managing Director and CEO, Dr V.A. Joseph, told Business Line.

The result – it has managed to mop up over 1.5 lakh ‘SIB Junior’ (student) accounts within three months.

Branch managers call the effort a “roaring success”. Students, they say, vie with one another to have a bigger bank balance, enjoy swiping the ATM card to get an update of their balance and sometimes use it to draw cash.

Branch heads observed that the balance in a good number of ‘SIB Junior’ accounts was more than Rs 1,000.

“We see tremendous potential in the student segment. Name an occasion and one finds parents and well wishers gifting cash to children these days.

“These cash-rich youngsters splurge the money to buy retail products. We decided to tap this segment to inculcate the savings habit and familiarise them with the bank environment.

“Instead of getting them to open a savings account, we also offer them an ATM card, so they get the feel of technology even at the school level. The card, by far, has been the biggest attraction,” Dr Joseph said.

Though a good number of students from different schools across the country have become SIB customers, St Aloysious Higher Secondary School at Athirampuzha near Kottayam in Kerala has emerged as the first school in the State to have all the 500 students on its roll bank with SIB.

Asked if minors are allowed to operate bank accounts, he said, “Students are permitted to open and operate savings account within available limits. The ATM card is given only to those who are 12 years and above. Such students would have to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 150.”

“We are not sanctioning loan to a minor. They are only parking their pocket money in a bank and we are enabling them to do it and teaching them the nuances of banking at the school level itself,” he said.

Asked what recourse the bank would have should a case of cheating arise, he said, “so far, nothing of that sort has happened. Should any such incident arise, we will naturally get in touch with the parents, for it is only after the parents concurrence that a bank account is opened.”

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