The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared on April 21, 2025, that children older than 10 can now open and manage savings and term deposit accounts on their own.
Regarding deposit accounts for minors, the RBI updated its guidelines for commercial and cooperative banks.
RBI Allows 10 Year Olds To Open and Manage Accounts
The circular states that a natural or legal guardian may open and manage savings or term deposit accounts for minors of any age.
Additionally, the RBI said that minors may open accounts under the guardianship of their mothers.
The circular specified, “Minors above such an age limit not less than 10 years and up to such amount and such terms as may be fixed by the banks keeping in view their risk management policy, may be allowed to open and operate savings/term deposit accounts independently, if they so desire, and such terms shall be duly conveyed to the account holder.”
Banks must get new operating instructions and a sample signature from the account holder to retain on file once a minor reaches the age of majority.
The RBI circular also noted, “The banks are free to offer additional banking facilities like internet banking, ATM/debit cards, cheque book facility, etc, to the minor account holders basis their risk management policy, product suitability and customer appropriateness.”
Banks are required to make sure that minor accounts, whether managed by a guardian or on their own, are never overdrawn and always have a positive balance.
When opening small accounts, banks must conduct due diligence on their customers. They must also continue to do so.
By July 1, 2025, banks must either update their current policies or develop new ones in order to comply with the new guidelines, according to the RBI.
RBI Wants Gold Loans To Be Classified Based On End Use: Income Or Consumption?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a draft circular proposing a new framework to strengthen and harmonize regulations governing loans against gold ornaments, jewellery, and certain silver assets. The proposed changes aim to address concerns regarding auction practices, loan classification, valuation standards, and operational safeguards. Stakeholders can submit feedback until May 12, 2025.
Under the proposed norms, gold loans will be categorized into ‘income generating’ and ‘consumption’ types, each governed by distinct criteria. Income-generating loans—those used for economic activities like farming or business—will require credit assessment based on cash flow rather than the gold’s value. Meanwhile, consumption loans will carry a loan-to-value (LTV) cap of 75%, applicable throughout the loan’s tenure. A breach of this ratio for over 30 days will trigger an additional provisioning of 1%.
