SINGAPORE: OCBC announced on Tuesday (Sept 3) that it is introducing digital banking to children and teens ages seven to 15 through the OCBC MyOwn Account, which starts on Oct 20, 2024.
To further sweeten the deal, for the first 1000 parents who register to open an OCBC MyOwn Account here, there will be an additional limited edition mystery gift worth S$25.
This first-of-its-kind account in Singapore enables today’s Gen Alpha, born after 2009, to take the first step into financial independence and literacy.
With other banks, young people must wait until the age of 16 to own and operate their bank accounts. Until then, parents have sole access to digital banking for the accounts they open for their children, OCBC pointed out in a media statement on Sept 3.
While parents still need to open the OCBC MyOwn Account for their kids, what sets it apart is that kids aged between seven and 15 will be able to operate their own bank accounts digitally via the OCBC Digital app, with parents setting the boundaries and controls for the account.
When they open an OCBC MyOwn Account, they will receive an OCBC MyOwn Debit Card with their favourite design.
Parents can then download the OCBC Digital app on a separate smartphone, and their child can create a username and password to access their bank account digitally.
Moreover, using their own OCBC Digital app, parents will be able to monitor the activities on their child’s account as their kid’s fund transfers, payments, ATM deposits or withdrawals, and debit card usage will be seen on their parent’s dashboard, a first for digital banking apps in Singapore.
OCBC MyOwn Account is especially useful for teens, who can make payments digitally without asking their parents, given today’s increasingly cashless times.
Teens will be scan-and-pay merchant QR codes or use PayNow via the OCBC Digital app and have access to in-store and online deals at selected merchants.
They’ll also be able to see the ins and outs of their account through a simpler dashboard on their OCBC Digital app. At the same time, parents will be able to see all the account activity.
Parents can also set transaction limits on the account and debit card, update their child’s contact details, receive notifications on all their child’s account activities, reset their teen’s card and PIN, and report a lost debit card.
Importantly, the OCBC MyOwn account teaches Gen Alpha to bank safely, with the OCBC Money Lock feature enabling a portion of the funds to be securely locked and avoiding unauthorized access.
It also allows a “kill switch” to be activated to freeze the account if the child or parents suspect their account has been compromised. /TISG
Featured image: Depositphotos
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