RaboDirect's Childrens Account FAQs

• Yes, simply select 'An account for a child' during the online account opening process.

• You can open an account on behalf of any child under the age of 18 years. The account will be opened in their name however you will be acting as the sole authorised signatory of the account, until their 18th birthday. However, if your child is 12 years of age or over they may open an account in their own right by selecting 'A personal account' during the online account opening process.

• When opening an account for a child you will need to provide us with a certified copy of a passport, drivers licence, NZ firearms licence or birth certificate for the child and the authorised signatory.

Simply complete the online application process and send the following information to us: 

• Signed account summary form
• Signed Direct Debit Authority
• Nominated Account bank statement (current copy) or a print off of your onscreen Transaction Summary
• Evidence of your current postal address (for example, a utility bill or a bank statement showing your name and postal address)
• (If applicable) RWT exemption certificate

• For accounts on behalf of a minor, a certified copy of identification for the minor and authorised signatory.

Following receipt and acceptance of your application, we will post you the account number together with a Digipass (a device that allows you to access the secure site). A few days later, your initial PIN code for the Digipass will arrive. You can use these to login and manage the accounts and move your funds into our term deposits and/or managed funds if you wish.

A certified copy of the identification for the child and the authorised signatory is required. A certified copy is a photocopy of a drivers licence, passport, NZ firearms licence or birth certificate signed off by a Justice of the Peace, lawyer, bank officer, doctor, registered teacher, chartered accountant or minister.

A nominated account is another New Zealand bank account held in the same name as your RaboDirect account. You nominate this as being the linked account to transfer money either to or from your RaboDirect account. This is also the account from which we will deduct the opening deposit upon receipt of your application form.

For a children's account, the nominated account may either be in the child's name or the authorised signatory's name (the person operating the RaboDirect account on behalf of the child).

1. Complete the Request to Change nominated account form [PDF 149KB]
2. Complete the Direct Debit Authority [PDF 28KB]
3. Forward the following to Freepost RaboDirect, PO Box 38567, Wellington:
   - Signed Request to Change nominated account form
   - Signed Direct Debit Authority 
   - Official evidence of your new nominated account showing the account name and number. This can be a statement, an internet printout, or an encoded deposit slip
   - Official evidence of your old and new nominated accounts name and number.

Please remember:

1. Your new nominated account must be in the same name as your old nominated account.
2. Only once your change of nominated account notification has been processed by us, will you be able to create new Transfer of Funds instructions or make one-off funds transfers to or from your new nominated account.

The introduction of interest rate tiers is in response to New Zealand's financial regulators making changes following the global financial crisis, regarding the way banks raise funds for use within the New Zealand market.

The guidelines introduced by the Reserve Bank refer particularly to the type of deposits banks should be securing. Under these guidelines, individual larger sums fall into a different category of deposits, and as a consequence we are offering a higher premium for deposits of a smaller size as a means of attracting more money of that nature.

If you are interested in further information regarding the Reserve Bank guidelines, you can view these on their website via the link below.

http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/finstab/banking/regulation/3675928.pdf

There are two interest rate tiers:

• Tier 1: $0 up to $5m

• Tier 2: More than $5m

For On-Call accounts, the interest rate will be based on the proportion of the balance within each tier. For example, for an account with an On-Call balance of $2 million, the whole balance earns the rate applied to Tier 1. If the balance of this account is raised to $5.5 million, then the Tier 1 rates are applied to the first $5 million, and the Tier 2 rates are applied to the remaining $500,000.