Children's online savings accounts

[CheeseBadger]

Does anyone have (to hand) details of any children's savings accounts with online access? We have branches of Santander, Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS near home, so I'd like to use one of them so that DD can get used to banking the old fashioned way. But she will also need the 21st century option. I have some spare time to set this up tomorrow, and one of the grandmothers is pestering me for account details so she can pay her entire pension in every month or something...

She's 6 weeks old tomorrow, so it'll be paying in only for a good many few years...

Or would an ordinary savings account be better than a "child" version? She has her own E-mail address etc.

[CheeseBadger]

P.S. As this is my first foray into the investments board, feel free to assume I'm an idiot. My idea of financial management is not getting into debt and keeping on top of the mortgage. Never had an ISA of my own (solely through laziness), but willing to consider for DD...

[SummerLightning]

I am by no means an investing expert, but if a grandmother is paying in every month I would set up a Junior ISA and get her to pay into that.

Disadvantage or advantage is that your DD cannot get at it until she is 18.

Then you could set up a normal savings account and pay in birthday money, etc so she can get used to banking the old fashioned way! Sorry I don't know which ones you can do online. (I have a virgin one for my kids which is a pita as you can't do it online or over the phone)

[CheeseBadger]

Thanks. I think that was the mix I was planning based on a quick read over some relevant threads. So any old instant access savings account for odds and ends, and a Junior ISA for us / grandmother to pay into regularly. I was wondering about cash vs stocks vs something even more exotic in the ISA, and whether the banks listed above had any reasonable ISA products, or whether we'd be better off with some sort of specialist provider.

As I said, I have no idea about any of that, as generally when I have spare cash I spend it on our decrepit house.

[SummerLightning]

I have just opened a Junior ISA with Charles Stanley online, it has been very efficient, just transferring CTF over to them.

I will invest it in a tracker type fund (stocks and shares ISA). Since it will be there a reasonably long time, I figure stocks and shares are likely to outperform cash.

[moveon]

I have a Virgin children's savings account for DD where birthday and Christmas money goes into and have when I sold her baby stuff (split with her dad so didn't seem fair for me to keep the money from her baby stuff!). DD comes to bank this with me so she gets it in the old fashioned way.
This is instant access. I switched from Halifax a few years back because the rate was better. There's a branch across from where I work and also one in my local town so it's not a prob getting there.

I also save into and ISA for her future. However this is in my name so if my situation changes and I need cash I can get it. Also, don't like the thought of her having a bid wad of cash aged 18.

[moveon]

She also has an old CTF account which I started to invest in when she was younger, but then stopped. I thought about transferring out and was about to, but then I realised something and stopped. Cannot quite remember what it was! I think it was the transfer out to another provider would have cost me way more than the fees I was saving.

It's just sitting there and luckily earning despite the fees (I bought ETFs).

[specialsubject]

look for the best interest rate - at the moment it does seem to be a cash ISA for children but keep an eye on it as most banks/building societies crash the rate after a year.

you could even use the money to start her pension. She won't be able to get at it until she is 55 unless legislation changes, but with stock market general performance it should be a tidy sum by then.

by the time she is old enough to do her own banking who knows what the system will be? (did anyone have internet banking ten years ago?). I'm all for forward planning but she is only 6 weeks old!

[specialsubject]

ps:

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1583863/Best-savings-rates-Junior-Isas-children-s-accounts.html