— by Cara Russell —
Anne Ha, left, helps Christian Heisinger with his banking on March 4.
On the first Tuesday of every month Washington Federal Orcas Branch manager Jamie Cier spends 8-8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria at the public school helping kids sign up for their own personal savings account.
Washington Federal wants to help children learn the habit and value of saving money with a “Save at School” account. “If they start young, it becomes a habit.” said Cier. “Some days the kids come in and pay no mind to us, but other days they are so excited that we are there because they have money they want to deposit.”
“We have approximately 35+ Save at School participants in our branch,” says Cier, “but there are thousands across Washington state. The program started in 2009 and is available for elementary school age children.”
A child can open their own “Save at School” account with a minimum of $5, and upon opening the account Washington Federal will add another $5 to each new student’s account. After opening their account, the child can then make deposits on the designated “Bank Days,” which are the first Tuesday of every month.
With most bank accounts, you have to keep a minimum balance of at least $200 to avoid fees, but with a “Save at School” account there are no fees no minimum balance needed, and the accounts earn a variable rate of 0.20% Annual Percentage Yield.
Students are given register books and reusable envelopes to help keep track of their deposits. Parents receive quarterly statements in the mail.
Though Cier goes through the account information needed to set up the savings account with the child, the form must be signed by a parent or legal guardian. The form is available in both English and Spanish, and it asks questions like, name, DOB, mother’s maiden name (which a child might not always know), street and mailing address. For security purposes, however, if the student wants to make withdrawals they must be made in person at a Washington Federal branch.
