Is there a greater birthday gift than giving a young person a bit of a financial head start? Probably not. It’s never too early to start building up a nest egg for your children. By repeatedly depositing small or large amounts of money into a gift savings account for your child, you will be helping to make their big wishes come true. But how can parents, godparents and grandparents help their children to save? Which accounts can be used as gift savings accounts?

Would you like to open a gift savings account as a parent or legal guardian?

As a parent or legal guardian, you are entitled to open a youth savings account in Swiss francs or euros in the child’s name at a preferential interest rate. You can easily help a child or young person finance their plans for the future by paying money into the youth savings account. Of course, anyone else who wants to give the child a present can also pay into the gift savings account, as long as you provide them with the account details.

Useful tip: youth savings accounts are managed in the free SmartKids banking package (for children up to the age of 11) or SmartYoung banking package (for children, teenagers and young adults up to the age of 20).

Would you like to open a gift savings account as a godparent or grandparent?

As a godparent or grandparent, you can open a savings account in your own name with an additional name (e.g. niece, nephew or grandchild). In this way, you can give the youngster a good start in life. You can pay out or transfer the savings to them at any time. Alternatively, ask the parents or legal guardian if a youth savings account has already been opened for the child, and simply pay into it.

How much flexibility do I have with a gift savings account?

Whether for birthdays or other festive occasions, you can make flexible inpayments into the youth savings account or savings account you have opened – whenever you want and as much as you want.

Standing orders: a convenient way to achieve your goal with a gift savings account

A simple trick to deduct some money from your salary each month for your child, godchild or grandchild is to set up a standing order. You decide how much money you want to transfer and how often. This means you’ll be saving for your loved ones without even realising it, and without incurring any additional costs. With a standing order, you won’t encounter any problems if the child who receives the gift lives abroad: standing orders can be set up for anywhere in the world.

Funds saving plan as an alternative to a gift savings account

A funds saving plan is also a smart way of investing in a child’s future. Every two, four, eight or 12 weeks, you can purchase fund units for an amount of your choice starting from 20 francs. This way, your invested assets will slowly but steadily grow. Once again: the earlier you start, the more time your assets have to grow.