Saving 1,000 yuan has a higher interest rate than saving 200,000 yuan. Banks are using "full force" to compete for New Year's money.

“Received several thousand yuan in New Year’s money again, I’ll go to the bank to deposit it tomorrow.” Xiaoxue happily shows a reporter from Huaxia Times the brand-new banknotes she received during this year’s Spring Festival.

This year, now in the third grade of middle school, she is already a “long-time customer” of the bank. She told the reporter that she had opened her own dedicated passbook with her parents’ accompaniment when she was in elementary school, and now her account balance has reached five figures.

In recent years, parents have increasingly valued financial literacy education for their children. More and more families are consciously guiding their children to establish correct money management concepts. Commercial banks are also targeting this demand, tapping into the New Year’s money market.

During the 2026 Spring Festival, commercial banks launched a series of exclusive financial products and service plans centered on “New Year’s money” and “children’s accounts.” Through measures such as interest rate increases, special benefits, and financial literacy education, they turn this holiday fund into an important link connecting family customers, reflecting a shift in the banking industry from “competing for deposits” to “building relationships” and “long-term customer acquisition.”

Banks Launch “High-Interest” Fixed Deposit Products Targeting New Year’s Money

“Every year, I take my children to the bank to deposit their New Year’s money. Over time, the children have developed the habit of saving money themselves. It’s not just us; many families around us do the same,” Xiaoxue’s mother told Huaxia Times. In the past, New Year’s money was mostly managed by parents, but now more is being entrusted to banks.

During the 2026 Spring Festival, children’s New Year’s money became a new battleground for retail banking competition. Several joint-stock banks, including China Merchants Bank, China Guangfa Bank, and Huaxia Bank, launched dedicated financial products for children’s New Year’s money.

For example, China Merchants Bank set up a “Jin Xiao Kui” section in its mobile app, offering 51 types of financial products including deposits, wealth management, and insurance, ensuring that the New Year’s money is used for specific purposes.

Meanwhile, many local banks also joined this competition. Some launched exclusive fixed deposit products with interest rates higher than the standard rates for the same term, and some even offered rates exceeding those of large-denomination certificates of deposit for the same period.

For instance, Beijing Rural Commercial Bank introduced a Sunshine Baby Card savings product, with a minimum deposit of 1,000 yuan. The annual interest rates for 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms are 1.5%, 1.6%, and 1.75%, respectively, which are 35, 40, and 45 basis points above the bank’s standard fixed deposit rates for the same periods. Additionally, their 2-year New Year’s money exclusive fixed deposit offers an interest rate 10 basis points higher than the latest 200,000 yuan minimum deposit, 2-year large-denomination certificate of deposit.

Beijing Bank launched the “Jing Ying Zone,” offering a special deposit product called “Little Jing New Year’s Treasure” for children’s New Year’s money, with 2-year and 3-year deposit rates at 1.60% and 1.75%, respectively, both above the bank’s standard 2-year (1.20%) and 3-year (1.30%) fixed deposit rates.

Mengshang Bank offered the New Year’s Treasure deposit from February 15 to March 20, with annual interest rates of 1.4%, 1.45%, and 1.75% for 1, 2, and 3-year terms, with a minimum deposit of only 500 yuan.

Yinzhou Bank announced that its “Children’s Certificate of Deposit” offers a maximum 1.88% fixed deposit rate for new customers over 3 years, with a limit of 100,000 yuan per account. For the 3-year “Children’s Certificate of Deposit” ranging from 50 yuan to 10,000 yuan, the interest rate is 1.55%.

In addition to preferential interest rates, many banks attract customers through rich benefits and activities.

For example, Henan Rural Commercial Bank Taixian Branch launched a “New Year’s Money Appreciation Plan” from the fourth to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, where children under 16 depositing over 1,000 yuan in fixed deposits could have a 100% chance of winning prizes. Shanxi Lianxian Rural Commercial Bank offers gifts such as blind boxes, plush toys, and building blocks to children with different minimum deposit amounts. Zhejiang Jiaxing Pinghu Rural Commercial Bank uses “Children’s Passbooks” as a platform, combining wealth savings with growth records to create a differentiated marketing highlight.

It is worth noting that these financial products aimed at children under 16 and teenagers require guardians to hold valid ID, household registration, and birth certificates to open accounts on their behalf. According to regulations, minors’ accounts are strictly regulated in terms of fund usage rights and transaction limits. Most commercial banks restrict high-risk functions such as wealth management and online payments, and set daily or annual transaction caps to ensure fund security.

Banks Shift from Single Product Competition to Family Financial Services

With interest rates generally declining, why are banks willing to offer such “high-interest” treatment for “small” New Year’s money?

In this regard, Yuan Shuai, Deputy Director of the Investment Department at China Urban Development Research Institute, told Huaxia Times that the core behind this move is a differentiated strategy to capture the long-term value of family customers.

“From a short-term perspective, although the single amount of New Year’s money is small, it is linked to the entire family’s wealth management needs. Banks attract children’s accounts with high interest rates, which can reach the family decision-makers at a relatively low cost, laying the foundation for subsequent penetration of more financial products.” Yuan Shuai further explained that, in the long run, these children’s dedicated deposits often have fixed lock-in conditions, which can stabilize the bank’s liabilities and cultivate the habit of using the bank’s accounts from a young age, establishing a first-mover advantage in users’ minds.

“More importantly, the promotional effect of high-interest children’s deposits far exceeds the interest cost, leveraging the social aspect of New Year’s money to generate spontaneous word-of-mouth, enhancing the bank’s brand exposure among retail customers,” he said.

It is also noteworthy that some banks have launched “Parent-Child Co-managed Accounts” and “Financial Literacy Education” services beyond traditional deposit collection.

For example, China Guangfa Bank launched a children’s dedicated “Freedom Card,” creating an independent financial account that ensures New Year’s money is used for specific purposes and allows “parent-child co-management.” Parents can view fund flows in real-time via the Guangfa Bank app, set spending limits and scene restrictions, and each child’s expenditure is also pushed to the parents. China Merchants Bank has also launched the “Jin Xiao Kui” financial literacy salon, integrating financial knowledge into children’s growth education.

Yuan Shuai believes that the launch of parent-child co-managed accounts and financial literacy services marks a shift in retail business from single-product competition to comprehensive family lifecycle services.

“Parent-child co-managed accounts, by linking the accounts of parents and children, transform the children’s account from a simple storage tool into an extension of family wealth management. Parents can plan pocket money and education funds for their children through co-management, naturally becoming deep users of the bank.” He further explained that financial literacy services deepen the bank’s role, moving beyond mere fund custodians to providers of family financial knowledge. Through lectures, simulated investments, and other activities, they enhance users’ trust and dependence on the bank.

“The strategic advantage of this positioning is that children’s accounts have a lifecycle spanning decades. Once a user establishes a relationship with the bank in childhood, they are more likely to choose the same institution for future education loans, housing loans, and investment management, allowing the bank to occupy a central position in the family wealth management chain and achieve penetration from single deposits to full-range financial services.” Yuan Shuai concluded.

(Source: Huaxia Times)