[SyneRyder]

> Public schools over here have... programs where every student would get a bank account in the first grade with no fees

I think those are actually promotional programs run by the banks (but I agree they're a good thing). I'm 10 years older, but we were all given Commonwealth Bank Dollarmites accounts. There's more info on the Dollarmites program here, apparently schools get affiliate fees & commissions for every deposit the children make ($5 for every account opened, 5% commission on every deposit):

https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/kids/school-banking.htm...

> the state of bank competition meant that it was pretty rare for any personal banking to charge fees

That might have changed, last time I checked the major Australian banks all (except NAB) charged a $5 monthly fee, unless you agreed to setup an automatic monthly deposit of at least $2000. You used to be able to get fee-free accounts so long as you maintained a minimum balance level.

[falsedan]

> Commonwealth Bank Dollarmites

I still have the plastic piggy-bank somewhere (and a Fat Cat one, to really date myself).

By the time I went to uni, I had enough saved for a brand new Pentium Celeron system. It sure helped that interest rates were 10-15%…

[SyneRyder]

> I still have the plastic piggy-bank somewhere (and a Fat Cat one, to really date myself).

We're probably a similar age, I met Fat Cat on an Ansett flight once ;)

But clearly customer acquisition at a young age is huge for banks - I'm part of a focus group for Westpac, and recently they tested several different designs for piggy banks.

(Another initiative is already public, where they've giving $200 to every child born in Australia this year. Catch is, the parents have to open a Westpac account to claim it, and the money can't be withdrawn until the child turns 18.)

[flukus]

> I think those are actually promotional programs run by the banks (but I agree they're a good thing)

Commonwealth bank was government owned at the time.

[stephen_g]

Yep, my first account was through the Dollarmite program too.

Looks like you're right on fees - I didn't realise. One (NAB subsidiary) doesn't have fees, and for the other two transaction accounts I don't get charged the $4 p/m fee because I have my salary put into the savings account they're linked to.