It’s not easy being born, particularly in 2020. As a reward for ushering out this difficult year, Ally Bank is offering a New Year’s Promotion. Every baby born on December 31, 2020 a financial head-start: $250 in a custodial account.
“Oftentimes, just getting started is the hardest part of saving,” said Di Morais, President, consumer and commercial banking products for Ally Bank, to Parentology. “With so much ahead of them, we thought the right thing to do was to offer these babies a financial head start. It’s our way of saying ‘thanks for helping us end this year on a positive note.'”
How to Enroll Your New Year’s Eve Baby
First off, your baby (or babies; Ally Bank is offering this for twins and triplets, too), must have a December 31, 2020 birthdate. Then, go to Ally Bank’s landing page to sign up on January 15th, 2021.
Stuff you’ll need includes your child’s Social Security number (SSN), a certified birth certificate showing birth between 12:01 am and 11:59 p.m. (local time) on December 31, 2020, and a residential street address (not just a P.O. box) in one of the 50 U.S. states, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Next, you’ll open an Ally Bank custodial account through the page. After enrolling in Ally Bank’s online banking (through its mobile app) by 7/31/21–and uploading the birth certificate– your baby’s bonus will appear in the custodial account.
Best Wishes For Your Baby’s Future
Ally Bank is an entirely digital bank, which makes it entirely appropriate for this chaotic year of lockdowns and distancing. Ally spells that out in a prearrival “letter” to all the 2020 New Year’s Eve babies.
“In many ways, 2020 marks a new era. You’ve been born on the other side of the great digital migration where, as a society, we’ve learned to do just about everything online, from staying close with family to going to work and school. As the original digital-only bank, we have a natural affinity for you — we, too, were born for this new digital era.”
A custodial account also helps you to save for your child exclusively. You enjoy some flexibility down the road in how the money is spent, or you can use it as a financial teaching tool for your child when they’re older.
“A custodial account is a great way to save up for your child’s future. That’s the case whether you’re stockpiling cash for higher education or otherwise,” noted online financial site Smart Asset. “You’ll know that while your child grows, he or she will have some money maturing as well. The tax benefits that come with custodial accounts can be an extra bonus as well.”