By Wezi Tjaronda WINDHOEK First National Bank has developed two new products for young people to replace Bob Junior and Bob Teen savings accounts. The new products, which were launched yesterday at the Holy Cross Convent Primary School, are FutureSave and FutureForward. FutureSave targets children up to 13 years, while the clientele for FutureForward is for teenagers from 13 to 18 years of age. The two products, developed to allow the youth access to affordable and reliable banking, offer tiered interest rates and free cash deposits up to N$1ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 500. Other benefits include savings account with Visa Electron Debit Card, interest rates on cash balances, first four free debits per month such as withdrawals or point-of-sales purchases and first four free ATM balance enquiries per month. The new products come with other benefits for the young people which include discounts on movie tickets, prepaid airtime and cards from MTC and Telecom Namibia, DVDs and Videos, Top 20 music CDs, computer games, magazines, books, airline flights, Inter-Cape bus fares, educational toys and magazines for children. FNB Holdings Group CEO, Vekuii Rukoro, said at the launch, which was witnessed by hundreds of learners from the school, that the two products have been transformed to address the financial needs and requirements of the youth from an early age because the youth are a critical target group that had not been adequately addressed by the banking sector for a long time. “Through these products, we at FNB not only wish to extend financial services to the youth at an early age, but we also wish to encourage a culture of saving amongst our youth,” he said. While the bank products offer young people financial freedom, Rukoro said they also introduce them to financial discipline because they can only use a debit card depending on how much money they have. “One of the reasons we encourage youth to understand banking at a young age already is that you all start the good habit of saving money very early,” added Rukoro. The new products were launched yesterday by Minister of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture, John Mutorwa, who spoke to the learners about the importance of education. He said education prepared children better for life and taught them how to make a living, adding: “Being in school from Grade 1 is not a waste of time. The knowledge that the teachers are transferring to you will be needed for real life situations.” He said since real life situations dealt with money, children should understand money and learn to use it responsibly.