THE Ministry of Social and Family Development has appointed DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB) as new managing agents for the Child Development Account (CDA), in a bid to provide parents with more choices for starting the special account under the Baby Bonus scheme.

A new Baby Bonus Online (BBO) system will also be launched after the middle of next month to allow parents to submit their CDA applications online, update their personal information or switch CDA banks using their SingPass, the ministry said in a statement.

Under the CDA, parents' deposits are matched by the Government dollar-for-dollar up to a cap which depends on the birth order of the child and can be used for a range of services, such as purchasing prescription medicine or selected healthcare items.

OCBC Bank is an existing CDA managing agent, alongside Standard Chartered Bank, but the latter will cease CDA operations by December 2018, the release said.

Parents with existing accounts in Standard Chartered Bank will be able to transfer the accounts to DBS Bank, OCBC or UOB before December 2018 using the BBO system.

Parents seeking to transfer their account from one authorised bank to another will also be able to do it without charge, but may have to forgo promised benefits, privileges or gifts, depending on the terms and conditions agreed with your existing CDA bank, the release stated.

According to the ministry, there are currently 280,000 active Baby Bonus CDAs.

Accounts with the two new banks can be opened by applying through the BBO at Baby bonus.msf.gov.sg/parent after the middle of next month.