Teaching a child to save is easier when the account itself does the teaching, and Qatar's Islamic banks offer a genuine curriculum: profit that arrives quarterly as a real Mudaraba share rather than interest, prize draws a child can follow, and app statements a parent can supervise. Three of the four banks publish children's products; they differ meaningfully on entry cost, disclosure and what happens for expatriate families. We verified all terms against the banks' pages on 2026-08-04 and 2026-08-05.
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QIB Minor Savings: the frictionless one
QIB's Minor Savings Account is the easiest start in the market: open instantly in the QIB Mobile App with zero balance, for children under 18, managed and supervised by the parent. It pays quarterly profit on the average daily balance, includes a free debit card, and gives parents expense tracking through e-statements and SMS. The distinctive feature is Misk access: a minor's savings can enter QIB's prize draws, with every QAR 10,000 multiple earning entry into weekly QAR 10,000 draws, monthly QAR 50,000 draws and the QAR 1,000,000 draw held every two months. The gap is the same one QIB has everywhere: the profit rate is not published, so you cannot tell your child what their money earns until the statement arrives.
AlRayan Kids Account: the cheapest entry
AlRayan's Kids Savings Account opens from QAR 500 for minors, a fraction of the QAR 20,000 to 50,000 adult savings thresholds, with no minimum balance, no monthly fee, and profit calculated quarterly from the bank's Mudaraba pool. The page states explicitly that the product is approved by the bank's Shariah Supervisory Board, unusually direct wording for AlRayan. Two caveats: no expected profit rate is published, and for non-Qatari minors the guardian must hold an AlRayan account with salary transfer, which quietly ties the child's account to the parent's banking choice. Nothing child-specific exists in the app: no goals, no round-ups, no financial-education tooling.
Dukhan Jeelkum: the only one with printed rates
Dukhan's Jeelkum is a youth account rather than a pure children's product, and its age range is unpublished, so branch confirmation is needed for younger kids. But it is the only youth-segment account in Qatar that prints its full rate ladder: 0.75% expected below QAR 50,000, 1% to QAR 100,000, and 3.0% above QAR 100,000 paid monthly, with the top tier's delivery confirmed at 3.00% through 2025 in the bank's historic payout table. Minimum opening deposit is QAR 5,000. Read plainly, Jeelkum's economics serve families parking meaningful sums in a child's name far better than pocket-money savers, who will earn 0.75% at typical balances.
Side by side
| Feature | QIB Minor Savings | AlRayan Kids | Dukhan Jeelkum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening minimum | Zero | QAR 500 | QAR 5,000 |
| Published rate | No | No | Yes: 0.75% to 3.0% by tier |
| Profit frequency | Quarterly | Quarterly | Monthly at top tier |
| Opening route | Instant in-app | Branch | Branch |
| Expat condition | Standard QIB documents | Guardian needs ARB salary account | Not published |
| Extra | Misk prize draw entry | Explicit board approval on page | Delivered 3.00% top tier in payout ledger |
What about QIIB?
QIIB publishes no dedicated children's savings account on its retail pages (verified 2026-08-04). Its shelf runs adult products with an 18-year minimum age for Qataris and 21 for expats. Families committed to QIIB for its published rates can still hold a child's money in a parent's name, but they lose the ownership clarity a true minor account provides. One adjacent QIB option deserves mention: QIB's Fixed Term Deposit allows minors to hold deposits via a legal custodian, so a child's lump sum (a gift, an inheritance share) can earn term rates rather than sitting in an unpublished-rate savings account.
The teaching angle: profit, not interest
There is a quiet educational payoff in these accounts. A child watching quarterly Mudaraba profit arrive learns that money grows through a share in real economic activity, with an amount that varies because the underlying pool's performance varies. That is a more honest first lesson in finance than a fixed interest coupon, and it comes with a vocabulary (profit share, expected rate) that our Mudarabah explainer unpacks for the parent fielding questions. For the prize accounts, the fiqh position parents should know: draws are funded by the bank as gifts, entry is free, and the child's capital is never staked, which is why Qatar's boards approve them.
The guardian's checklist before opening
A few contract realities deserve a parent's attention before signing anything. Ownership: a minor account is the child's property operated by the guardian, which matters for inheritance and for what happens at majority; none of the three banks publishes its age-18 conversion process, so ask and keep the answer in writing. Access: the guardian operates the account, but debit cards issued on minor accounts (QIB includes one) put spending power in young hands, and QIB's SMS-plus-e-statement tracking is the practical control. Rates: children's products inherit the Mudaraba expected-rate caveat, and with two of three banks publishing no rate at all, the statement is your only scoreboard; check the first quarter's profit credit against the balance to compute what the account actually paid. Fees: all three products are free of monthly charges per their pages, but dormancy rules (QAR 10 monthly below QAR 500 at AlRayan) can apply to abandoned accounts, so an account opened for a newborn and forgotten is not costless.
A practical setup for a Qatari family
- Under 8 years old: AlRayan Kids at QAR 500, deposits on birthdays and Eid, quarterly statements read together.
- 8 to 14: QIB Minor Savings for the app visibility and debit card control, with Misk entries if the balance reaches QAR 10,000 multiples.
- Teenagers with real balances: Dukhan Jeelkum for the printed ladder; a six-figure education fund earns a published, delivered 3.0%.
- Lump sums with a horizon: QIB Fixed Term Deposit via custodian, or hold in the parent's name on QIIB's ladder (3.25% at one year) with clear records.
- Whatever you choose: confirm the account's conversion rules at age 18 in writing; no bank publishes them.
Frequently asked questions
What documents do I need to open a child's account in Qatar?
The child's QID or passport, the guardian's QID, and at AlRayan for non-Qatari minors, proof of the guardian's salary-transfer relationship with the bank. QIB's minor account opens in the parent's app; AlRayan and Dukhan require a branch visit. Exact document lists vary by branch, so call ahead.
Can my child win Misk's QAR 1,000,000?
Yes. QIB's minor account page confirms minors' savings enter Misk draws, with entries per QAR 10,000 of qualifying balance, including the grand draw of QAR 1,000,000 for two winners every two months. Prizes are gifts from the bank; the child's principal is never at risk from the draw.
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Which kids' account pays the most?
The only one with published numbers is Dukhan's Jeelkum: 3.0% expected on average balances above QAR 100,000, 1% between QAR 50,000 and 100,000, 0.75% below. QIB and AlRayan do not publish children's rates, which makes Jeelkum the default for rate-sensitive families with meaningful balances, and either of the others fine for habit-building amounts.