Finest Debit Playing cards for Youngsters and Teenagers in February 2024: Greenlight, BusyKid and Extra

A dialog in a Fb mothers group launched my journey to find the most effective debit card for my kids. Highschool college students have been attending a school-sponsored subject journey the place the eatery didn’t settle for money, so mothers have been frantically trying to find digital fee choices that will enable their kids to purchase lunch. And so I set off to discover a debit card that I may open in my kids’s names — one with no charges and that included useful monetary literacy instruments.

There are many corporations that supply debit playing cards or bank accounts particularly geared towards kids and youths below the age of 18. Many additionally present academic assets and apps to help your child build good money habits. However there are dangers to think about. We’ll assist you to type by means of which corporations assist to maintain your youngster’s private data secure and embody applicable parental oversight options so you may monitor your youngster’s spending.

One of the best debit playing cards for teenagers and youths, in contrast

Greenlight Debit Card for Youngsters

Finest total

Minimal age: None

Month-to-month charge: $5 to $15 per thirty days, for as much as 5 kids

Free trial: 1 month

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

Probably the most widespread debit card apps for teenagers, Greenlight Debit Card for Youngsters permits mother and father to limit spending to particular shops, lets children earn curiosity on rising balances, and helps households set particular financial savings targets. The app is intuitive and simple to navigate.

You may select between three plans: Greenlight Core ($5), Greenlight Max ($10) or Greenlight Infinity ($15). Your youngster can earn an annual share yield between 1% and 5% on financial savings balances as much as $5,000, relying on the plan. The Greenlight Infinity plan comes with further security options, together with vehicle crash detection and SOS alerts.

We like that Greenlight lets mother and father pay children for finishing chores — you may schedule computerized funds so that you don’t overlook. Lastly, we like that Greenlight lets children divide their funds between spending, saving, investing and giving. 

For extra data, see our full evaluate of the Greenlight Debit Card for Kids.

GoHenry Debit Card for Youngsters

Finest safety features

Minimal age: 6

Month-to-month charge: $5 for one youngster; $10 for as much as 4 kids

Free trial: 30 days

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

Recognized for its customized playing cards and customizable duties like particular chores and financial savings targets, GoHenry is an effective selection for folks who need to assist youthful children tackle extra family obligations and pay them for a job effectively completed. What we actually like: The corporate’s policy clearly states that it doesn’t promote your — or your children’ — private data to 3rd events with out your permission.

For extra particulars, see our full GoHenry Debit Card for Kids review.

Step Card for Teenagers

Finest for any age with no month-to-month charges

Month-to-month charge: None

Free trial: None

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

Step could also be higher fitted to teenagers who’re able to degree up their monetary information, because it supplies entry to funding instruments and presents monetary literacy coaching programs. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a minimal age to enroll, and youthful kids can simply use Step to begin studying the best way to handle spending accounts and set financial savings targets. And Step doesn’t cost a month-to-month charge to take care of the account.

Like an everyday debit card, Step attracts on deposited funds to pay for purchases. Not like a debit card, the Step card processes all transactions as credit score — which suggests your youngster can construct credit score safely with out having to fret about overdraft charges or accruing curiosity.

We like that Step presents direct deposit so your teen can ship their paychecks on to their account. Step additionally lets them spherical up purchases to the closest greenback and add the distinction to a financial savings objective. In the event that they use direct deposit so as to add $500 or extra per thirty days to their Step account, your youngster can earn 5% curiosity on balances as much as $250,000. Your youngster may also earn rewards when utilizing their debit card at choose retailers.

However, there’s a significant downside to think about. Step makes it clear that it shares your private data with enterprise companions to serve up services or products presents based mostly in your youngster’s information. Step’s privacy policy says you may choose out, however you’ll must contact the corporate instantly.

BusyKid Debit Card for Youngsters

Finest for monetary literacy instruments

Minimal age: None

Month-to-month charge: $4 a month, as much as 5 kids per plan

Free trial: 1 month

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

The BusyKid Visa Pay as you go Debit Card is a superb useful resource for folks interested by educating their children the best way to develop their financial savings. Youngsters can put money in a financial savings account, make investments it in particular person shares or donate it to a charitable trigger. And you may match what your children contribute to basically double their financial savings. Plus, you may ship bonuses for rewards — like good grades or simply as a result of.

Axos First Checking

An interest-earning account

Month-to-month charge: None

Free trial: None

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

Axos’ First Checking account teaches teenagers (ages 13 to 17) to make use of a debit card. Your youngster can use the account to ship cash to folks and distributors and to pay payments. It additionally presents 0.10% APY, so your youngster can earn some curiosity on their financial savings. We like that there aren’t any month-to-month upkeep, overdraft or nonsufficient funds charges, plus teenagers can rise up to $12 in home ATM reimbursements per thirty days. However there aren’t many different perks geared towards rewards and allowances.

Mother and father can handle the teenager’s account from the cell app. It will help you monitor spending, lock and unlock the debit card, and set alerts.

Axos does share (PDF) your private data with different monetary corporations to market services to you — however you may choose out of focused affiliate adverts.

Chase First and Excessive Faculty Checking

A great choice for Chase clients

Minimal age: 6

Month-to-month charge: None

Free trial: None

ATM charge: None

Buy charges: None

Chase presents two kinds of checking accounts with debit card entry for youth. Mother and father should have already got an present checking account to open an account for his or her children, however neither account costs a month-to-month charge or requires a minimal steadiness. The Chase First Banking account is obtainable to kids ages 6 to 17. It consists of helpful options that oldsters will admire, reminiscent of spending controls, financial savings objective monitoring and a recurring allowance choice that may be paired with a chore checklist. 

The Chase Excessive Faculty Checking accounts are for teenagers ages 13 to 17 and supply extra freedom — this account presents account alerts as an alternative of parental spending controls — and supplies direct deposit, cell test deposits and Zelle transfers. One draw back is that you simply and your youngster should go to a department to open the account in particular person.

Why I wished a debit card for my kids

It’s simple to low cost this, however kids can begin incomes cash at an early age. Whether or not from birthday items, rewards for stellar report playing cards or beneficiant grandparents, your youngster might get pleasure from a gradual supply of revenue effectively earlier than they hit double digits. 

Instructing your youngster the best way to handle cash early on can set them on the proper path for his or her monetary future. Specialists advocate exposing your kids to monetary literacy matters from an early age. “At the same time as a toddler, they will nonetheless begin turning into comfy and assured with cash,” stated Amy LeBaron-Blacketting, an assistant professor of household life at Brigham Younger College, in an interview with ZDNet. 

Whereas a piggy financial institution is a superb visible help to reveal younger kids to financial savings and money administration ideas, opening an account with debit card entry on your youngster will be extra handy, simpler to handle and extra academic because it permits them to take part in additional complicated monetary transactions reminiscent of transferring money to savings accounts, opening a certificate of deposit and investing. 

However I discovered that not all banks and credit score unions supply accounts with debit card entry for minors below the age of 13, and I wished them to have an account of their identify. 

A debit card designed for teenagers — one with useful academic instruments and an easy-to-parse interface — might help train them the best way to set financial savings targets, “earn” cash from mother and father for finishing chores or obtain direct deposits from an actual job as soon as they start receiving paychecks. And debit playing cards are typically a safer choice than carrying money.

In case you’re anxious about overspending or poor cash administration, most debit playing cards designed for teenagers are linked to apps which have quite a few parental controls and protections permitting mother and father to maintain an in depth eye on their kids’s monetary actions.

Are debit playing cards for teenagers secure?

New know-how at all times presents dangers — particularly when children are concerned. Two-thirds of oldsters consider that elevating children is more difficult than 20 years in the past, exactly due to know-how, based on a Pew Research survey.

And it’s not simply display time that raises considerations — 915,000 kids have been victims of identification theft from July 2021 to July 2022, based on a 2022 examine by Javelin Strategy & Research.

Although that was not the fault of the monetary trade, the banks do play a job in the issue.

Knowledge mining has change into a priceless useful resource for companies, and monetary companies have proven that they’re prepared to promote buyer information. As such, the burden finally falls to clients to observe and shield their very own — and their kids’s — information.

Weighing the advantages and dangers of a debit card on your youngster is a balancing act. The principle factor to think about is how a lot you’re comfy sharing on-line. Whereas each issuer is completely different, you’ll want to supply figuring out details about your self and your youngster to enroll, together with beginning dates, Social Safety numbers, tackle and a telephone quantity. The corporate can also ask you to share your GPS location historical past, buy historical past and behavioral profile — data which will enable the app to share focused adverts for services. That stated, debit playing cards for teenagers are sometimes no riskier than their grownup counterparts for just a few causes:

• Little one-specific legal guidelines: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, takes privateness a step additional for youngsters below 13 who use banking merchandise by requiring issuers to obviously define what data they’re amassing and get parental consent beforehand. Pay shut consideration as to if the issuer intends to promote your youngster’s information to 3rd events. 
• Buy safety: In case your youngster’s card is misplaced or stolen, some issuers supply refunds for fraudulent purchases — for an extra charge. Greenlight’s pricier Max and Infinity plans present buy safety.
• Card safety: Pay as you go cards are equipped with EMV chip know-how and password-protected accounts that require a PIN or facial recognition to entry the account. 
• Locking functionality: Most debit playing cards for teenagers include a parental locking characteristic that permits you to shield the money within the account by means of your app if the cardboard is misplaced. 
• Deposit insurance coverage: Pay as you go debit playing cards issued by banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company shield as much as $250,000 per particular person, per establishment, which means you received’t lose the cash in your account if the financial institution fails.

Though the identical safety measures shield child and grownup debit playing cards, it bears repeating that any data you share about your youngster on-line will increase their threat profile. Online data breaches have uncovered large accounts, which regularly comprise delicate data, together with social safety numbers, addresses, telephone numbers and credit card numbers.

After signing your youngster up for a debit card, search for payments or bank card purposes addressed to them, and ask questions if a debt collector calls with their identify on file. The Federal Trade Commission outlines steps to take if you happen to suspect identification theft, and Experian offers a free ID scan service to see whether or not your youngster’s SSN is lively on any credit score accounts.

Setting expectations along with your youngster

Earlier than handing it over to a younger and keen spender, an in depth dialog about debit card use is essential. When the debit card arrives, sit down along with your youngster and focus on the vital factors.

• Security: Most prepaid debit cards present a locking characteristic if the cardboard is misplaced or stolen, however you may’t take the mandatory steps with out communication out of your child. Remind them to maintain their card in a secure place, to not share their password or PIN with anybody, or make purchases on an unsecured Wi-Fi community. And solely use ATMs at banks to mitigate the danger of debit card skimming — a hack to steal card numbers. In the event that they assume their card is compromised, they need to inform you instantly.
• Spending guidelines: In case you’re involved about the place your youngster might spend their money, take into account signing up for a debit card that permits you to block sure retailers. In case you’ve already signed up for a card that doesn’t have this characteristic, discuss to your youngster about applicable spending habits and allow them to know that you simply’ll be monitoring their purchases.

How I selected a debit card for my kids

Sadly, there was no excellent debit card that checked all of the containers. So, I developed a listing of must-have options and compromised on the nice-to-haves. I most popular an account that I may open of their names and one they might proceed to make use of as youngsters — my youngest was 7 on the time. I wished them to imagine possession and deal with this account as their very own, at the same time as younger kids. 

I used to be additionally interested by an app with monetary schooling instruments and video games, parental controls and assist for setting financial savings targets. Above all, I wished to keep away from debit playing cards with month-to-month charges. That was a nonstarter. Right here’s why I selected Step:

• No month-to-month charges, minimal deposit necessities or age restrictions.
• My children may set financial savings targets utilizing subaccounts.
• Every debit card buy helps my kids set up constructive credit score histories as a result of the cardboard is definitely a prepaid credit card.
• I obtain alerts in actual time each time the account is accessed. 

I don’t love that Step’s high-yield financial savings account is barely obtainable in case your youngster can preserve $500 per thirty days or extra in direct deposits; in any other case, the account doesn’t earn curiosity. (We hold a small quantity for spending within the Step account and use a separate high-yield savings account for curiosity development.) Transfers from linked debit playing cards can be found immediately, so I can add cash at a second’s discover if wanted. Listed below are another causes I don’t love Step:

• The companion app has restricted academic assets for youth, primarily geared towards highschool college students.
• The app additionally doesn’t present instruments to create chore lists or distribute an allowance based mostly on process completion.
• Mother and father can’t set spending limits or limit spending to accredited companies or distributors by means of the app.

Selecting the most effective debit card will rely in your wants as a dad or mum and what’s finest on your youngster when kickstarting their private finance journey.

Components to think about earlier than deciding on a debit card on your youngster

Earlier than you start, familiarize your self with parental controls or academic assets obtainable to assist enhance your youngster’s monetary literacy. Many debit playing cards for teenagers additionally present companion apps that allow you to set chores or particular targets, which you’ll reward with a money deposit. 

Additionally, take into account the next components:

Parental controls

All the apps right here embody a wide range of parental controls, together with the flexibility to routinely pay an allowance, lock the debit card or look at your child’s obtainable steadiness. Some options let you choose which kinds of purchases your children could make, set spending limits and set rewards for the completion of sure duties. Completely different apps present various levels of management, however most will allow you to hold tabs in your youngster’s spending and saving, and assist them handle their cash as wanted. 

Instructional assets

Many of the playing cards right here embody entry to academic assets for you and your youngster. Your children can study vital expertise like budgeting, saving, spending and even investing. Some playing cards supply assets based mostly on age and monetary literacy classes — reminiscent of spending, saving, credit score and extra. 

Age

Some debit playing cards designed for teenagers have minimal age limits, however most help you join a toddler till they’re 17 years previous; they will open an account on their very own at 18. You’ll have to verify the minimal or most age, and determine if it’s the proper time on your youngster to get a debit card.

Eligibility

Many debit playing cards designed for youngsters require private data and a shared checking account. Mother and father should additionally present data and obtain the app to handle their child’s account and switch cash. 

Usually, this data consists of easy identification reminiscent of e mail, telephone quantity, tackle, date of beginning and doubtlessly the dad or mum’s and youngster’s Social Safety numbers.

Spending expectations

Some debit playing cards for youngsters characteristic spending and withdrawal limits that oldsters can set. You’ll need to be certain your youngster’s spending received’t exceed the debit card’s limits. 

Financial institution familiarity

You can see in case your most popular financial institution presents a kids’s debit card. It’s often simpler to get new merchandise or good phrases if you have already got a longtime relationship with the monetary establishment.

Learn how to signal your youngster up for a debit card

When you’ve settled on a debit card on your youngster, comply with these steps to use:

1. Select the debit card that finest matches your youngster’s spending and supplies useful monetary literacy assets.

2. Apply securely on the cardboard issuer’s web site by offering the entire required data, together with identify, date of beginning, tackle, e mail, telephone quantity and doubtlessly your SSN.

3. Assist your youngster construct accountable monetary habits. Discuss how a lot they will anticipate to obtain frequently and create floor guidelines to assist them allocate their funds responsibly.

FAQs