Choosing the best debit card for kids can be overwhelming, but the below list is a great place to start your search. Getting your child a debit card is a great way to teach them about money management at a young age, but choosing the best debit card for kids can be an arduous task. There are several key features you may want to consider. Making sure you get low fees and access to parental controls for reloading funds and monitoring spending activity is crucial.
When shopping for a card, you have two options: a prepaid debit card or a traditional debit card linked to a checking account. It is essential to understand the difference before getting a debit card for your kid. Depending on your needs and those of your kid, your choice may vary from another person’s.
Here is the list of debit cards for kids that are worth considering.
- 6. Revolut
- 7. Nimbl
- 8. Mazoola Virtual Debit Card
- 9. Till Debit Card
- 10. Step Visa Card
1. Greenlight Debit Card
The Greenlight debit card is one of the most popular debit cards for kids, and it can help teach them how to spend money, save and invest. The card offers parental controls and sends you notifications every time your kid uses the card. Plus, it doesn’t have any minimum or maximum age requirements.
Greenlight works like a prepaid debit card, allowing you to transfer money onto the card for your teen to pay for expenses at approved locations. Greenlight is the only debit card letting you choose the exact stores where kids can spend on the card.
Greenlight lets you create chore lists that your child can work on to earn money. You can also set weekly or monthly allowance deposits if you prefer to give your children a set amount. There are three different plans you can choose from and all three options include debit cards for up to five kids.
Monthly Fee: Core: $4.99/mo. Max: $9.98/mo. Infinity: $14.98/mo. All plans include cards for up to 5 children.
Free trial: 1 month
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None
2. GoHenry Debit Card
The GoHenry debit card is designed for kids ages 6 to 18, but it’s best for parents who want to teach their children smart money management skills. The GoHenry app lets you take control by loading your child’s card and setting spending rules.
3. BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend Card
BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend debit card is the best choice for parents looking for an app that goes beyond good money habits. The BusyKid app uses a chore-based system where your kids can earn real money for completing chores. They can also learn to save, spend, donate and invest any earned allowances.
Monthly Fee: $1.67 per month, unlimited children
Free trial: 1 month
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None
4. FamZoo Prepaid Card
The FamZoo prepaid card gives your children the opportunity to learn how to manage money. You can load the cards anytime and track all the activity on the cards digitally. You can also set up payment for chores, create automatic allowances and pay interest on savings.
With FamZoo, both the kids and parents can monitor spending through a shared dashboard. It’s open for kids of all ages and it offers a free one-month trial. Once the trial expires, the subscription starts at $5.99 per month, but you can save on a subscription by paying in advance.
Monthly Fee: $5.99
Free trial: 2 months
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None
5. Copper Debit Card
Copper debit cards are perfect for helping teens to learn financial literacy. The app offers interactive quizzes on money management, spending habits and saving. With Copper, your child can access financial tools and other resources they need to make intelligent financial decisions.
As their parent, you can set up automatic money transfers and track their spending in real time. Teens can use the Copper debit card online and in person anywhere that accepts Mastercard. Copper requires no minimum deposit to open and does not charge an annual fee, overdraft fees or maintenance fees which makes it one of the best free debit cards for teens on the market.
With the help of Copper’s team of financial literacy experts, gain bite-sized tips on how you can maximize your money and prepare yourself for your financial future.
Anyone can open a Copper Banking account for their teen when they are at least 18 years old.
Monthly Fee: Copper $4.95/mo., Copper + Invest: $7.95/mo.
Free trial: 30-days
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None
6. Revolut
The Revolut <18 Card is a prepaid debit card for teens designed to teach them money skills for life. Aimed at building healthy money habits from an early age, the unique, customizable card empowers parents to have full insight into their teens’ card activity through providing instant spending alerts and parental controls.
You can choose to freeze the card, set controls on how they use the cards online and with contactless payments through your Revolut app. Further, you can set spending limits on how much your teen can use with the prepaid card.
Parents use the card and accompanying app to teach teens about earning, budgeting, saving and even investing money.
Monthly Fee: None
Free trial: None
ATM fee: N/A
7. Nimbl
Nimbl is a prepaid card that allows parents to set daily, weekly and monthly spending limits. It can be managed through an app or online. The parents’ app will send instant notifications every time the card is used, with the amount spent and where. It also allows children to withdraw from ATMs.
The app lets you specify how the card can be used, as well as allowing you to set spending limits. Plus you can choose an amount to go to savings each time the card's used, helping your child build a savings habit.
Monthly Fee: $3 per month
Free trial: None. Three month free trial of Kids Pass.
ATM fee: $3
Purchase fees: None
8. Mazoola Virtual Debit Card
The Mazoola virtual debit card is a free debit card for kids since it has no fees. It offers basic features such as automatic allowances and the ability to set savings goals, make peer-to-peer payments and even set chores. The Mazoola app makes it easy for you to track your kids’ spending.
Monthly Fee: None
Free trial: None
ATM fee: N/A
Purchase fees: None
9. Till Debit Card
Till Financial offers a family banking platform specifically designed to help kids become savvy spenders. It offers parents several ways to contribute to the account and even share access with other family members. Till does not charge any fees.
Monthly Fee: None
Free trial: None
ATM fee: N/A
Purchase fees: None
10. Step Visa Card
The Step Visa card is a unique free debit card for teens to build their credit history even before they turn 18. Step Card also boasts a great savings tool for teens. Any money up to $250,000 saved in a Savings Goal can generate 5% in annual interest (compounded and paid monthly) with a qualifying direct deposit.
The Step Visa Card lets teenagers learn how to manage money while simultaneously strengthening their credit scores. This is a feature we’ve yet to see in other teen bank accounts, and it means your teen will be one step ahead of the rest when it’s time to get a credit card, take out a student loan or get auto insurance.
Teenagers can also use their cards to withdraw money from more than 30,000 ATMs for free. Parents needn’t fear that their teen will overdraft—they can’t spend any money they don’t have.
Monthly Fee: None
Free trial: None
ATM fee: N/A
Purchase fees: None
Which one should I choose?
- Choose a prepaid card for kids if you want more control over when, where and how your child can spend money. Prepaid cards for kids are also great if you want to assign chores, set aside funds for different purposes or help your child develop financial literacy.
- Choose a checking account for kids if your child is a teenager and understands how to manage their money. Checking accounts for kids also make sense if you want to avoid paying a monthly fee. And unlike prepaid debit cards, some kids’ checking accounts can earn interest.
- Choose both if you want to take advantage of the app-based tools that accompany many debit cards for kids while also encouraging your child to learn the basics of managing a bank account.
You may also like:
Trending Topics
