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Debit cards for kids are helpful financial literacy tools for teaching your children about money management. Cards are typically either tied to a checking account or are reloadable prepaid cards. The best debit cards for kids offer tools and features useful for children to learn money management skills. They also include monitoring and parent-control features so parents can protect their kids from making bad money decisions. There are free debit cards for kids, prepaid debit cards for teens, and other options to choose from.
Some debit cards for kids are basically junior versions of a debit card you would get from your local bank. Others come with access to extra tools and features like chore and allowance management.
All four of our kids have debit cards now, and they’ve been a blessing. Our kids get a chance to learn about saving, spending, and setting financial goals, and we get to keep tabs on the accounts as a safeguard.
Here’s a look at the best debit cards for kids, including information on any fees attached to the accounts.
The Best Debit Cards For Kids
Greenlight Prepaid Debit Card
The Greenlight prepaid debit card combines some of the best features in debit cards for teens. The company has one of the lowest pricing on the list and still packs a lot of advantages, such as a one-month free trial and low extra fees. With no minimum or maximum age and no minimum balance required, Greenlight makes financial education a breeze for parents and helps them “raise financially smart kids”. The app has an educational function, encouraging financial literacy through a kid-focused functionality.
The company provides financial monitoring through joint accounts that are accessible via the mobile app. Both iPhone and Android users can use the Greenlight app for real-time notification, spending control by store, chore management, and allowance automation. Parents can also manage up to five prepaid cards for kids.
Card Purchase Fee: N/A
Monthly Fee: $4.99
Reload Fee: No reload fee
ATM Fee: No fee for withdrawal, however, the ATM owner may charge a fee
Greenlight is the banking and investing app for kids and teens.
Accounts come with a debit card for kids and teens, with parental controls and notifications. Plus, every swipe earns 1% cash back to savings. Teens and kids can earn 5% when they set up savings goals in the app.
Parents, customize chores and allowances using checklists. Set up direct deposit to send money directly to your child's account.
Investing options for parents, teens and kids (with parent approval on each trade) through stocks and ETFs. Plus, educational content and games to teach money skills.
Greenlight offers flexible plans for every budget.
FamZoo Prepaid Debit Card
With a motto centered around education, “preparing kids for the financial jungle”, FamZoo prepaid cards are well-known for teaching good money habits from a young age. Parents can safely use FamZoo prepaid Mastercards for kids of all ages, with no age restriction. Parents need to set up a private family banking system, which is utilized to teach kids financial strategies to earn, save, spend and donate wisely and safely. The iPhone and Android-compatible mobile apps offer unique education features.
Through the FamZoo app, parents can control chore lists, real-time alerts, saving goals, and purpose-driven accounts. Worth mentioning that you’ll find two options for families, a prepaid card and an IOU account. The prepaid debit cards for teens provide a hands-on finance management experience.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: From $2.50 to $5.99 for up to four cards (pain in advance plans are much cheaper than the monthly option)
Reload Fee: Up to $6 for MasterCard rePower, GreenDot @ the Register, GreenDot MoneyPal / free for direct deposit, ACH transfers from other banks, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Square Cash
ATM Fee: FamZoo doesn’t charge any ATM fees, but you may be charged a fee by the ATM operator.
FamZoo is one of the most popular prepaid debit cards and family finance apps for kids, teens, and parents.
Capital One 360 MONEY Card
Capital One designed its MONEY account specifically for teens. When you create a MONEY account, your kid automatically receives a prepaid card. The Capital One banking app gives both kids and parents safe visibility of the account. Parental controls are available, and the app offers a smooth communication flow between parents and teens. The debit card comes with a vast age range, as the account is available for kids ages 8 and above. This is designed to encourage better financial decisions as kids get more familiar with the process. The control features include goal rewards, automatic allowances, transaction views, notifications, one-time transfers, etc. Teens also earn competitive interest rates on all checking account balances.
Parents don’t need a Capital One bank account to link to their child’s MONEY account and order the card.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: No monthly fee
Reload Fee: No reload fee
ATM Fee: No fee within the Capital One network
Card purchases and withdrawals are limited to $500 per day for cardholders under 18.
gohenry Debit Card
gohenry is a UK-based company that also has a US presence. The prepaid card comes with an online account that is fully tailored for kids ages 6 to 18. gohenry doesn’t issue prepaid cards for kids who are over 18. The banking app allows iPhone and Android access, where parents can set up a weekly allowance, spending limits, saving goals, etc. There are a lot of educational tools on the app to encourage younger users to budget, earn, save, donate, and spend their money wisely.
The company is dedicated to providing accessible customer service, with phone support 7 days a week, email, live chat, and active social media platforms.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: $3.99 per kid per month, one month free
Reload Fee: No reload fee if you use the debit card to load the parent account
ATM Fee: $1.50 domestic withdrawal, $2 for overseas
BusyKid Prepaid Visa Spend Card
BusyKid was one of the winners in the 2020 National Parenting Product Awards for the educational banking app for kids. The iPhone and Android apps encourage money management for children of age 6 to 16, displaying a clear and simple display. The app also lets children decide how to split their allowance and earnings, between saving, investing, and spending. Spending allows them to choose between cash and loading a debit card.
Similar to other prepaid cards, the app provides a level of parental control to set up automatic allowances, chores, and even transaction tracking.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: Yearly package of $19.99 for the family; includes 1 card
Reload Fee: No reload fee
ATM Fee: No ATM access
TD Go Prepaid Visa
The TD Go Prepaid Visa for teens offers independence but with a safe dose of control from parents and guardians. Both teens and parents can monitor spending in real-time online. Cardholders must be at least 13 and need a valid Social Security Number. TD Go Prepaid Visa doesn’t have any maximum age limit.
The prepaid card doesn’t encourage financial literacy compared with other teen banking apps. Parents can set up notifications about the card balance and activity. To use a TD debit card, parents need to have an existing TD account.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: No monthly fee
Reload Fee: $1 for reloading using a TD bank debit card, parents can authorize multiple reloaders as long as they have a TD bank debit card
ATM Fee: Free for TD network, $3 for ATM out of network
TD bank charges an inactivity fee of $2.50 per month. You also need to load $20 on the debit card as you first order it.
American Express Serve FREE Reloads
It’s worth mentioning that American Express offers 3 different versions of the Serve prepaid card. As per the name, the FREE Reloads one has no reload fee for cash reload. The debit card, however, isn’t explicitly made for kids. American Express doesn’t accept cardholders under 18, which makes it the debit card for teens with the highest minimum age.
The company doesn’t provide financial literacy tools, unlike the other companies mentioned in this article. However, you become an American Express customer, able to enjoy 24/7 customer services, fraud prevention features, and FDIC insurance. It is typically an option allowing high-income families to manage heavy allowances for late teens and tweens.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases, except for foreign transactions
Monthly Fee:$6.95
Reload Fee: Free for cash reload with over 45,000 locations
ATM Fee: $0 but up to $2.50 for out-of-network ATM
Akimbo Prepaid Mastercard
Akimbo Prepaid Mastercard enables users to create a prepaid account for any purpose, including but not limited to debit cards for teens. Akimbo doesn’t specify any age restriction, so parents are free to use the prepaid account for kids, even though the account is primarily targeted to businesses.
Control settings are broad enough to configure ATM access, restrict merchants, set up transaction alerts, etc. While there aren’t any education features in the app, parents can use Akimbo for safe allowance management.
Card Purchase Fee: $0.99 fee for purchases requiring PIN use,
Monthly Fee: No fee
Reload Fee: $4.95 for cash reload
ATM Fee: $1.98 if ATM withdrawal is authorized
Current
Current has been praised for its innovative approach to teen banking, enabling faster direct deposits, fingerprint and facial recognition, and savings roundups. Current cardholders have no age restrictions and can use the app features to improve their financial literacy. The iPhone and Android app introduces kids to chore-based moment earning, saving, sending money, giving to charity, etc. Parents can set spending limits and block specific merchants.
There’s a choice to keep accounts joint or separate and allow a co-parent to participate.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: Yearly account fee of $36 with a one-month free trial
Reload Fee: No fee
ATM Fee: No fee
Mango Prepaid Mastercard
Mango Prepaid Mastercard has no age restriction, so while they can be used as debit cards for teens, they are suitable for a variety of users. Because Mango isn’t designed with kids in mind, it doesn’t offer any educational tips for money management. Parents don’t have control over spending habits, and can’t restrict stores.
Card Purchase Fee: No fee for purchases
Monthly Fee: $5
Reload Fee: No fee, parents can use bank transfer, direct deposit, or card-to-card transfer
ATM Fee: $3 per withdrawal, $1 for ATM inquiry or declined withdrawal
Inactive cards incur an inactivity fee of $8.
When Should You Get Your Child a Debit Card?
Some prepaid debit cards have no age restriction, making them available for young children too. However, it’s a good idea to ensure that your child is ready for a debit card first. Ideally, debit cards for teens become useful tools when your child receives a regular income, which they want to spend, save, or invest safely. Parents want to ensure their kid is responsible with money. In other words, the right time is when your teen can demonstrate an understanding and interest in planning their financial freedom.
Do your kids have a debit card or a bank account? If so, how did you come to your decision? Let us know in the comments below.
Kevin Payne is the budgeting and family travel enthusiast behind FamilyMoneyAdventure.com. He’s also the host of the Family Money Adventure Show podcast, where he helps families learn to manage their money better so they can afford to do the things they love.
Kevin is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance and travel. He is a regular contributor to USA Today, Forbes Advisor, Bankrate, Fox Business, Credible, and CreditCards.com.
