What are the best debit cards for kids & teens?
Learning how to manage finances is something every child should do, and having one of the best debit card accounts can help them achieve financial independence.
Read on to discover the best debit cards for your kids, from established banks such as Chase First and Capital One to online vendors including Jassby and Greenlight.
The 10 Best Debit Cards For Kids & Teens
Monthly fees, parental controls, and the financial learning tools included have all been explored to bring you this guide to the best debit cards for your kids.
Here’s our list of the 10 best debit cards for kids & teens:
10. Chase First Banking – Best For No Fee Banking
Chase First Banking offers a free debit card for kids between the ages of six and seventeen, with a range of superb features to help them manage money.
The Bank has a strong reputation, gaining half a million current account customers and securing its place at the forefront of the banking industry.
Their checking account for kids includes a great selection of chores and allowance features to help motivate them to save, all viewable through the bank’s app.
Parents can use controls to limit their spending and access to ATMs and view their transactions through spending alerts.
Kids can also send their parents’ real-time requests for cash when they’re caught short of money, instantly transferring funds to the account for free.
If you want to open a kids account with Chase First Banking, you’ll need to be an existing Chase customer, for example, with a Chase Total Checking account.
Since the Chase First Banking account is powered by Greenlight, there are plenty of their basic features included here, too.
Pros:
- No monthly fee
- Comes with active notifications for parents
- Chores list and allowance options
- Can set savings goals
Cons:
- Existing Chase membership required
- Doesn’t support digital wallets
Bottom Line:
With its incredible selection of chores and allowance features and no monthly fees to worry about, the Chase First Banking account for kids is highly recommended.
9. Capital One Money – Best For Teenagers
Available for children as young as eight, the Capitol One Money account is a great starter account that includes kids’ debit cards.
Capital One provides some of the best savings accounts in America, and their Money account for children shares the same level of quality service.
With this card, your kids can earn 0.10% APY on all their balances, while this free debit card can be used throughout the country.
There are over 70,000 ATMs compatible with the prepaid debit cards and access to Capital One’s many high street branches.
You won’t have to pay any monthly fees for this account, nor are there any account minimums you need to be aware of.
The account includes a handy app that your kids can use to track their earnings and spending, with the option to reward them with bonuses for reaching goals.
For parents who prefer a little extra control over their children’s spending, there are monitoring tools for overseeing activity, as well as the ability to lock the account.
Pros:
- No existing account is required to set up
- No monthly fee
- Supports ATM deposits
- Account-holders can earn interest
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer teens check-writing
- Daily limit of $500
Bottom Line:
Capital One Money is a slightly more advanced account with features appropriate for teens with some financial literacy, controlled through an intuitive and comprehensive app.
8. Current – Best For Savings Round-Ups
A relative newcomer to the online banking scene, Current offers kids and teens a bank account with a prepaid debit card to get their financial literacy started.
As with other accounts for kids, parental controls allow adults to set spending limits or block access to ATMs.
They can also set up separate funding sources, for example, if the parents are divorced and prefer to keep their finances separate.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the Current account is the ability to round up purchases to the nearest dollar, allowing account holders to increase their savings.
Fees with the Current account are minimal, with $3 annual fees spread over the year and a 3% transaction fee applicable to purchases outside the United States.
Kids can earn points at over fourteen thousand locations throughout the country, which can then be redeemed for cash in their current account.
Pros:
- Offers savings round-ups
- Parental controls for spending limits
- Allows for separate funding sources
- Can set savings goals
Cons:
- An annual fee is charged
- Overseas fees
Bottom Line:
With real-time spending tracking and a great round-up system to help kids save money, the Current account for kids will help them learn to budget and achieve financial independence.
7. Mazoola – Best For Compliance With COPPA
If privacy is a concern, you’ll want a child’s account with plenty of security to give you peace of mind, and in this regard, Mazoola delivers.
This virtual debit card for kids is fully compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, one of the few debit cards for kids that fulfills this requirement.
With a range of digital features on par with the best personal finance apps, Mazoola accounts are designed for online use.
This means you get touchless payments for stores throughout the US, a mobile wallet, and lots of options for kids to manage money online.
Parental controls allow for blocking transactions from specific merchants and categories, as well as assigning chores to encourage them to earn more money.
The app also features some excellent financial literacy resources they can use to learn how to manage money and set savings goals to grow their wealth.
They can also send peer-to-peer transactions, transfer money to their friends for their share of a meal or donate funds to a charity, and these are all run through Venmo for extra convenience.
Pros:
- Set fee regardless of how many users are added
- Parental controls to limit spending and ATM access
- Built-in allowances and chores
- COPPA compliant
Cons:
- Doesn’t support multiple parents
- Some features are missing
Bottom Line:
With its COPPA-compliant security features and raft of digital learning tools to help improve their finances, a Mazoola prepaid debit card for kids will help with their money management.
6. Jassby – Best For Rewards
Jassby virtual debit card comes with no monthly fee and an easy-to-use app where the kids can learn to manage their finances.
Children can use the Jassby Shop to buy a wide range of products, with iTunes, Nintendo and Playstation Stores, and Microsoft Rewards programs all included.
It works in any Apple Pay store, too, opening up a variety of electronic retailers, clothing stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
This makes it an excellent account for kids who want to take more control over how they spend their allowance without having to ask for their parent’s permission daily.
Parents and guardians can quickly share money with their kids if needed, as well as allow payments and help them manage chores.
Payments can be made without any fees, although if the account remains inactive for the first six months, a fee of $2.99 may be applied each month.
There is also a selection of digital learning tools available through the Jassby app, teaching kids about personal finance and how to save and spend their money more effectively.
As well as making contactless payments, the kids can earn a great selection of rewards to help motivate them to become better with their money.
Pros:
- Parents can award one-time bonuses
- Kids can earn rewards points in the app
- No monthly fee
- Can set spending limits
Cons:
- The reward system can encourage excessive spending
- No physical debit card
Bottom Line:
With its excellent rewards system and access to a broad selection of products and services through the Jassby Shop and Apple Pay system, a Jassby virtual debit card is a great starter account for kids.
5. Copper – Best For Financial Literacy
Some of the best-prepaid debit cards for kids are ideal tools for helping children learn about money management and adopting financial responsibility.
The Copper debit card takes a unique approach to financial literacy, with the app using behavioral technology to help teach them how money works.
This includes a variety of quizzes and other mechanisms that encourage smart financial habits, with rewards for completing these tasks adding cash directly into their accounts.
Setting up an account with Copper is easy, with no minimum deposit required and no monthly fees to worry about.
Additionally, the account is free to use from ATMs, and it doesn’t charge overdraft fees, giving kids a little more leeway when making purchases.
On the downside, the low savings interest rate isn’t ideal, and the app’s customer service could certainly be improved.
If you have friends and family living abroad, remember that the Copper account doesn’t allow for any foreign transactions.
There are tools for parents who can easily set up automatic money transfers, as well as being able to track their spending to keep an eye on their finances.
It’s an all-around excellent bank account with a prepaid debit card for teens with a versatile selection of learning tools accessed through its intuitive application.
Pros:
- No fees
- App helps improve financial literacy
- Great savings tools
- Parents can monitor activity with real-time notifications
Cons:
- Fee for cash deposits
- Interest rates are incredibly low
Bottom Line:
If your child is looking to save up for one of the most expensive LEGO sets you can buy, the Copper debit card for kids will arm them with the financial know-how to commit to saving and managing their money.
4. BusyKid – Best For Managing Chores And Allowances
The rise of social media has helped to equip teenagers with the knowledge and skills necessary to invest their money and seek income sources in addition to allowances.
But pre-teen children aren’t old enough to access social media, so they require additional resources to help them learn about financial responsibility and investment.
That’s where BusyKid comes in, offering younger kids a range of features to help teach them about how they can invest money and build up their savings over time.
The account comes with an easy-to-navigate app in a tile format, which kids can use to learn about investments and various other useful financial mechanisms.
It’s an affordable account to open, with a $3.99 monthly fee, as well as a thirty-day money-back guarantee in case you aren’t happy with what BusyKid has to offer.
Perhaps the biggest draw to BusyKid is the option to add a list of chores and responsibilities for your children, the completion of which gives them additional funds to play with.
As well as being able to assign payments for specific chores, parents can also set up automated allowance payments, giving them a regular income to learn how to manage.
Parental controls are a little limited for this checking account, and once the funds have entered the children’s account there are no ways to control how they spend them.
There are also ATM fees to bear in mind, with a charge of $1.50 for each time they withdraw money, in addition to any other fees the ATM operator chooses to apply.
These limitations aside, the app’s chores and rewards structure makes it a fantastic option for parents with younger children who want to encourage developing real-life financial awareness.
Pros:
- A feature-rich account
- Great selection of parental permissions
- Funds are broken into saving, spending, and sharing
- Allows supporting charities
Cons:
- Monthly fee of $3.99
- ATM fees charged
Bottom Line:
While BusyKid debit cards for kids don’t give parents as much control as other debit cards, the system of adding chores with automatic payments makes it ideal for parents with pre-teens who need an account that helps with financial responsibility.
3. GoHenry – Best For Interactive Financial Education Tools
GoHenry debit cards for kids is another great account that helps younger children to learn how to manage their money and learn how to effectively budget.
You can sign up for the first month for free, and it’s easy to link your account to your kids’ accounts to keep track of what they save and spend.
Once you’ve signed up, each child linked to the account will get their own prepaid debit card to use, with no overdrafts, so they can only spend what they have.
There’s the option to set up automatic allowance transfers to the account, with the additional choice of setting one-off or weekly spending limits.
You can also help your kids build up money by setting saving goals for them to work towards, giving them a clear figure to motivate their saving habits.
Customer support is excellent, with 24/7 support available to answer any questions you have, and a strong social media presence with high levels of engagement.
One of the strongest appeals for the GoHenry account is the money missions financial literacy games available, which have been designed specifically for young savers.
These games are built to become more complex over time, easing your kids into financial awareness and developing new skills as they age.
It’s a great way to help them save up for some of the most valuable toys you can buy, allowing them to personalize the experience with colors, patterns, and images to suit their taste.
GoHenry does have some limitations; for instance, there is only one funding option through debit cards, so you can’t deposit cash or e-checks.
Pros:
- Allowance tracking tools
- 30-day free trial available
- No overdraft fees
- Can set up custom chore assignments
Cons:
- Monthly fee of $3.99
- Limited to three loads per day
Bottom Line:
With its combination of chore assignments, financial learning tools, and tracking features, the GoHenry checking account makes it much easier for kids to save money as they learn about personal finance.
2. FamZoo – Best For Kids Who Travel Abroad
FamZoo offers kids a prepaid debit card with a monthly fee of $5.9 and includes the option to pay this fee in advance for a discounted price.
This means you can get a two-year plan for $59.99, while the sixty-day free trial gives you plenty of time to decide if it’s the right account for your child’s needs.
While the account doesn’t pay any interest on your child’s balance, there’s an option for parent-paid interest through which parents can choose their own rates and payment frequency.
While FamZoo isn’t associated with any ATM networks in America, they won’t charge your kids a fee on top of any fees associated with whoever is operating the ATM used.
There are also no overdraft fees to worry about, so your kids can focus on saving, spending, and giving as they get to grips with their personal finances.
One feature that sets the FamZoo account apart from the competition is the lack of foreign transaction fees, making it a great account for parents who like to travel frequently.
There’s also the option to set up to five kids ‘cards with the account, making it a solid choice for parents with larger families who want to keep everything in one place.
Parents can release money into these accounts whenever they like, allowing the cards to work with a loaded balance.
They can also monitor all transactions being made, giving peace of mind that their kids aren’t wasting their money on things they shouldn’t be.
As with other accounts for children, FamZoo features tools and lessons to help them develop money management skills, so they can learn about properly saving money through the app.
Pros:
- Free trial available
- Kids can send real-time requests
- No foreign transaction fees
- Parents receive notifications for all purchases
Cons:
- Fee charged for 5+ cards
- Limited cash deposits
Bottom Line:
With up to five kids’ debit cards available for tracking and monitoring through a single account, and no foreign fees to worry about, the FamZoo account is ideal for large families who enjoy frequent travel.
1. Greenlight – Best For Overall Kids Banking
One of the most popular debit cards for kids is Greenlight, which millions of parents use to help their young ones to develop strong financial habits and save and spend responsibly.
There are plenty of parental controls featured on the Greenlight debit card, allowing them to track all transactions and receive notifications each time the card is used.
It’s also possible to set spending limits on the debit card, while the higher transfer limits give parents more leeway when sending funds to their children.
There is also no minimum or maximum age requirements, making it a good choice for families with kids of all ages looking for a debit card.
You can add up to five children to an account, and there are minimal fees, including no fee for the first time you lose a card and just $3.50 to replace cards after that.
There is, however, a monthly fee of $4.99, although this is a fixed fee, so if you add more kids over time, you won’t pay any more to reach the five-person cap.
One drawback to the Greenlight account is the inability to receive payments from Apple Cash, PayPal, or Venmo, so if you use these this limitation is something to bear in mind.
If you’re looking for a debit card to help your kids save for the most expensive beanie babies in the world, Greenlight will help them develop the money management skills they need.
Pros:
- Great tools for saving and investing
- Fees are minimal
- Free 1-month trial available
- Plans include debit cards for up to five kids
Cons:
- Monthly fee of $4.99 per month
- Direct deposits are limited
Bottom Line:
An incredibly popular app with plenty of scope for families to spend money and save for the future, Greenlight’s kid’s bank account comes with the strongest recommendation.
Summary
That wraps up this overview of the best debit cards for kids, and we hope it will help you to choose the best account to help your kids manage and spend their money.
As account information and features continue to change, we’ll be updating this article in the future to make sure it covers the most up-to-date information
Here’s a quick recap of the best debit cards for kids & teens:
- Greenlight – Best For Overall Kids’ Banking
- FamZoo – Best For Kids Who Travel Abroad
- GoHenry – Best For Interactive Financial Education Tools
- BusyKid – Best For Managing Chores And Allowances
- Copper – Best For Financial Literacy
- Jassby – Best For Rewards
- Mazoola – Best For Compliance With COPPA
- Current – Best For Savings Round-Ups
- Capital One Money – Best For Teenagers
- Chase First Banking – Best For No Fee Banking
