Are there Free Debit Cards for Kids, Teen and Under 18? | What are they?

Teenage debit cards operate similarly to other debit cards and allow children to manage their own money while also allowing parents or guardians to retain complete control over the account. Teenagers can learn the fundamentals of money management and budgeting this way. Parents can keep an eye on them and prevent them from getting themselves into financial difficulty.

The most excellent debit cards are frequently paired with mobile apps that offer built-in financial education and the capability to track spending and savings over time. Many also provide account limitations and spending caps, which prevent kids from going overboard with their spending while still allowing them to make judgments relevant to the real world of finance. It’s also possible that smaller banks, even though they don’t have the same name recognition or reputation as larger banks, contain better-suited features for teenagers.

Current debit cards for teens

Overview 

Currently offers a prepaid debit card and mobile app that teaches teens financial planning. Teens can use the Current app to manage their money and set aside funds for spending, saving, and giving. In addition, current has built-in chore and allowance trackers.

Current lets you track spending and set budget spending limits, which helps teens manage their money. Current allows teens to “round up” purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the difference into savings pods. The Current app lets teens set up recurring savings into savings pods, automating their protection for future goals. Personal Finance 101 helps teens plan, budget, and save.

Current offers real-time spending notifications, the ability to lock debit cards, and the ability to block spending for specific merchants or stores. Current teen accounts are free, but you need a parent account to sign up. Currently has no transaction, transfer, or overdraft fees and partners with Allpoint to offer over 40,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

• Intuitive mobile app
• Teens can learn to save money for future costs with the help of Savings Pods.
• Round-up function to help save any loose change.
• a spending tracker that can be used to monitor spending
• Some ATMs do not charge a fee.

Cons

• Must be associated with a parent’s account.
• It may take about 5 days for deposits to be transferred.

Why We Opted for It?

Current is a cutting-edge banking app for kids that includes features like saving objectives, the ability to round up purchases for savings, and earning money by completing chores within the app. So why Did We Make This Decision? Current is a cutting-edge banking app for teenagers that includes useful financial planning functions. Additionally, kids can use Current to ask their pals for money, send money to their friends, or donate money to charity.

The Greenlight KIDS’ Debit Card

Overview 

Greenlight offers teens and parents a simple mobile experience to teach kids money management. Greenlight offers debit MasterCard’s for teenagers for a low monthly fee. Parents can monitor child spending, deactivate or activate debit cards, and block store spending with the app.

The most basic Greenlight plan includes bank cards and a mobile app with parental controls for $4.99. In addition, kids get Greenlights investment platform for $7.98 per month (just a parent brokerage account that the kids can use to invest). In the Greenlight Max account ($9.98 per month), kids also get a special edition card, priority customer care, identity theft monitoring, alerts, and restoration, cell phone protection for broken or lost phones, and purchase protection.

Greenlight has restrictions. The daily cap is $1,500. This is lower than several teen debit cards. Greenlight doesn’t enable PayPal or credit card funding. Therefore users must link a bank account or debit card. This eliminates third-party fees, saving users money. No “in-network” ATMs are available, and expenses aren’t reimbursed.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

• Complete management and supervision of a teen’s finances by their parents
• Integrated lessons in money management
• Payment arrangements and handling of chores

Cons

• The daily spending cap is 1,500 dollars.
• They can only add money to accounts using their bank accounts or debit cards.

Why We Opted for It?

Our top overall recommendation for teenagers is the Greenlight Kids Debit Card. It allows monitoring chores, rapid transfers, real-time notifications, spending controls specific to stores, and much more. Because even the most affordable monthly package from Greenlight protects up to five debit cards. This service is highly recommended for families with more than one adolescent child.

FamZoo Prepaid Debit Card

Overview 

FamZoo teaches youngsters excellent money habits. It offers a prepaid debit card and smartphone app to assist kids in managing money. The software tracks kids’ money-earning tasks and jobs. Splitting payments teaches kids to pay themselves first. Children can set and track savings goals for big purchases. Parents might pay interest on savings to encourage saving.

FamZoo’s loan payback tracker and “chore fail” chart help kids learn about real-world finances. Parents can lend kids money (by loading it onto the prepaid card and setting a repayment schedule for kids to repay the loan). The chore fails feature can take funds from a child’s account. In addition, FamZoo delivers weekly financial reports highlighting transactions and goal progress.

FamZoo offers prepaid cards and IOUs. Prepaid cards give better hands-on money management experience than IOU accounts. Parents may track purchases and make rapid transfers with four linked prepaid cards. FamZoo accounts are ageless. However, card funds are in an FDIC-insured account, and the corporation doesn’t maintain critical data.

FamZoo costs $2.50 to $5.99 a month for four cards. Each additional card costs $3. You’ll get two free replacements before paying $3.

The Pros and Cons 

Pros

• Includes up to four cards (extra cards can be purchased for $3 each).
• Unique educational features
• Checking in on loans, maintaining chore lists, and setting savings targets

Cons 

• There are reload fees of up to $4.95.
• The parents covered the interest on a savings account.
• For 24 months, payment in full is required for the lowest pricing.

Why We Opted for It?

A kid-friendly mobile app, a prepaid debit card, and a wide range of educational features are available through FamZoo. These features include things like chore lists, purpose-driven accounts, savings objectives, fast transfers, and real-time alerts, among other things.

Are there Free Debit Cards for Kids, Teen and Under 18? | What are they?

Teenage debit cards operate similarly to other debit cards and allow children to manage their own money while also allowing parents or guardians to retain complete control over the account. Teenagers can learn the fundamentals of money management and budgeting this way. Parents can keep an eye on them and prevent them from getting themselves into financial difficulty.

The most excellent debit cards are frequently paired with mobile apps that offer built-in financial education and the capability to track spending and savings over time. Many also provide account limitations and spending caps, which prevent kids from going overboard with their spending while still allowing them to make judgments relevant to the real world of finance. It’s also possible that smaller banks, even though they don’t have the same name recognition or reputation as larger banks, contain better-suited features for teenagers.

Current debit cards for teens

Overview 

Currently offers a prepaid debit card and mobile app that teaches teens financial planning. Teens can use the Current app to manage their money and set aside funds for spending, saving, and giving. In addition, current has built-in chore and allowance trackers.

Current lets you track spending and set budget spending limits, which helps teens manage their money. Current allows teens to “round up” purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the difference into savings pods. The Current app lets teens set up recurring savings into savings pods, automating their protection for future goals. Personal Finance 101 helps teens plan, budget, and save.

Current offers real-time spending notifications, the ability to lock debit cards, and the ability to block spending for specific merchants or stores. Current teen accounts are free, but you need a parent account to sign up. Currently has no transaction, transfer, or overdraft fees and partners with Allpoint to offer over 40,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

• Intuitive mobile app
• Teens can learn to save money for future costs with the help of Savings Pods.
• Round-up function to help save any loose change.
• a spending tracker that can be used to monitor spending
• Some ATMs do not charge a fee.

Cons

• Must be associated with a parent’s account.
• It may take about 5 days for deposits to be transferred.

Why We Opted for It?

Current is a cutting-edge banking app for kids that includes features like saving objectives, the ability to round up purchases for savings, and earning money by completing chores within the app. So why Did We Make This Decision? Current is a cutting-edge banking app for teenagers that includes useful financial planning functions. Additionally, kids can use Current to ask their pals for money, send money to their friends, or donate money to charity.

The Greenlight KIDS’ Debit Card

Overview 

Greenlight offers teens and parents a simple mobile experience to teach kids money management. Greenlight offers debit MasterCard’s for teenagers for a low monthly fee. Parents can monitor child spending, deactivate or activate debit cards, and block store spending with the app.

The most basic Greenlight plan includes bank cards and a mobile app with parental controls for $4.99. In addition, kids get Greenlights investment platform for $7.98 per month (just a parent brokerage account that the kids can use to invest). In the Greenlight Max account ($9.98 per month), kids also get a special edition card, priority customer care, identity theft monitoring, alerts, and restoration, cell phone protection for broken or lost phones, and purchase protection.

Greenlight has restrictions. The daily cap is $1,500. This is lower than several teen debit cards. Greenlight doesn’t enable PayPal or credit card funding. Therefore users must link a bank account or debit card. This eliminates third-party fees, saving users money. No “in-network” ATMs are available, and expenses aren’t reimbursed.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

• Complete management and supervision of a teen’s finances by their parents
• Integrated lessons in money management
• Payment arrangements and handling of chores

Cons

• The daily spending cap is 1,500 dollars.
• They can only add money to accounts using their bank accounts or debit cards.

Why We Opted for It?

Our top overall recommendation for teenagers is the Greenlight Kids Debit Card. It allows monitoring chores, rapid transfers, real-time notifications, spending controls specific to stores, and much more. Because even the most affordable monthly package from Greenlight protects up to five debit cards. This service is highly recommended for families with more than one adolescent child.

FamZoo Prepaid Debit Card

Overview 

FamZoo teaches youngsters excellent money habits. It offers a prepaid debit card and smartphone app to assist kids in managing money. The software tracks kids’ money-earning tasks and jobs. Splitting payments teaches kids to pay themselves first. Children can set and track savings goals for big purchases. Parents might pay interest on savings to encourage saving.

FamZoo’s loan payback tracker and “chore fail” chart help kids learn about real-world finances. Parents can lend kids money (by loading it onto the prepaid card and setting a repayment schedule for kids to repay the loan). The chore fails feature can take funds from a child’s account. In addition, FamZoo delivers weekly financial reports highlighting transactions and goal progress.

FamZoo offers prepaid cards and IOUs. Prepaid cards give better hands-on money management experience than IOU accounts. Parents may track purchases and make rapid transfers with four linked prepaid cards. FamZoo accounts are ageless. However, card funds are in an FDIC-insured account, and the corporation doesn’t maintain critical data.

FamZoo costs $2.50 to $5.99 a month for four cards. Each additional card costs $3. You’ll get two free replacements before paying $3.

The Pros and Cons 

Pros

• Includes up to four cards (extra cards can be purchased for $3 each).
• Unique educational features
• Checking in on loans, maintaining chore lists, and setting savings targets

Cons 

• There are reload fees of up to $4.95.
• The parents covered the interest on a savings account.
• For 24 months, payment in full is required for the lowest pricing.

Why We Opted for It?

A kid-friendly mobile app, a prepaid debit card, and a wide range of educational features are available through FamZoo. These features include things like chore lists, purpose-driven accounts, savings objectives, fast transfers, and real-time alerts, among other things.