It can be difficult to teach children how to spend and save responsibly, but it doesn’t have to be. A debit card can be a valuable educational tool, especially when the kid is in charge of their own spending with guardrails installed by parents.
Better still, you can get these tools at no cost. Many free debit cards represent the first pathway into financial responsibility because they start to give kids and teens control over their spending and provide them an early glimpse into what it’s like to manage money on their own.
But which of these products is best for you and your children?
Read on as we discuss some of the best free debit cards for kids and teens, highlighting their features, drawbacks, and other important information to help you choose one that will work best for your minor’s needs!
Best Free Debit Cards for Kids & Teens—Our Top Picks
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Open a Fidelity Youth™ Account for your teen, and Fidelity will drop $50 into their account. Get $100 for yourself when you open a new Fidelity account and fund with $50¹.
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No monthly fees.
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Free, no monthly fees
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What Are the Best Free Debit Cards for Kids and Teens?
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best free debit cards for teens and kids that should work for your needs. Look carefully at each card; we’ll help you compare features so you can determine which one makes the most sense.
App | Apple App Store Rating + Best For | Promotions |
---|---|---|
![]() | ☆ 4.8 / 5 Free debit card + investing in stocks | $50 bonus for teens, $100 bonus for parents1 |
![]() | ☆ 4.7 / 5 Parent-paid bonuses | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.7 / 5 Building credit history | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.7 / 5 Teens ready to learn about money management | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.7 / 5 Teens to learn essential financial skills and avoid fees | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.7 / 5 Innovation and product features | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.5 / 5 Teaching about smart spending | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.3 / 5 COPPA Compliance | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.9 / 5 Well-rounded money management account | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.8 / 5 High customer satisfaction from a major bank without fees | None |
*Apple App Store Rating as of November 8, 2023. |
1. Fidelity Youth™ Account (Best Free Debit Card With Teen Investing)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: No account fees, no account minimum, no trading commissions*
- Platforms: Web, mobile app (Apple iOS, Android)
- Promotion: Teens get $501 on Fidelity® when they download the Fidelity Youth™ app and activate their Youth Account; parents get $100 when they fund a new account
Is your teen interested in jumpstarting their financial future? Do you want them to build smart money habits along the way?
Of course you do! Learning early about saving, spending and investing can pay off big when you start on the right foot. And one tool that can help your teen get that jump is the Fidelity Youth™ Account—an account owned by teens 13 to 17 that’s designed to help them start their money journey. They can start investing by buying most U.S. stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and Fidelity mutual funds for as little as $1!⁴
Your teen will also get a free debit card with no subscription fees, no account fees³, no minimum balances, and no domestic ATM fees⁵. And they can use this free debit card for teens to manage their cash and spend it whenever they need.
And as for building smart money habits? You and your teen can access your account through the Fidelity Youth™ app, which has a dedicated Learn tab packed with materials developed specifically to help teens develop good financial habits. Not only will Fidelity’s interactive lessons, videos, articles, tools, and calculators accelerate their learning—but for every level they complete, reward dollars will be deposited into their account to use however they want.
Controls parents want and need
A parent or guardian must have or open a brokerage account with Fidelity® to open a Fidelity Youth™ Account. For new Fidelity® customers, opening an account is easy, and there are no minimums and no account fees.
Parents and guardians have plenty of tools they can use to monitor their teen’s activity: They have online account access, can follow monthly statements and trade confirmations, and can view debit card transactions made in the account.
To make it even easier, you can set up alerts to notify you of trades, transactions, and cash management activity, keeping you firmly in the loop on actions your teen takes across the Fidelity Youth™ Account’s suite of products.
If your teen has an interest in learning about investing and taking their first steps toward building their financial journey, you should consider downloading the Fidelity Youth™ app and opening a Fidelity Youth™ Account. The account comes custom-built for their needs, which will help them become financially independent and start investing for their future.
Read more in our Fidelity Youth™ Account review.
- Your teen will get a $50 reward once they download the Fidelity Youth app and activate their Youth Account.
- The app is free²—plus, no monthly fees or account minimums to open.³
- They can invest in stocks for as little as $1 with fractional shares.⁴
- Your teen can learn to save and spend smarter with their own debit card with no domestic ATM fees.⁵
- Teens can link their account to mobile payment apps like Venmo and PayPal.⁶
- Parents can set up alerts and monitor their teen's account activity online, and through statements, trade confirmations and debit card transactions.
- The Fidelity Youth app will have a dedicated Youth Learn tab to help jumpstart your teen's financial learning and build better money habits.
- No monthly account fees
- Signup offer available to new users
- Comprehensive financial suite for teens
- Parent must be a Fidelity account holder
- Account balance doesn't accumulate interest
- No chore or allowance system
Related: Best Banking Apps for Kids & Teens [Teen Banking]
2. Revolut <18 (Best for Parent-Paid Bonuses)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: No monthly fees
Revolut <18 is a prepaid debit card for kids 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 kids’ 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 child can use with the prepaid card.
Parents use the card and accompanying app to teach kids about earning, budgeting, saving and even investing money (depending on the plan chosen). You can also use the card to manage chores and allowance, set savings goals as a family and help your children manage their money.
And if your child did something deserving of a reward? You can send parent-paid bonuses when they complete specific tasks. Simply add money to their digitized piggy bank through the app. You can send and receive money in seconds through Revolut’s Payments feature, which allows instant transfers between account holders and also global transfers at transparent rates.
Of note, you must have a personal Revolut account before you can open a Revolut <18 account for your children. You can add up to five Revolut <18 accounts per parent account.
To learn more about Revolut <18, consider visiting their site and opening an account for yourself and your child.
- Revolut <18 is a prepaid debit card for kids designed to assist parents teach kids ages 6-17 about money. Families can handle chores and allowance, create budgets, set parental controls and more.
- Revolut <18 comes with unique, customizable cards that parents can use to set up tasks and goals to work on together as a family.
- Special Offer: New and existing Revolut customers can enjoy 2% cash-back rewards on qualifying purchases when you join between Nov. 20, 2023, and Nov. 27, 2023.*
- Prepaid debit card for teens
- Parental controls
- Round-ups
- Chore and allowance management
- Customizable designs
- Children can't load funds, only parents can
- Parents need to have a personal Revolut account
Related: Best Online Jobs for Teens to Make Money While at Home
3. Step Banking (Best for Building Credit)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (No monthly fees)
The free Step Visa Card is a unique “hybrid” spending card that functions like a debit card, but also boasts some of the features of a Visa credit card—including the ability to build your child’s credit history.
Parents add money to this FDIC-insured account and can determine how their child can spend. A regular Step account allows a child to have both a physical spending card as well as a virtual card in the Step app, while a Parent Managed Account only allows the child to spend via a physical card. Either way, they can use their card anywhere Visa is accepted. Children can also use their cards to withdraw money from more than 30,000 ATMs for free.
And parents needn’t fear that their child will overdraft—they can’t spend any money they don’t have.
Further, the Step Card comes protected by Visa’s Fraud Protection and Zero Liability guarantee. That means if your teen’s card gets lost or stolen, or misplaced and fraudulent charges crop up, you can dispute the charges within a certain time frame to avoid liability for paying.
The Step Card also boasts a great savings tool for kids. With Savings Roundup, small purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar figure; that extra money is put toward a savings goal. (Example: Your child buys a cup of coffee for $2.75; Step rounds up to $3.00 and puts 25 cents toward a goal.)
Step even features an “invest” function that allows children age 13 and older to buy and sell Bitcoin for a small transaction fee. They can also earn Bitcoin (or cash) rewards when they opt into offers from companies like Hulu, Chick-Fil-A, CVS, and The New York Times. The app is not a pure crypto wallet, however—your kids currently can’t spend Bitcoin directly at vendors.
One of the most unique and powerful features of the Step card is its ability to build your child’s credit history. With this optional feature, Step will report the past two years’ worth of information—transactions, payment history, and more—to the credit bureaus when your child turns 18. That can greatly improve their chances of starting adult life with a better credit score, which can help lower the cost of things like student loans and auto insurance.
And Step is absolutely free: No monthly fees, no subscription fees, no account minimum fees, no ATM fees within Step’s network of 30,000+ ATMs, and no interest rate.
Read more in our Step review.
- The Step Visa Card is a one-of-a-kind "hybrid" spending card that can help you to build your credit history via everyday purchases, even before you turn 18.
- Earn a high 5% annual rate on up to $250,000 in your Savings Goals with qualifying direct deposits.*
- Buy and sell fractional shares of stocks, ETFs, and Bitcoin for as low as $1.
- Earn cash and crypto rewards when you use your Step Visa at participating merchants.
- Send and receive money instantly, spend with Apple and Google Pay.
- Pay allowance weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
- Track your card balance from the Step App.
- Banking services, provided by Evolve Bank & Trust, are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.
- Helps build credit
- Free secured card for kids, teens, and young adults
- High yield on money held in Savings Goals
- Free investment account for stocks, ETFs, and Bitcoin
- Fractional investing for as low as $1
- FDIC insurance
- High-yield savings only available with qualifying monthly direct deposit*
- Can't directly deposit checks into a Step account
Related: Best Teen Credit Cards for Building Credit
4. Axos Bank First Checking (Best Free Debit Card for Teens at an Online-Only Bank)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (no monthly fees)
First Checking by Axos Bank is the ultimate starter checking account for teens, and it comes with a debit card.
The world of banking can be a little scary, but not with the simplicity and power of Axos’ First Checking Account. It works as a joint checking account between a parent or guardian and their teen, allowing for easy-to-set, customizable parental controls with a debit card dashboard.
Parents and teens can manage almost every part of the banking experience through a convenient mobile app or through the online desktop portal. Perfect for modern families who always find themselves on the go.
The First Checking account from Axos Bank gives teens their first taste of financial independence by giving them their own checking account (which pays interest!) and free debit card for teens. But it also provides safeguards against teens getting carried away with the money held in their account, such as daily limits on cash transactions ($100) and debit transactions ($500).
Further, you can receive up to $12 in domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month, and you avoid any monthly maintenance, overdraft, and non-sufficient funds fees—essentially making the account free! Meanwhile, as of fall 2023, users can also earn a modest 0.10% APY on any balance—lower than the national average rate, but fair for a simple teen checking account and debit card product.
The account carries the highest level of security through biometric authentication techniques like fingerprint readers, voiceprints and facial recognition (pending smartphone feature availability).
The product has a minimum age requirement of 13 and is recommended for ages 13 to 17. It will convert to an Axos Checking Account after the minor reaches the age of majority.
Read more in our Axos First Checking Account review.
- Axos Bank First Checking is a joint checking account targeted for teenagers ages 13-17 and their parents.
- Account holders get a Visa or Mastercard debit card that can be used to spend online or in person, or to withdraw cash at any ATM. (Axos provides up to $12 in monthly domestic ATM fee reimbursements.)
- No monthly maintenance, overdraft, or non-sufficient fund fees.
- The debit card's security features include account alerts, card locking, and daily transaction alerts of $100 (cash) and $500 (debit).
- Currently, you can earn up to 0.10% APY on any balance.
- Free (no monthly maintenance fees)
- ATM fee reimbursements (up to $12 per month)
- Converts to adult checking account after minor reaches age of majority
- No paired investment account
- No robust financial literacy resources
Related: Best Teen-Friendly Debit Cards
5. Nationwide Bank First Checking (Honorable Mention)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (no monthly fees)
With a teen checking account product that’s highly comparable to Axos First Checking, and indeed provided by Axos, Nationwide’s First Checking also acts as an ultimate starter checking account with a debit card for teens.
We feel both products deserve spots on this list for their features and free price point.
Like Axos’ First Checking, this Nationwide account works as a joint account between a parent or guardian and their teen, allowing for easy-to-set, customizable parental controls with a debit card dashboard.
Nationwide’s account is otherwise equipped with the same features, functionality, and ability to earn a modest APY.
- A joint checking account, provided by Axos Bank through Nationwide, for teenagers ages 13-17.
- No monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees.
- Debit card with account alerts.
- Earn up to 0.10% APY from $0 account balance.
- Up to $12 domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month.
- Daily transaction limits ($100 cash, $500 debit).
6. Current (Great No-Monthly-Fee Teen Card)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (No monthly fees)
The Current banking app is designed with families in mind. It offers both adult and teen accounts, with the latter acting like prepaid debit cards that parents load for their children. The Current app allows you to track your teen’s spending in real-time, set limits on how much your children can spend, and even block specific merchants on its Visa-enabled debit cards. You also get the peace of mind that comes with knowing your children’s money is safe because it’s not cash—no temptations, just a tool parents can use to help teach teens financial responsibility.
Among Current’s features:
- No minimum required balances, no fees on transfers to other Current accounts, and no hidden fees.
- Create Savings Pods, or Giving Pods, that allow you to save up for various goals.
- Round-Ups allow you to round up purchases to the nearest dollar amount and store the difference in Savings or Giving Pods.
- Buy and sell 27 different cryptocurrencies with zero trading fees.
Teens will love easy allowance deposits, a card they can use in stores or online, instant gas hold removals when buying gas, and access to more than 40,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs nationwide. They’ll also have the opportunity to learn about financial responsibility and financial independence through Current’s Budgets feature, which allows them to track their spending and even receive alerts when they get too close to (or exceed) a predetermined limit.
Current doesn’t specifically state a minimum age requirement, but the company’s marketing suggests teens are the target audience. Still, you might be able to open an account for a younger child.
- Current is a financial technology platform that lets teens enjoy not just traditional banking basics, but numerous features meant to simplify spending, streamline saving, and set them on the path toward more organized finances.
- Teens can spend with the Current Visa debit card, which allows them to purchase in-store and online, as well as withdraw money fee-free from more than 40,000 in-network Allpoint ATMs.
- Current Teen Accounts also come with Savings Pods, which earn 0.25% APY and allow you to round up purchases (overages are funneled into your savings).
- Parents can monitor their kids' spending, adjust maximum ATM withdrawal and spending limits, and even toggle spending categories (and the Current debit card itself) on and off.
- Parents can also automate allowance payments, pay for chores, instantly transfer money to their teens, and more.
- Free account (no monthly maintenance fees)
- Good parental controls
- Fee-free ATMs
- Cash reloads
- Gas hold deposits
- 24/7 email and live-chat support
- No direct deposit
- No paired investment account
- No card customization
7. Till Financial (Best for Spending Lessons)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (no monthly fees)
Earning, saving, and investing money are important cornerstones for every child to learn before setting out into the world. But just as important is the fourth pillar: how to spend money wisely.
That’s where Till Financial wants to help.
The free debit card and banking platform for kids describes itself as a collaborative family financial tool that empowers children to become smarter spenders. They do this by designing their banking product to encourage “open and honest” discussions between parents and kids.
Further, they allow kids to establish savings targets based on goals. For example, if a teen wants to save up to buy a new laptop or iPad, they can set up an account to save toward this goal themselves, but also solicit help from family members to contribute the same (or more) funds. They can also track their progress along the way, which helps to encourage them to continue saving because the path to their goal feels more real.
Till Financial also wants to further their money education effort by helping kids to “learn by doing,” gaining confidence in their spending decisions along the way. They do this by giving them responsibility over their financial actions through the service, such as learning about the costs of recurring subscriptions like Netflix or Spotify.
Another thing that stands out about Till Financial are all the various ways children can receive money. These include:
- Quick gives: One-time instant transfers from parent wallets to kids’ wallets.
- Allowance: An automated recurring transfer from parents’ wallets to kids’ wallets.
- Tasks: You create a chore, a frequency and an associated payment for your child to complete. If your child marks the task as completed, you’ll be notified—if you confirm the task actually was completed, the funds will be transferred.
- Direct deposit: Does your child have a job with direct deposit? They can have their checks sent directly to their Till account.
- Contributions: You can send recurring contributions toward your child’s savings goal. This can be set as a percent match to each of your child’s contributions, an interest payment (percent match to total amount) or weekly contributions.
- Transfers: A child or adult can transfer money between their Save and Spend balances. (If the child initiates the transfer, it must be approved by an adult.)
- Other contributions: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other close friends can contribute to a child Till user’s goal.
If you’d like to sign up for a free account with Till Financial, you’ll be equipped with a bank account, digital and physical debit card, and goal-based savings features. The debit card can be used online or in person, and parents enjoy safety features like one-tap card freezes should their child lose their physical card.
- Till Financial is a free app and debit card for kids aimed at creating "Smart Spenders" by fostering discussions between parents and children.
- The app aims to teach kids the importance of spending wisely, setting goals, and understanding the value of money.
- Till Financial's app features a host of ways to transfer money, including allowance, tasks, direct deposit, "quick gives," recurring contributions, even outside gifts from family and friends.
- Free debit card for kids
- Numerous ways to contribute to a child's account
- Strong financial education core
- Savings goals with progress tracking
- Can only link one funding source at a time
- No cash deposits
- Limited educational tools
Related: How Old Do You Need to Be to Buy Stocks?
8. Mazoola (Best for COPPA Compliance)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (No monthly fees)
Mazoola helps parents teach their children financial literacy with the first and only (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act)-compliant mobile wallet for kids.
Mazoola has several features—from transaction monitoring and setting spend limits on specific retailers to managing chores and automatically depositing allowances for chores completed—that allow parents to teach their kids about money and help them keep some form of control over spending.
More importantly, with 1.25 million children victimized by ID theft last year, Mazoola is the only platform that is certified to handle your children’s information in a secure way.
Some of Mazoola’s Key Features:
- COPPA-Compliant: Missoula is the only mobile wallet certified compliant with Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
- Send/Request Money: Teens and parents can easily send and receive money.
- Spending Limits: Set spending limits at specific retailers and even block purchases at specific merchants. You can even set daily account spending limits.
- Goal Setting for Financial Literacy: Help your teen learn to save by setting long-term and short-term goals and automatically set aside money from each deposit to reach those goals.
- Real-Time Safety: Get real-time alerts and monitoring on transactions.
- Teach Responsibility with Chore Chart: Enter and track chores and automatically deposit allowances upon chore completion.
- Peer-to-Peer Transactions: From paying each other back for a meal to donating to a class fund teens can send money to each other with all the convenience of Venmo, but with the Mazoola’s heightened security and privacy.
- Mazoola is the first and only COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)-compliant mobile wallet for kids.
- Send/Request Money: Teens and parents can easily send and receive money.
- Spending Limits: Set spending limits at specific retailers and even block purchases at specific merchants—even set daily account spending limits.
- Goal Setting for Financial Literacy: Help your teen learn to save by setting long-term and short-term goals and automatically set aside money from each deposit to reach those goals.
Related: Best Kid-Friendly Debit Cards
9. Capital One MONEY Teen Checking Account (Honorable Mention)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (no monthly fees)
Capital One MONEY Teen Checking Account is a money management account with a debit card and a highly rated free mobile app for teens. It’s hassle-free and designed to give you peace of mind as your kids grow into independence.
Capital One MONEY offers everything a teen needs to be financially responsible. Parents, as the adult co-owner of the account, set up the account and use monitoring tools to oversee account activity. Teens can manage their money with their debit card, which can be used at more than 70,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide. And if parents are worried about the security of the card, parents can easily lock and unlock it.
The mobile app allows you to employ parental controls to stay on top of your child’s spending and take advantage of teachable money moments.
This checking account is suitable for any child 8 and older. Once your child turns 18, they can open a 360 Checking account and transfer their MONEY account balance there; if they don’t, the MONEY account will remain open.
- Capital One MONEY is a full-fledged money management account that comes with both a debit card and a highly rated mobile app.
- Boasts one of the largest nationwide fee-free ATM networks, currently at more than 70,000 machines.
- Security features include monitoring tools and easy card lock/unlock.
- Free account and card
- Access to 70,000+ fee-free ATMs
- Ability to migrate account to 360 Checking when minor becomes 18
- Sparse educational tools
- Few features, rewards, and perks
10. Chase First Banking (Best Free Debit Card for Kids and Teens)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (no monthly fees)
Ready to teach your little ones about money, but not quite sure if you have the time, patience and expertise?
Chase First BankingSM offers simple banking for both of you in one location: the Chase Mobile® App—for free. Manage all accounts with this mobile app and encounter no fees as well as find yourself able to withdraw money on 16,000 Chase ATMs around the country.
At the heart of Chase First BankingSM sits one of the best free debit cards for kids and teens that works anywhere Visa is accepted.
Need insight and oversight into your child’s spending and saving? You can set spend alerts and limits as well as specific locations all in your Chase Mobile® app.
Teach your kids to spend, save and earn — all from the Chase Mobile® app. Chase First BankingSM helps parents teach teens and kids about money by giving parents the control they want and kids the freedom they need to learn.
To get started, you’ll first need to be a Chase customer with a qualifying Chase checking account.
Consider opening a Chase Total Checking SM or Chase Secure BankingSM account to qualify.
- Chase Total CheckingSM also grants access to 16,000 Chase ATMs and more than 4,700 branches as well as a $200 sign up bonus when you set up direct deposit within 90 days of coupon enrollment. You can pay $0 in monthly fees, subject to meeting certain conditions*.
- Chase Secure BankingSM offers the same Chase ATMs and branch locations as well as a $100 sign up bonus when you make stated qualifying activities and meet certain conditions.
Once you open a qualifying Chase Checking account, you may apply for a Chase First BankingSM account for your child.
Read more in our Chase First Banking review.
- Chase First Banking offers simple banking for both of you in one location: the Chase Mobile® App—for free.
- The account is designed with kids 6-12 in mind, and available for ages 6-17.
- You can set spend alerts and limits as well as specific locations all in your Chase Mobile® app.
- Teach your kids to spend, save and earn with Chase First Banking. The account helps parents teach teens and kids about money by giving parents the control they want and kids the freedom they need to learn.
- No monthly maintenance fees
- Chore and allowance functionality
- Parental controls on types of expenses
- No paired investment account
- No interest
Related: Best Bank Accounts for Kids
Other Kid’s Debit Card Options to Consider (Not Free)
While free is always the right price, you might want more functionality for a higher cost. Below are some of the other debit cards for kids and teens you might consider trying out before committing to a free option above.
App | Apple App Store Rating + Best For | Fees | Promotions |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | ☆ 4.8 / 5 Customer rating, parental controls, goal setting, chore and allowance management, and ability to learn investing fundamentals | $4.99/month for up to five kids | First month free |
![]() | ☆ 4.9 / 5 Teen financial independence | Copper $4.95/mo., Copper + Invest: $7.95/mo. | None |
![]() | ☆ 4.6 / 5 Accessible customer service support | Individual: $4.99/child/mo. Family: $9.98/mo. for up to four children | Free month trial |
![]() | ☆ 3.5 / 5 Teaching balanced financial approach through chores & allowance; investing fundamentals | $3.99/mo (5 cards); $38.99/yr | 30-day money back guarantee |
![]() | ☆ 4.6 / 5 Financial literacy resources | $5.99/mo per family | Free month trial |
*Apple App Store Rating as of November 8, 2023 |
What Is a Debit Card for Kids and Teens?
Children generally can’t open their own bank account until they reach the age of majority in their state—often 18 years old. Thus, parents often look for other paths, such as opening a sub-account from their own bank account so they can provide their children with a card to use.
In that event, your child likely will need to be at least 13 years old before receiving a card.
Unfortunately, these accounts might not come with the custom spending controls, parental oversight, or feature-filled mobile apps provided by many new debit cards for kids. These new apps provide numerous controls over your children’s spending, including spending notifications, limiting where your child can use the card, and even allowing you to quickly lock and unlock the card. And in many cases, you simply fund your child’s debit card, so it effectively functions as a prepaid debit card.
Traditional banks or prepaid debit cards might not allow you to do this beyond keeping the account balance at a certain level.
Can I Get a Debit Card for Kids Under 13?
Though rules vary by financial institution, some banks don’t allow minors to have debit cards under their own name before the age of 16. Others choose to offer them to kids who are 13 or younger.
But even if you can get one from your current bank, you might not want to just hand your child any ol’ debit card. You might want more insight and control over their spending so you can introduce and reinforce good spending habits.
One such option includes having a joint prepaid debit card with your child, allowing you both to manage the money and agree on what the card can be used for. These cards give children some of the control they seek over their own cash but still allow parents to monitor spending and offer useful guidance when necessary. (Traditional banks don’t often have these controls available to you, making this a difficult task without the tools necessary to oversee account management.)
Most of the cards listed above, however, act like individual prepaid debit cards for your children. You load the cards with money, and they can only spend what is available on the card.
What to Do Before Getting a Free Debit Card for Kids
Take these things into consideration before opening a debit card for your child:
- Monthly fees. The best debit cards for kids should not have fees associated with their online portals to review the child’s spending or educational tools that manage money.
- Major card networks. One of the best cards for your child to use is one backed by a major credit card network. Companies like Amex, Mastercard, Visa, or Discover. This means your child can use the card as a debit or credit when needed.
- Parental Controls. An online account that not only lets you see where cash flows and when it changes hands, but also lets you monitor your child’s spending habits is a smart investment for both security purposes and to teach them strong money management skills.
- Prepaid card. To start, you may want to consider a prepaid debit card. You can also tie a new card to your existing accounts as another authorized user. The new card will access those accounts as your child spends.
- Credit scores. There are various ways to load money onto a debit card for kids. For example, you could purchase a convertible credit card for kids and put the money that they want into it; however, make sure you pay off your balance every month in order to avoid interest charges. Not paying off your monthly balance might be bad for your own credit score.
Which Features Should You Look For in a Free Kids Debit Card?
1. Direct Deposit
One of the best features that may be available on free debit cards for kids is direct deposit.
Direct deposit is an automated transfer of money, typically from an employer to a person’s bank account. This is an excellent feature you want your kids to have, because your child’s paycheck will go directly into their account. That beats being handed an envelope from work that’s later handed over to Mom and Dad to manage.
A few debit cards for teens even allow free early direct deposit if they open a premium checking account. This allows teens to get paid up to two days faster than with regular direct deposit.
Yes, it’s important to instill a sense of delayed gratification in your children to build up their money management skills. But most of us can agree that you shouldn’t have to wait for your hard-earned money to hit your bank account—kids included.
2. Transfer Money Instantly
The instant money transfer capability is really beneficial for parents with young children.
Maybe your kids are too young to have a job. Or maybe your kids are too busy to go with you to the bank. Either way, it’s up to you, as a parent or guardian, to occasionally give them some spending money each week from your own pocket.
Instant money transfers allow parents to, say, pay allowance to kids or compensate children for their weekly or monthly chores. And this feature eliminates the need to make a trip into an actual bank, which saves a trip for adults and kids pressed for time.
And believe it or not, parents can use the instant transfer capability to teach children financial literacy and the connection between work and money. A quick transfer will help children associate their earnings with their work—much better than seeing money as something they can always receive without doing anything for it.
Many debit cards for kids, then, offer a quick “reload” option so parents can keep on top of their kids’ accounts, even when pressed for time.
3. Mobile App
In today’s modern world, everything is increasingly online—and that includes banking and finance.
Is it more complicated for parents? Sure. But it’s not without its upsides. Many parents and guardians find that banking mobile apps make it much easier to keep track of their children’s spending. In fact, you could argue that, nowadays, the mobile app is one of the most important banking features.
Think about all the parental controls you can find on some debit cards’ mobile apps: spending limits, controls on where kids can use their cards, restricting card use at certain times of the day, spending notifications, even the ability to lock down the card. Moreover, mobile apps often include things like lessons, quizzes, and videos teaching kids about financial responsibility at an early age.
Kids certainly have to love the convenience, too.
Teens can open their own checking account (with the help of a parent), earn money to deposit into the account, then can access the funds to make purchases—all from a mobile app. Kids can always see their funds in their account with the push of just a few buttons, and they can easily keep track of their spending.
4. No Overdraft Fees
Since overdraft fees are typically the most expensive fee associated with a bank account, an excellent feature to look for when choosing prepaid cards or debit cards linked to a bank account is no overdraft fees.
Most prepaid debit cards can avoid overdraft fees by declining any charges when the bank account carries an insufficient balance. (For instance, if your child is trying to buy Robux and the account doesn’t have enough money, the card declines the transaction on the spot.) The BusyKid Visa Spend Card and Greenlight card, for instance, don’t have issues with overdraft fees because you can’t spend money not already loaded onto the card.
However, cards have other ways for parents and kids to avoid overdrafts—and thus overdraft fees. For instance, parents may be able to monitor and even control their children’s spending directly from the app, keeping them from spending a predetermined amount in any time period or location.
You can even avoid overdraft fees with some traditional banks, which might choose to decline charges on the debit card if they exceed the account balance.
5. Low Monthly Fees
One downside of many debit cards for kids—not all, but many—is monthly account subscription fees paid to open and maintain the account.
These fees exist for a reason: It’s how banks make money.
Banks typically make money by taking the deposits held on account and lending them to borrowers. They charge an interest rate to the borrower at a higher rate than they borrow from the depositor. This difference, called the net interest margin, accounts for the lion’s share of bank earnings.
However, kids and teens will typically have low account balances, providing little financial upside for the bank. Hence commonplace monthly (or annual) fees for kids’ debit cards and checking accounts. Some banks also try to generate additional income from things such as account minimum balance violation fees, overdraft fees, and other fees.
That’s not to say you should avoid any debit cards for teens that charge monthly fees. But it does mean that you should consider what value-added services you’re getting, and whether they’re above and beyond what you can get from accounts that charge no fees whatsoever.
Parental controls, robust mobile experiences, and card rewards are among the things that can provide parents with a more attractive value proposition and justify those fees.
6. Parental Controls
Parental controls are among the most pivotal features you’ll need in a debit card for teens and/or kids.
If your card offers controls, they should be easy to set up, customizable, and suited to any parent’s needs. Parents should be able to choose what notifications they want, set spending limits, determine which merchants kids can visit, and even lock and unlock kids’ cards.
Parental controls aren’t always about limiting, however. They might also include automated allowance payments, setting chores to complete, spending notifications (online and off), and being able to see spending reports.
These parental controls are one of the biggest differences that set apart debit cards for kids and teens, and regular products offered by a traditional bank.
7. Money Management Features
You’ll laugh at hearing this, but spending money as a kid can actually be a little stressful. So believe it or not, money management features can be especially attractive when deciding on a kids’ debit card.
Think about it. Maybe you have an allowance. Maybe Mom gives you 10 bucks here and there. That’s not a lot of money—and it’s probably not enough to buy all of the little things you want to buy right now, not to mention the big things you want to save up for.
Money management tools obviously won’t create more money, but they can help your children begin to understand the concepts of budgeting so they can spend their money more wisely and get more out of it.
Some of the best debit cards and bank accounts offer things like special pods/categories/what have you for spending, saving, gifting, and other teenage money goals, both short- and long-term alike.
In fact, some youth money apps also allow your children to invest in stocks for kids!
8. Establish Savings Goals
One really important money management feature that many parents want for their children is savings goals.
In general, kids can benefit enormously from the virtues of saving. Saving from an early age can enforce the idea of delayed gratification—the idea that accomplishments can be just as (if not more) satisfying when they’re worked for and earned over time.
Also, saving can help instill responsibility in your child. It’s a building block to understanding what it means to budget, diversify their financial resources, and even invest for better returns.
The best accounts, then, help teach your kids and teens how to save money by setting up savings goals—though they’ll often call them by a number of different terms, be they “goals,” “categories,” “pods,” etc.
Having savings goals that appear right alongside their spending money will show them how money is parceled out. So they’ll learn that they can still spend some money in the here and now, but they can’t go out of control without risking their longer-term priorities.
Is There a Debit Card for Kids With No Fees?
Yes! As we’ve covered above, you can find not just one, but several kid debit cards, free or paid.
One of the best debit cards for kids and teens without a monthly service fee comes from Step. The free prepaid debit card empowers kids to learn about earning, saving and spending their money through teaching teens about the basics of banking and budgeting. The app offers the ability for teens to budget and set goals while giving parents monitoring oversight of purchases made in real-time.
Together, these features provide productive tools for parents and teens to engage in ongoing financial conversations, providing both groups with greater confidence in money decisions made now and in the future.
And it’s easy to see why this matters: The company’s mission of bolstering financial literacy in teens can equip them to make smarter money choices down the road.
Terms and Conditions for Fidelity Youth™ Account
The Fidelity Youth™ Account can only be opened by a parent/guardian. Account eligibility limited to teens aged 13-17.
* $0.00 commission applies to online U.S. equity trades and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a Fidelity retail account only for Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC retail clients. Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). Other exclusions and conditions may apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for details. Employee equity compensation transactions and accounts managed by advisors or intermediaries through Fidelity Institutional® are subject to different commission schedules.
¹ Limited Time Offer. Terms Apply. Before opening a Fidelity Youth™ Account, you should carefully read the account agreement and ensure that you fully understand your responsibilities to monitor and supervise your teen’s activity in the account.
² The Fidelity Youth™ app is free to download. Fees associated with your account positions or transacting in your account apply.
³ Zero account minimums and zero account fees apply to retail brokerage accounts only. Expenses charged by investments (e.g., funds, managed accounts, and certain HSAs) and commissions, interest charges, or other expenses for transactions may still apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for further details.
⁴ Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $0.01. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00).
⁵ Your Youth Account will automatically be reimbursed for all ATM fees charged by other institutions while using the Fidelity® Debit Card at any ATM displaying the Visa®, Plus®, or Star® logos. The reimbursement will be credited to the account the same day the ATM fee is debited. Please note, for foreign transactions, there may be a 1% fee included in the amount charged to your account. The Fidelity® Debit Card is issued by PNC Bank, N.A., and the debit card program is administered by BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company. These entities are not affiliated with each other, and Fidelity is not affiliated with PNC Bank or BNY Mellon. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association, and is used by PNC Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.
⁶ Venmo is a service of PayPal, Inc. Fidelity Investments and PayPal are independent entities and are not legally affiliated. Use a Venmo or PayPal account may be subject to their terms and conditions, including age requirements.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917
Disclaimer: Step is a trademark of Step Mobile, Inc.