finder.com’s rating: 4.6 / 5.0
★★★★★
The Alliant Kids Savings account helps kids save money with its highly rated banking app, waivable monthly fee and hard-to-beat 3.1% APY. Plus, your child can set up separate savings accounts for their goals. But they need to save at least $100 to earn interest.
3.10%
APY
$1 per month
(can be waived)
Fee
$5
Minimum deposit to open
| Annual percentage yield (APY) | 3.10% |
|---|---|
| Fee | $1 per month (can be waived) |
| To waive the fee | no monthly fees if you opt into e-statements |
| Minimum deposit to open | $5 |
| Intro or bonus offer | Alliant Credit Union will pay the $5 initial deposit |
| Minimum balance to earn interest | $100 |
| Interest compounding | Monthly |
Review by
Katia Iervasi is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in insurance. Her writing and analysis on life, disability and health insurance has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Yahoo, Entrepreneur, Best Company and FT Advisor. She holds a BA in communication from Australia's Griffith University.
The Alliant Kids Savings Account stands at the top of our list for kids’ savings accounts because of its high 3.1% APY and waivable monthly fee when you opt in to paperless statements. This account features savings goals, budgeting tools and a highly rated mobile app for kids to use.
Your child can also deposit checks through the app or make deposits and withdrawals from one of 80,000 ATMs. ATM access isn’t always available with online banks, and it’s rare for a savings account to come with an ATM card.
However, this savings account is only available to children 12 and younger, and it doesn’t include many kid-friendly features like financial games or quizzes that we’ve seen with other kids’ debit card accounts.
Alliant is also a credit union, which means that parents need to be a member with their own Alliant account to open this kids’ account. Anyone can join by becoming a member of Foster Care to Success, a nonprofit organization that awards scholarships and grants to foster teens across the U.S. Alliant will even pay the one-time membership fee of $5 after joining the foster care organization.
Our take? This savings account works well if you don’t want to pay monthly fees and plan to open the Alliant Teen Checking account when your kid turns 13 years old. At age 13, your teen can keep the Alliant Kids Savings Account and link it with the teen checking account for convenient banking.
Membership requirements for a savings account with the credit union are flexible. If you meet even one of the requirements, you’re eligible to join:
After becoming a member of the Alliant Credit Union, follow five easy steps to open an account:
You should hear from Alliant within seven to 14 business days. If you don’t, call 800-328-1935 for an update.
You can also fax your form to 773.462.2124 or mail it to:
Attn: Account Services
Alliant Credit Union
PO Box 66945
Chicago, IL 60666
The Alliant Kids Savings Account is a joint account between a parent, grandparent or guardian and a minor.
As the adult account holder, you must be:
The child must be:
To open the account, you’ll need the following information:
Like most checking and savings accounts for kids, this account requires an adult co-owner. This allows parents, grandparents and guardians to monitor their kid’s money and make deposits into the account. And aside from joint ownership, there are several other compelling reasons to sign up for an Alliant Kids Savings account.
Like all savings accounts, the Alliant Kids Savings account has its limitations that might affect your decision.
Compare popular kids’ savings accounts based on fees, interest and minimum deposits. Then, select Compare to see up to four options side by side.
You have a handful of ways to access money in the Kids Savings Account, including:
As a joint owner of an Alliant’s Kids Savings Account, you can access your child’s online banking, but your kid must first grant you access by following these steps.
After that, whenever you log in to your own online banking account, you’re able to view activity in the Kids Savings Account too.
Get support by phone, email or online:
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze top savings accounts and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include: interest rates, monthly fees, minimum deposits, customer service and account features.
Alliant Kids Savings Account is not currently available on Finder
Have you considered UFB High Yield Savings?
Score an impressive 5.25% APY, and pay $0 in monthly fees. No minimum deposit requirement. FDIC insured.
