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$0
Signature transaction fee
$0.50
PIN transaction fee
Card type | Debit |
---|---|
Card network | Visa |
Annual fee | $19.99 |
Signature transaction fee | $0 |
PIN transaction fee | $0.50 |
Additional Cardholder Fee | $7.99 per year |
Review by
Rhys Subitch is a writer and editor at Finder who tackles topics across the site. With half a decade of experience researching, editing and writing for a Fortune 500 company, university and several independent publications, Rhys brings readers the most up-to-date and curated info on all things finance.
The BusyKid mobile app has features to help teach your child the importance of spending, saving, investing and sharing.
You’ll pay $19.99 a year — equivalent to only $1.67 a month — for the family subscription, which comes with one debit card and access to premium app features. If you need more than one card, you’ll pay an additional $7.99 a year for each one.
Even with these fees, BusyKid is cheaper than other prepaid cards for kids. The cost breaks down to $1.67 a month for one kid, $2.33 for two kids, $2.99 for three kids, and so on.
But the debit card is missing some control features. Although you have to give approval before your child can transfer money to their spend, share or spend card, you have no control over how they use the money once it’s loaded. Because of this, the BusyKid debit card is best for parents who have already established a level of trust with their kid’s spending.
If you want more granular control over how and when your child uses funds, you may want to compare other options.
Number of cards | Family plan cost |
---|---|
1 | $19.99 a year (equivalent to $1.67 a month) |
2 | $27.98 a year (equivalent to $2.33 a month) |
3 | $35.97 a year (equivalent to $2.99 a month) |
4 | $43.96 a year (equivalent to $3.66 a month) |
5 | $51.99 a year (equivalent to $4.33 a month) |
To get a BusyKid Visa debit card you’ll need to open up an account and subscribe.
To open a parent account and order a debit card you’ll need to meet four requirements:
You may be asked to provide the following information for the debit card:
Watch our short video review in which we break down how BusyKid works, how much it costs and if it’s right for your kids.
If you’re already using the BusyKid app, adding a prepaid debit card can allow your child you spend their hard-earned money in stores or online. Benefits include:
The BusyKid debit card has less robust parental controls and a heavy cost compared to other options.
If you’re looking for a card with a low subscription fee, this card is for you. Besides the low subscription fee, the other fees and limits are pretty average when compared to other prepaid cards for kids. And unlike other cards, you don’t have the option of withdrawing money from an ATM.
Fee & limit | Amount | How it compares to other kids’ cards |
---|---|---|
Fee |
| This is one of the lowest subscription fees. Most kids’ cards have a monthly subscription fee which will cost you an average of $50 a year. With BusyKid you’ll only pay $19.99 a year for a family plan with one free card, plus $7.99 annually for additional cards. |
ATM withdrawal | N/A | While you can withdraw money from an ATM with most kids’ cards, you can’t with BusyKid. |
Cash reload fee | N/A | You can only load your card through the website. |
Card replacement fee | $5 | Most prepaid debit cards for kids allow a free replacement card before charging you a fee. This one doesn’t. |
Maximum card balance | $2,000 | This daily balance is lower than what most cards for kids offer. |
Debit card transfer limit | $2,000 a day | This transfer limit is average compared to other cards. |
Direct deposit limit | 2,000 a month | This limit is average to most kids’ cards. |
ATM withdrawal limit | N/A | You can’t withdraw money from an ATM. |
Purchase limit | $2,000 on a single transaction | This is limit is average when compared to other prepaid cards. |
You can compare other debit cards for kids by using our guide and find the right fit for your family.
You can only load funds to the BusyKid card by transferring money to the spend section of your child’s account. You can fund your child’s account with a connected bank account at no extra cost or a credit card for a 2.9% fee plus 30 cents per transaction. Transferring money from another prepaid card costs $1.
It takes between seven and 10 business days for the BusyKid card to arrive after you request it. You can activate the card and load funds as soon as it arrives.
Once you receive the card, get started in three ways:
You can reach BusyKid in six ways on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST:
Gregg Murset
Co-Founder/CEO of BusyKid
The app is designed for kids between the ages of five and 16, but we have many kids younger and older using it. In regard to the physical card, kids are all different, so it’s really up to the parent to decide if their child is ready to handle using a card in a store or shopping online. We have some really young kids with cards and they seem to do really well.
Yes, parents can decide how much allowance goes to each area. The only limitation is that the total percentage needs to add up to 100%. It’s preset at 50% Save, 40% Spend and 10% Share, but parents can adjust it.
Parents have complete control of how much is loaded onto a card and moved out of our system for cash, stock and charity. Our app is a teaching tool. We want kids to learn how to move money around and make decisions based on the money they have. They still need parent approval before doing what they want.
We put investing in the Save area since it’s what we consider a portfolio. It doesn’t mean that the money in the Save area has to be invested. The money left under Save won’t earn interest. But you can earn in stock if you choose to invest it. When investing, a child can pull money from any category — Save, Spend or Share. There is no fee when buying stock through BusyKid. There’s just a small fee once the stock is sold.
It depends on when a parent believes their son or daughter is ready to take it on. What we’ve found is that parents are investing with their children. And in many cases, it’s the first investing the parent has done. It’s become a family experience.
We want kids to start with BusyKid from a young age and use it as long as they want. We have some big plans for our app as we look to add several features for kids who usually would have outgrown our app but are becoming financially independent for the first time.
BusyKid works with the following devices: