Dive deeper: Best bank accounts for kids
Is Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry) in Canada?
This spending app uses games and quizzes to teach kids about finances. Acorns Early (previously GoHenry) Canada doesn't yet exist, but there are alternatives.
Acorns Early (previously GoHenry in the US) is the kids money management app of choice for many parents in the US and UK. Find out if you can use Acorns Early in Canada, and check out Acorns Early Canada alternatives.
Must read: GoHenry (US) is now Acorns Early
US fintech company Acorns acquired GoHenry in April 2023, renaming it Acorns Early in the US but keeping the name GoHenry in the UK. All the app’s spending, earning, saving and learning features remain the same, and the app is still available for both Apple and Android users in the US.
What is Acorns Early?
Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry) is a debit card and spending app that teaches kids financial literacy using expert-designed games and quizzes. Kids follow videos, interactive lessons and quizzes to complete missions and earn experience points and badges. Content is created by financial professionals and teachers following US educational guidelines.
The Acorns Early debit card can be used to pay for purchases. Parents can transfer funds onto the card and control where and how much kids spend. It costs $5 USD per month for 1 user or $10 USD per month for up to 4 kids.
Is Acorns Early (previously GoHenry) in Canada?
Unfortunately, Acorns Early is not available in Canada, although card holders can pay for purchases in Canada with a Acorns Early card. To use Acorns Early, you must live in the US, and to use GoHenry, you must live in the UK. As of the time of writing, Acorns Early has not announced plans to begin offering the kids debit card in Canada.
Compare Acorns Early Canada alternatives for kids
Looking for an alternative to the Acorns Early card in Canada? Check out the following money management apps and accounts for kids.
Acorns Early plans and cost
Acorns Early offers a 30-day free trial, after which, a monthly fee applies based on how many kids are on the account. Here’s its pricing:
| Plan | Monthly cost | Number of kids |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $5 USD | 1 |
| Family | $10 USD | 4 |
What makes Acorns Early shine
Acorns Early (previously GoHenry) features a suite of money management tools designed for kids and teens, but its gamified financial learning is the tool that deserves the spotlight.
Financial literacy
Every kids debit card includes some kind of financial blog or learning content, but Acorns Early stands our for its nicely designed lessons in the form of videos, quizzes and bite-sized articles. Each lesson caters to your child’s age from six to 18 years old.
Kids set out to complete each video or quiz “mission,” earning points and badges as they move through the game’s levels. The missions aren’t just created by marketers—they’re designed by financial experts and teachers to follow US K–12 Personal Finance Education National Standards.
Typically, kids’ banking platforms turn out articles without using many visuals. And while some competitors, like Step, cater to teens, not all include lessons for younger kids the way Acorns Early does.
Parental controls
Parents get automated allowance and chore-funding features offered by similar kids banking apps in the US. Kids get paid for chores weekly, giving them time to complete their list and get rewarded for the chores they finished.
Yet Acorns Early dials in parental controls by giving the ability to set limits by the day, week and month. Then, parents can toggle on the limits for in-store or online purchases and ATM withdrawals. It’s one of the only US kids’ banking apps that grants such tight parental controls, with Greenlight as its rival offering store- and category-level controls.
Plus, a second parent can be added to Acorns Early accounts to get notifications and manage chore lists. Every kids’ app is different in this area. Some don’t allow you to add another parent, while others let you customize different controls for each parent.
Design
This is one of the only kids’ cards that offers customizable designs. Kids can choose from over 35 card designs, letting them customize their name and favorite picture or pattern. Greenlight rivals this level of customization, but not many other apps do.
In addition to its cards, the app doesn’t hold back on using bold colour, avatars, icons and progress bars for an eye-catching look. It keeps tools simplistic with bite-sized financial lessons and suggested goals for savings, helping kids use the app with ease.
Where Acorns Early falls short
Acorns Early’s pricing structure is its biggest downfall. It starts out at $5 USD per month for one child, which is comparable to other US kids’ debit cards. But it costs $10 USD a month to move to the family plan, which includes cards for up to 4 kids. Other competitors grant 4 to 5 cards on their standard plans for around $5 USD a month.
A co-parent can be added to the account and will be able to top up the parent account, but only with the card registered on the account.
Acorns Early’s customer experience
Many customers have had 5-star experiences with Acorns Early based on app and user reviews. Happy customers like the app’s design and wealth of features, and they’re thrilled to see their kids successfully learning about finances.
Yet multiple people have said that they have encountered glitches like the debit card not working and issues transferring funds back from childrens’ accounts.
A few customers mention the requirement of setting up a weekly automatic allowance. However, our staff once verified with customer support that parents can set the allowance to $0 USD if they don’t want to use the automated allowance.
How to contact customer support
Acorns Early customer service can be contacted by phone Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 8:00pm EST and Saturday through Sunday from 9:00am to 5:00pm EST. Account holders can also reach Acorns Early via email or online support form. Parent company Acorns has accounts on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.
Is Acorns Early safe?
Acorns Early (previously GoHenry) takes care to spell out exactly how it protects personal information using encryption credit card numbers and sensitive personal information. While it doesn’t sell your information, Acorns Early shares necessary details with business partners or service providers like analytics and support sites to offer and improve its features.
Its privacy policy explains that Acorns Early does not collect, use, or disclose the personal information of children under 13 without their parents’ consent. “Limit Ad Tracking” is enabled on Child Accounts by default, preventing children from receiving targeted advertising.
Kids’ funds are insured by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 USD through Community Federal Savings Bank.
Acorns Early’s ATM network and fees
Children can withdraw cash from any ATM with no fee for domestic or international ATMs. However, they may pay a fee charged by the ATM provider, and parents have the option of turning off ATM usage for their child’s card.
What countries can you use Acorns Early in?
The Acorns Early card can be used anywhere in the world that Mastercard is accepted. But, as with most cards, the following countries are blocked from transactions:
- Belarus
- Central African Republic
- CONGO (was Zaire)
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Iran
- Iraq
- Libya
- Mali
- North Korea
- Russia
- Serbia
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tunisia
- Ukraine
- Venezuela
- Yemen
How to get started with a Acorns Early card
Here’s how to set up, pay and manage a Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry) account after receiving a card:
- Download the app. Get the mobile app for Android or iOS to get account access.
- Share access. Add a spouse or another guardian as a co-manager on the account.
- Set up a scheduled or chores-based allowance. Set up a weekly allowance or tasks with an attached value to get funds sent to the card automatically from the primary account.
- Set spending limits and goals. Establish savings goals, weekly limits and one-time exemptions as needed by visiting the Rules section of the parent account.
- Activate your child’s debit card. Activate the Acorns Early card on the app to receive the child’s username, password and PIN.
- Keep the monthly fee in mind. If there aren’t enough funds in the primary account to cover the monthly fee, Acorns Early will pull from the attached debit card.
- Contact support. Use the FAQ on the Acorns Early website or talk to support via phone, email or online contact form.
Acorns Early Canada FAQs
Sources
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