Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own. Advertiser disclosure

The best debit cards for kids for 2024

Compare 4 kids debit cards that can teach your child healthy financial habits.

Best all-around kids account

Finder Award

Greenlight

Go to site

  • Free 30-day trial, then start at $4.99/month
  • Earn up to 5% on savings and 1% cashback
  • Optional investing tools

Best for financial literacy

GoHenry

Go to site

  • Finder-exclusive 2-month free trial plus $10 in allowance, then $4.99/month
  • Optional parent-paid interest
  • 45+ customizable card designs

Earn and redeem rewards points

Jassby

Go to site

  • Free 30-day trial, then $5.95/month
  • Earn redeemable rewards points
  • Quizzes, videos and games teach kids about money

Compare debit cards for kids

Use the table below to compare accounts based on the features you're looking for.
Name Product Fee Savings Bonus Age requirements Features Offer
Greenlight
Finder Rating: 4.6 / 5: ★★★★★

Finder Award
Free trial
Greenlight
$4.99 per month
Up to 5%
Any age
  • Spend, save & invest
  • Chores & allowance tools
  • Spending controls & limits
  • Instantly send money to your child
  • Up to 5% savings rewards
Get the first 30 days for free. After your one-month trial, plans start at just $4.99/month for the whole family. Includes up to five kids.
Teach your child to spend, save and invest all in one app. Get 5+ financial literacy tools, including chores and allowances. All with powerful parental controls to decide where your child can spend and how much. Includes up to 5% savings rewards. Free one-month trial.
GoHenry
Finder Rating: 4.3 / 5: ★★★★★
Exclusive
GoHenry
$4.99 per month
N/A
6 to 18 years old
  • Automate allowance & instantly send money to your child
  • Optional parent-paid savings interest
  • Spending controls & limits
  • Finder-exclusive 2-month free trial plus $10 in allowance, then $4.99/month
Get an exclusive 2 months free and $10 allowance when you sign up to GoHenry with Finder's exclusive code: AFFUSFDR5.
Get interactive money and investing tools for your kids, including expert-developed games and quizzes. Offers strong parental controls that allow you to set where and how much your child can spend.
Jassby
Finder Rating: 4 / 5: ★★★★★
Jassby
$5.95 per month
N/A
7 to 17 years old
  • Set up allowance and chores
  • Real-time spending notifications
  • Instantly lock and unlock your child’s card
  • Quizzes, videos and games teach kids about money
  • Earn redeemable rewards points
Kids earn rewards points when they play the financial literacy games, courses and quizzes in Jassby‘s app. Teach your child spending, saving, and giving with strong parental controls. Includes chores and allowance features.
BusyKid
Finder Rating: 4.6 / 5: ★★★★★
Free trial
BusyKid
$48 per year or $4 per month
N/A
5 to 17 years old
  • Up to 5 debit cards
  • Chores and allowance tools
  • Real-time notifications of all transactions
  • Optional free investing tools
  • Optional parental savings match
Get 30 days free, then $4/month ($48 billed annually) for up to five kids.
The BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Card gives your kids the freedom to spend anywhere Visa® is accepted, and parents see every transaction made.
loading

4 best debit cards for kids and teens

Best overall

Finder Award Greenlight

4.6
★★★★★

Finder score

Get the first 30 days for free.
Go to site Read review
Taking the overall win is Greenlight, thanks to its lack of age requirements, free card reloads, chore and allowance features and customizable parent-set spending limits. Parents can limit spending by category or store, which isn't offered by most other debit cards for kids. You have three plans to choose from that are each paid monthly and offer cards for up to five kids. You'll pay $4.99, $9.98 or $14.98, depending on your plan. The higher-tiered plans come with extra perks like cashback rewards, higher savings reward bonuses, an investing platform for kids and extra protections for identity theft, cellphones and purchases.

Best for money games

GoHenry

4.3
★★★★★

Finder score

Get an exclusive 2 months free and $10 allowance when you sign up to GoHenry with Finder's exclusive code: AFFUSFDR5.
Go to site Read review
GoHenry easily took the win for best for financial literacy games due to its gamified educational feature Money Missions, which follows national financial education guidelines and was developed alongside teachers. It has quizzes, videos and interactive lessons on topics like investing, saving, interest, borrowing and much more. GoHenry is for kids ages 6 to 18 years old and costs $4.99/month for one kid and $9.98/month for up to four kids. Parents get to assign chores, set custom limits for online and in-store spending and send funds to their kids' cards for free. The downside is that this option is more expensive for larger families, costing $9.98 per month for more than one child. And while you can add a second parent to the GoHenry parent account, only the primary parent can send funds.

Best for teens

Current teen banking

4.4
★★★★★

Finder score

Go to site Read review
Current wins as the best card for teens aged 13 and up. The card allows teens to earn some financial freedom with parental supervision. There are no monthly fees, and it comes with chore and allowance tracking and strong parental controls and lets teens create savings goals and set up savings round-ups. There's also a unique perk: Teens can negotiate chore compensation. There are no fees for transferring funds to the Teen Banking account, and parents can control spending directly through Current's app. However, parents must first sign up for a Current account themselves and then add the Teen Banking to their Current account. On the plus side, all Current accounts are free to open and maintain.

Best for investing

BusyKid

4.6
★★★★★

Finder score

Get 30 days free, then $4/month ($48 billed annually) for up to five kids.
Go to site Read review
BusyKid is one of the only kids' cards that offers an investing platform for kids at no extra cost. For kids ages 5 to 17, it's well-equipped for large families and overflows with features. Parents can match their kids' savings contributions, and kids can invest in over 4,000 stock and exchange-traded funds (ETF) options, complete chores, earn allowances and much more. You'll pay about $4 per month for up to five kids on the account, which is slightly less than what you'd pay for multiple kids and all these features with other competitors. There are no reload fees, and there's also a free 30-day trial to try before you buy. However, BusyKid lacks educational courses and games.

Methodology: How we choose the best kids’ cards

Finder’s banking editors research and compare more than 35 cards for kids. We rate kids’ debit cards using slightly different criteria to account for differences between checking accounts and prepaid debit cards for kids. We narrowed down our list to accounts that meet the following factors:

  • Monthly fee under $4.99
  • Accepts wide age range under 18
  • Features
    • Large ATM network or no ATM fees for checking accounts
    • Chore and allowance features
    • Strong parental controls with spending limits, alerts or overdraft protection
    • Companion app for monitoring
  • Availability
    • No strict membership requirements
    • Ability to open the account online

How to compare cards for kids

To help you find the best account for your family, here are some considerations to keep in mind:

  • Fees. While prepaid cards for kids are notorious for monthly fees ranging from $4 to $10, checking and digital accounts offer plenty of free kids’ debit cards to choose from.
  • Strong parental controls. Most cards send you notifications every time your child spends and let you lock their debit card if necessary. A few, like Greenlight and GoHenry, go beyond this to let you control how much your child spends at certain stores or with specific spending categories like online shopping.
  • Financial education features. Games and interactive tools like quizzes, videos and short articles can teach basic finance concepts and keep your kid engaged.
  • Earning potential. Some kids’ debit cards offer savings bonuses, referral rewards, a cashback program and some even offer a traditional APY.
  • Funding options. Prepaid debit cards for kids come with reload fees, which can get pricey over time. Look for cards that won’t charge you every time you want to top off your kids’ debit card.
  • Allowances and chores. Many kids’ debit cards let you automate allowances as weekly, biweekly or monthly payments. They also offer chore features, giving your kids a chore list that they can complete to earn money.

Should I get a debit card for my child?

If your child is at the age where they’re asking you for money or they’ve started using their own cash for purchases, then it may be time to get them their own debit card.

A debit card is also a great way to teach kids about how to manage their finances. Kids will have to learn how to budget, avoid overspending, and check their balance — all essential skills for adulthood.

And if your teen has a job, a bank account offers a way to safely store their funds and receive direct deposits from their employer.

Are debit cards for kids safe?

Yes, money held in kids’ debit cards is protected up to $250,000 as long as they’re insured by the FDIC or NCUA. Most kids’ debit cards let parents lock and unlock the card if it goes missing, block certain stores, set spending limits by category or customize daily spending limits. Some cards, like the Greenlight Max debit card, offer extra security features such as identity theft and cell phone and purchasing protection.

Getting a kid a debit card is likely a safer option than getting them a credit card, which would mean adding them as an authorized user on your credit card if they’re under 18. Credit cards may encourage overspending, have interest charges and could impact your credit score if they’re tied to your name. A debit card won’t impact your credit history, because debit cards and prepaid debit cards aren’t reported to credit bureaus.

At what age can you get a debit card?

Minors will need a parent or legal guardian who is at least 18 years old to get a debit card or bank account. Parents will act as a joint co-owner or sponsor on the account. Most traditional checking accounts require kids to be at least 13 years old, while prepaid debit cards for kids accept any age.

How to get a card for kids

You can open most debit cards for kids online, and you’ll need to open a kids’ checking account as a joint account between a minor and an adult. When signing up for a kids’ debit card, the application asks for the primary account holder’s information, as well as a few details about the child:

  1. Parent’s government-issued ID
  2. Parent’s Social Security card
  3. Child’s birth certificate

Alternative kids’ bank accounts

If your kid isn’t quite ready for a debit card, or you have different goals in mind, check out these other bank accounts for kids:

  • Kids’ savings accounts. These accounts help kids learn how to save and grow their savings toward college or other future expenses. No matter the goal, there are great kids’ savings accounts with low fees and high APYs.
  • Custodial accounts. A custodial account is managed by parents until the child reaches a certain age, typically 18 years old. Some can be used to save up for education, whereas others can be used to give a child money once they’ve entered adulthood.
  • Credit cards. If you’ve got a teen that you want to offer more responsibly or help them establish a credit history early, a teen credit card might be the right play — with parental supervision, of course.
  • Educational savings accounts. If you’re looking to save toward your kids’ education, consider accounts like a 529 savings plan.

More guides on Finder

Ask an Expert

Finder.com provides guides and information on a range of products and services. Because our content is not financial advice, we suggest talking with a professional before you make any decision.

By submitting your comment or question, you agree to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and finder.com Terms of Use.

Questions and responses on finder.com are not provided, paid for or otherwise endorsed by any bank or brand. These banks and brands are not responsible for ensuring that comments are answered or accurate.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Go to site