FamZoo Kids’ Debit Card Review

Who is FamZoo best for?

FamZoo’s prepaid cards work best for families who want to teach their kids more than just managing their spending and savings. It works for a variety of ages too, with more than 50% of FamZoo’s users under age 13.

It’s also best for parents who want a platform that lets them customize the app to fit their goals and needs. All in all, FamZoo’s suite of customizable features and ability to work as an envelope budgeting system make it one of the best options on the market.

FamZoo plans and cost

FamZoo works through your mobile device. Download the app through the App Store if you’re an iPhone user or Google Play if you have Android. You can either pay for FamZoo month-to-month or pay yearly for a slight discount.

What we like about FamZoo

FamZoo is one of the most robust prepaid debit card platforms for families.

Customizable tools

Like other debit cards for kids, FamZoo lets you set up parent-paid interest on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Parents can instantly transfer money between any of the cards, split allowances between your kids’ various accounts and pay kids when they request money.

FamZoo offers a suite of tools that let you customize each one to your situation. A few examples include:

• Use the chore tool to create other lists for school or groceries.
• Use IOU accounts to track when your kids spend cash.
• Set up mock loans to track borrowed money with interest and teach your kids about paying off debt
• Set up automated bill pay that charges yout teens’ share of expenses like a cell phone or gas bill.

We have yet to see any other kid’s card and platform offer so many customizable tools. And its bill pay and loan tools are unique to FamZoo.

Chores and allowance tracking

Like many other kids’ banking apps, FamZoo does support chore and allowance tracking.

• Approve chores before paying
• Create a list of unassigned chores kids can choose from
• Create additional subaccounts beyond spending, saving and giving
• Set up allowances according to age or a fixed amount
• Tie chores to payment or penalties that deducts from their account

Envelope budgeting and other tools for adults

FamZoo is so customizable that even adults can use the account for envelope budgeting. Here’s how it works:

1. At signup, order an unlimited number of prepaid cards with the first four cards free.
2. Then, customize the label for each card according to different budget categories like groceries or fun money. You can’t spend more than what’s on the card, making it ideal for envelope budgeting.
3. Load any of the cards directly from your bank account, digital wallets like Paypal or with cash at participating Green Dot or Mastercard rePower stores for a fee.

If you want to track cash that you have on hand, use IOU accounts. These accounts don’t move money around from your FamZoo cards. You simply create the account and enter the amount of cash you have, then deduct from the account every time you spend the cash. Another use of IOU accounts is borrowing money from someone. Here you would add your negative balance so that you know how much you need to pay back.

Once you join FamZoo, try out its Facebook group to see how other families are using the accounts to learn more about all of its other features.

What could be better

Compared to other kids’ apps, FamZoo’s main downside is the unavoidable monthly fee. There are some free kids’ banking apps if you’d prefer to avoid paying for a kids’ card.

And like many kids’ digital banking platforms, FamZoo doesn’t have physical branches. It does, however, have a customer phone line for general questions or assistance from the FamZoo team: 1-412-326-9661 (1-412-FAMZOO1). The number is also printed on the back of its cards.

Somewhat limited parental controls

FamZoo doesn’t let you set limits on your kids’ spending the way that competitors Greenlight and Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry) do. For example, Greenlight lets you set spending limits on specific stores and Acorns Early lets you limit how much they spend per purchase and overall for the week.

FamZoo also doesn’t work well if you want to add a second adult and limit their access and controls. Adults on the account get full control of managing the kids’ cards, making it less than ideal for divorced parents who want privacy. You can get around this problem by letting the second adult send ACH transfers to the child’s card.

Compare FamZoo to other debit cards for kids

Narrow down top kids’ cards by monthly fee and features.

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Finder Score	Fee	Age requirements	Features
Promoted 9.2 Excellent Greenlight Finder Award	9.2 Excellent	$5.99 per month	Any age	Spend, save & invest Chores & allowance tools Spending controls & limits Instantly send money to your child Up to 6% savings rewards	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 6% savings rewards.	Go to siteView details Compare product selection Compare	loading
9.4 Excellent Cash App Families	9.4 Excellent	$0 per month	13 to 17 years old *	Start with as little as $1 Your teen can earn 3.25% interest on their savings Send and request money, deposit cash and access ATMs Free saving and investing** features with parental approval	Sponsor your teen's Cash App account with robust parental oversight and safety features, such as payment notifications and card locking. Help them invest, choose between colorful cards and decide which features they can access.	View details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.6 Great Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry)	8.6 Great	$8 per month	6 to 18 years old	Automate allowance & instantly send money to your child Optional parent-paid savings interest Spending controls & limits $8/month after Finder exclusive free trial	Get 2 months free and $10 allowance when you sign up to Acorns Early with Finder's exclusive code: AFFUSFDR10. T&Cs apply.	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.	Go to siteView details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.6 Great Chase First Banking℠	8.6 Great	$0 per month	6 to 17 years old	$0 monthly fee Financial learning tools for kids Flexible parental controls Supports chores and allowances For kids ages 6 to 17 FDIC insured	A debit card for kids and teens with parental controls and digital tools to help them learn good money habits in the Chase Mobile app. Requires parent to have or open a Chase checking account. FDIC insured.	Go to siteView details Compare product selection Compare	loading
8.4 Great Revolut Kids & Teens account	8.4 Great	$0 per month	13 to 17 years old	Chore and allowance tracking Budgeting tools Set custom spending limits Set money goals Must have parent account for kids under 18	The Revolut Kids & Teens account card comes with chore and allowance tracking, parental controls, and budgeting tools for your kid. You must have a Revolut personal account to be eligible. Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. Fees may apply. See revolut.com/en-US/ for details.	Go to siteView details Compare product selection Compare	loading

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What is the Finder Score?

The Finder Score applies to 45+ kids' debit card options. It takes into account the card's fees, features, age requirements, ATM access and more — this gives you a simple score out of 10.

To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like debit cards. So if you're comparing the best kids' cards with no monthly fees, you can see how card stacks up against each other by features, opening deposits and other benefits.

Read the full breakdown

FamZoo customer reviews and ratings

FamZoo isn’t rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and doesn’t have a Trustpilot profile at the time of writing.

But on app stores, there are many reviews.

Hundreds of customers praise FamZoo with high ratings on the Google Play and Apple app stores. Positive reviews praise the different tools available like automated parent-paid interest on savings and the ability to use the cards for envelope budgeting. Negative reviews complain that the app only includes basic features and that the site design needs updating for userfriendliness.