How do we rate kids’ prepaid cards?

If parents want to give their children a prepaid debit card with which to spend money, they now have a number of providers – with a number of different features – to choose from. Finder has analysed the features and fees offered by these providers, and you’ll see Finder star ratings across our kids’ cards content, including in tables and on provider reviews. Here’s how we came up with them.

What factors do we take into account to compare kids’ prepaid cards?

1. Fees. We look at if there’s a monthly fee to have the kids’ prepaid card, if there’s a cost involved to order the card, whether loading fees apply to add funds to the card, and whether any other fees are involved – such as charges for making an ATM withdrawal.
2. Controls and safeguards. Kids’ prepaid cards usually come with parental controls, such as the ability to set limits on the amount that can be taken out of a cash machine, and a function to freeze the card if it gets lost. These cards often automatically block age-restricted merchants, and parents get instant notifications when their child has used the card to buy something. We check whether the provider offers all of these features.
3. Kids’ app features. There is usually an app accompanying the card, which children can use to monitor their own spending and check their card balance. The more advanced apps also come with savings goals, educational features and an earning functionality, where tasks or chores can be set for the child to earn pocket money.
4. App rating. This is average rating that the app receives across the App Store and the Google Play Store.
5. Overall rating. We combine and average all of these different factor scores to arrive at an overall Finder rating on a scale of 1 to 5, which is rounded to the nearest half star.