Get a £15 pocket money bonus + 2 months free trial

Get a £15 pocket money bonus + 2 months free trial
- Pre-paid debit card & app (for kids 6+)
- Full parental controls, fun for kids
- GoHenry card £3.99/m
It’s never too early to teach your kids about money and there are now loads of options designed to help you do just that and give them some control over their finances. You can choose a prepaid kids’ debit card, where they can only spend the money you load onto the card, which can be controlled through an app. Alternatively, there are more traditional current accounts designed especially for children.
Brand | Best for | Expert score |
---|---|---|
NatWest Rooster Money | Best for parental controls | 4.4/5 |
HyperJar | Best for no monthly fee | 4.2/5 |
GoHenry | Best for learning tools | 4.0/5 |
Starling Kite | Good for using abroad | 4.0/5 |
Revolut 18> | Good for co-parenting features | 3.9/5 |
nimbl | Best for regular saving | 3.7/5 |
To come up with our Finder rating and picks for the best kids’ prepaid debit cards in the UK, our team looked at all the prepaid products available on the market and scored them across 4 key areas.
We looked at monthly fees, the app scores in the Google Play Store and the App Store, app features such as savings goals and educational modules, as well as controls and safeguards including age-restricted transactions and ATM withdrawal limits.
We scored each category out of 5. For example, if a kids’ prepaid debit card has all the controls and safeguard features listed in our criteria, it would score 5 out of 5. To calculate our Finder rating, we averaged out all these scores and rounded them to the nearest half star.
You’ll also see cards we picked as being outstanding in certain categories, such as best for parental controls or best for learning tools. What you want from a kids’ prepaid card is down to you, so these picks are just a steer to help you with your choice.
NatWest Rooster Money
£1.99 (+1 month free trial)
Monthly fee
£0
Card delivery fee
6-17 for card, 3+ for app
Age range
Monthly fee | £1.99 (+1 month free trial) |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £0 |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | £0 |
Loading fee | 3/day or 10/month free, then £0.50 |
Replacement card fee | Free for the first replacement (per household), £5 thereafter |
Network | VISA |
How many child accounts | No limit |
Fees abroad | Free ATM withdrawals, 3% of transaction value on purchases over £50/month |
Other fees | £0 |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
GoHenry - with £15 pocket money, and two months free
£3.99
Monthly fee
£0
Card delivery fee
6-18
Age range
Monthly fee | £3.99 |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £0 |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | £0 |
Loading fee | 1 free/month, then 50p each |
Replacement card fee | Free, or £4.99 if changing the card design |
Network | VISA |
How many child accounts | 4 |
Fees abroad | £0 |
Other fees | £4.99 for a customisable card or Eco Card |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
Starling Kite
£0 (parent needs Starling account)
Monthly fee
£0
Card delivery fee
6-16
Age range
Monthly fee | £0 (parent needs Starling account) |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £0 |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | £0 |
Loading fee | £0 |
Replacement card fee | £5 |
Network | Mastercard |
How many child accounts | 6 |
Fees abroad | £0 |
Other fees | £0 |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
nimbl
£1.99 (+1 month free trial)
Monthly fee
£0
Card delivery fee
6-18
Age range
Monthly fee | £1.99 (+1 month free trial) |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £0 |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | £0 |
Loading fee | £0 |
Replacement card fee | £5 |
Network | Mastercard |
How many child accounts | 4 |
Fees abroad | £1.50 per ATM withdrawal, 2.95% of transaction value on purchases |
Other fees | £0 |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
HyperJar
£0
Monthly fee
£0
Card delivery fee
6-17
Age range
Monthly fee | £0 |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £0 |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | N/A |
Loading fee | £0 |
Replacement card fee | £5 |
Network | Mastercard |
How many child accounts | No limit |
Fees abroad | Free when paying in other currencies |
Other fees | No other fees mentioned |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
Revolut <18
£0 (parent needs Revolut account)
Monthly fee
£4.99 delivery charge
Card delivery fee
6-17
Age range
Monthly fee | £0 (parent needs Revolut account) |
---|---|
Card delivery fee | £4.99 delivery charge |
Card transaction fee | £0 |
Cash withdrawal fee | £0 |
Loading fee | £0 |
Replacement card fee | £5 |
Network | Mastercard |
How many child accounts | 1 |
Fees abroad | Transaction fee after £250/month |
Other fees | 2% ATM withdrawal fee after £40 month |
Freeze/unfreeze card | Yes |
To come up with our Finder rating and picks for the best kids’ bank accounts in the UK, our team looked at the free versions of a provider’s children’s bank account range and scored them across 6 categories.
We looked at the app scores in the Google Play Store and the App Store, overseas fees, mobile app features, account features such as savings features and withdrawal limits, how easy the application process is and what extra features are available with the account.
We scored each category out of 5. For example, if a kids’ account had no fees for spending abroad it would score 5 out of 5. To calculate our Finder rating, we averaged out all these scores and rounded them to the nearest half star.
You’ll also see accounts we picked as being outstanding in certain categories, such as best for interest or best for teens. What you need from a kids’ account is down to you and your child, so these picks are just one way to help you with your decision.
Santander - 123 Mini Current Account
£0.01
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
1% AER
Interest (AER)
Minimum opening balance | £0.01 |
---|---|
Minimum operating balance | £0.01 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.95% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.95% |
Lloyds Bank - Smart Start Spending Account - Age 11-15
£1
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Lloyds Bank’s Smart Start account is a spending and savings account in one. Available to children aged 11 to 15, it helps children learn how to manage their own money. One of the key ways it does this is by giving parents complete oversight. As a parent, you can keep an eye on your child’s account through your own mobile banking app or online banking. You can also rest easy in that spending is not allowed in over-18 outlets like off-licences. Just bear in mind you’ll need a Club Lloyds Current Account in order for your child to be eligible to apply for Smart Start.
As they are also part of the Lloyds Banking Group, you’ll find that the Halifax Smart Start and Bank of Scotland Smart Start accounts have the same features.
Minimum opening balance | £1 |
---|---|
Minimum operating balance | £1 |
Switch service guarantee | No |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.99% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.99% |
HSBC - MyAccount - Age 11-17
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
0% AER
Interest (AER)
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
---|---|
Minimum operating balance | £0 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 2.75% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 2.75% |
Nationwide BS - FlexOne
£1
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
2% AER
Interest (AER)
Minimum opening balance | £1 |
---|---|
Minimum operating balance | £1 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | 0% |
Overseas cash withdrawals | 0% |
Starling Bank - Current Account - Age 16-17
£0
Min. opening balance
£0
Account fees
3.25% AER
Interest (AER)
Minimum opening balance | £0 |
---|---|
Minimum operating balance | £0.01 |
Switch service guarantee | Yes |
Account fee | £0 |
Overseas card transactions | £0 |
Overseas cash withdrawals | £0 |
Compare the following features when shopping around for a debit card for your kids:
There’s been a whole new breed of children’s account launched in recent years – prepaid cards for kids let you load their pocket money onto the card and set spending controls. Kids can also learn to budget and set goals through innovative apps that effectively gamify money management.
Some cards have monthly fees. These include NatWest’s Rooster Money, GoHenry, Starling Kite and Nimbl. GoHenry is famous for its tools to help children learn about money, with quizzes, rewards, badges and the ability for them to earn money by doing chores. The personalised cards are also fun for children to have.
Starling and Revolut, which are well known as digital-only banks for adults, require you to have your own account with them if you’re setting an account up for your child. While Revolut’s under-18 account has no monthly fee, you’ll get an extra level of control over your child’s account if you have one of Revolut’s paid-for accounts yourself.
HyperJar Kids is another option with no monthly fee. Its digital jars let children save money for specific things and set goals, and they can choose names and colours for each. It means they can learn to save and budget without even realising it.
A lot of these cards and apps come with extra features, like the ability to see how your child spends their money or the option to pay them pocket money for doing their chores.
Prepaid cards can be available for kids as young as 6. You can let your child keep their prepaid card as they get older, or help them open a current account for teenagers when they’ve outgrown the prepaid card.
Debit cards are available with both the app-based digital accounts mentioned in this guide, as well as with traditional children’s bank accounts. So the difference is actually between the accounts themselves. Children’s bank accounts are current accounts, operated by traditional banks in a similar way to adult current accounts, although they don’t have overdrafts and sometimes have spending limits. There’s usually not a fee involved for having the account, and kids can use the accompanying debit card to make purchases and ATM withdrawals. Obviously children will need money in their bank account in order to do this, and you can add funds as a parent, have family members pay monetary gifts in, or they can even have some wages from a part-time job paid in if they’re old enough to be working.
With the app-based accounts, usually run by digital-only providers, the kids’ debit cards are prepaid, so you’ll have to load money onto them. Often it’s only the account owner, which is the parent, who can do this. There’s sometimes a subscription fee associated with these accounts, but in return you get more digital features and innovative ways to manage the account through the app (including parental controls and digital notifications), than you would with a traditional children’s bank account. This type of digital account plus card is also available for kids who might be too young to open a traditional bank account.
You have to be 18 to get a credit card in the UK, so it won’t be possible for your child to have one. However, parents can get a prepaid card (like the ones outlined in this guide) for children as young as 6. Another option is to set up a children’s bank account, as these often come with a debit card or a cash card that kids can use from around the age of 11.
Before you get a debit card for your child, consider these features and drawbacks:
Finder surveyed the customers of kids’ prepaid card providers about their experiences, and we used the results to generate customer satisfaction star ratings for those brands. As part of the survey, we also asked customers whether they would recommend their kids’ card provider to a friend. We’ve shown both the star ratings and “would recommend” scores in the table below. Learn more about the results and the winners.
Overall satisfaction | Customers who’d recommend | Issuer | Review | |
---|---|---|---|---|
★★★★★ | 79% | ![]() | Popular kids’ card and app combo GoHenry offers customised spending cards and parental controls, plus its interactive Money Missions programme to help improve children’s financial literacy. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 78% | ![]() | Starling is another digital challenger to appear on our list, with its latest offering called Starling Kite. Parents with a Starling account can order a prepaid debit card for their child. It’s then managed through the parent’s banking app, plus since 2021, the child gets an app to keep track of their money too. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 76% | ![]() | Digital banking challenger Revolut now also offers a kids’ card and app in the form of Revolut <18. Parents will already need to have an account with Revolut to get the card and app for their child. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 70% | ![]() | HyperJar is a money management app for adults that has branched out into the kids’ finance space. Parents can order a prepaid card for their children, who also get their own app to check in on their money. HyperJar has no monthly fees or loading charges. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 68% | ![]() | The Osper prepaid card comes in a variety of customisable designs and with an accompanying kids’ app. Both the parent and their child can track spending on the card, which can also be locked if it gets lost. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 65% | ![]() | NatWest RoosterMoney is a dedicated kids’ card and app, which lets parents set and track tasks for their children to earn pocket money. It’s all managed digitally, and has a big focus on financial education. | Read our review |
★★★★★ | 63% | ![]() | Nimbl is a kids’ pocket money card and app, which also has aim of helping children learn money skills. The card comes with parental controls, while kids can also use the micro-saving feature to put a small amount money aside every time they make a purchase. | Read our review |
Our independent survey of 613 kids’ card customers was carried out in December 2022. We asked adults who have a prepaid card for their child to rate their satisfaction (on a scale of 1 to 5) with the service they had received from their provider, and also whether they would recommend that provider to a friend.
We crunched the numbers and used these star ratings to decide the winners of our awards (if there was a draw on the star ratings score, we then used the “would recommend” percentage as a tie-breaker).
Read full details of our methodology here.
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Prepaid kids’ debit cards with apps to control them are a great way for kids to learn how to manage their money and make it fun and accessible. GoHenry is probably the best known but there are a range of alternatives you can consider. Read our guide to GoHenry and similar alternatives to find out more.
If you would prefer your child to have an account with a fuller range of banking features or one just for savings visit our guides to current accounts for children and savings accounts for children.
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GoHenry adds advanced learning modules for children aged 12+ to its Money Missions – all the details here.
Read more…Lloyds Bank launches Smart Start, a children’s account which combines both spending and savings accounts under one app.
Read more…Digital challenger relaunches its offering for kids aged 6 to 17 with a refreshed app and card design.
Read more…Building up a savings pot for your child or grandchild can help ensure they have help and some financial security when they reach adulthood.
Learn more about the Lloyds Under 19s account to see if it’s right for your child.
Learn more about the Barclays Young Person’s current account to see if it’s right for your teen.
Learn more about the BarclayPlus current account to see if it’s right for your child.
Learn more about the Halifax Expresscash account to see if it’s right for your child.
Learn more about the RBS Revolve current account to see if it’s right for your child.
All you need to know about current accounts for under 18s, from why they can make a well-informed choice to what you need to open one.
Digital challenger bank Starling has launched a new children’s app for its Kite debit card. This prepaid card for kids comes with parental controls and can be managed from the parent’s banking app.
Rooster Money offers a colourful app to teach your kids about budgeting and makes a valid alternative to the traditional children’s current account.
GoHenry gives financial independence to children and full control to parents. We look at how it works and what features it has to see if it’s worth the fee.