finder.com’s rating: 3.5 / 5.0
★★★★★
The Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking account is designed for teenagers and young adults learning to manage their money. The account has no overdraft fees or insufficient funds fees, but it lacks any check-writing abilities, and depending on your age, you might have to visit a branch to open the account.
$5 per month
Fee
N/A
APY
$25
Minimum deposit to open
| APY | N/A |
|---|---|
| Fee | $5 per month |
| To waive the fee | If you’re 13 to 24 years old, you won’t pay a monthly fee |
| Minimum deposit to open | $25 |
| ATMs | more than 13,000 ATMs in Wells Fargo’s nationwide network |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | $2.50 |
| Foreign transaction fee | 3% |
| Overdraft fee | $0 |
| Nonsufficient funds fee | $0 |
Review by
Michael Benninger is a staff banking writer at Finder. He is a former credit analyst and longtime freelancer whose articles have been published by Intuit, Business Insider and the Los Angeles Times. Michael is passionate about all facets of personal finance and has written hundreds of articles about money management during the past decade.
The Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking account is a no-frills checking account best for teens and young adults who don’t need to write checks and don’t want to worry about accidentally overdrawing on their accounts.
But unlike other modern teen banking accounts like Copper and Capital One Money, it doesn’t offer perks like digital budgeting tools to help teens learn how to manage their money or a competitive APY so your child can watch their money grow.
If you’re under 18 — or 19 in Alabama — you must visit a branch to open an account. Otherwise, you can open an account online in a few minutes:
To open a Wells Fargo Clear Access account, you first need to meet the following eligibility requirements:
You must also provide the following to open a Wells Fargo Clear Access account:
Once your Clear Access Banking account is open, you can take advantage of the following benefits:
You can access your Clear Access Banking account from any of the more than 13,000 ATMs in Wells Fargo’s nationwide network. And if you add your account to a digital wallet, you can use Wells Fargo ATMs with your smartphone instead of your debit card. Wells Fargo charges $2.50 for using domestic ATMs outside of its network, and the bank charges a $5 fee for using ATMs outside of the United States.
There are a few drawbacks to consider before opening a Clear Access Banking account:
Wells Fargo doesn’t have many fans on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or Trustpilot. It earns an F rating with the BBB. As of July 2022, it holds a 1.08 out of 5-star BBB rating based on 571 customer reviews and has a whopping 4,491 complaints lodged against it in the last three years. Its Trustscore is along the same vein, coming in at 1.3 out of 5 stars based on nearly 747 reviews.
Most reviews aren’t about its Clear Access account specifically, although we found that one customer was ecstatic about how his Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking account seamlessly transitioned into a regular checking account. The majority of feedback centered on its customer service. Some customers praise how the bank handles issues, including incorrect charges, while others had frustrating experiences with representatives on the phone and at their local branches.
If Wells Fargo isn’t the right fit, take a look at a few other kids checking options with assorted interest rates and monthly fees.
There are several ways to move money into and out of your Clear Access Banking account.
Aside from the Clear Access Banking account, Wells Fargo also offers these checking accounts:
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze top debit cards for kids and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. We rate kids’ checking accounts by these factors: Monthly fee, features, ATM access, customer support options, and availability. We also consider APY as a factor only for those that earn interest. We rate prepaid debit cards for kids by these factors: monthly fees, features, customer support options and account availability.
Read the full methodology of how we rate Kids’ debit card accounts.
Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking is not currently available on Finder
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