In today's fast-evolving financial landscape, one of the most effective tools for teaching kids and teens about money management is a new take on an old relic: the debit card.
The Tea: For years, families' only choice was plain, no-feature debit cards from regular banks. But the past few years have ushered in the rise of debit cards for kids and teens: products specifically designed for minors' unique needs.
These cards are much more than the no-frills plastic you associate with your bank account. Instead, they're keys that unlock essential lessons in budgeting, saving, and the real-world consequences of spending—and some even bolt on investing for good measure.
WealthUp Tip: Money apps for teens have revolutionized financial literacy. Here are our favorites.
For parents eager to steer their children towards sound financial decisions, these specialized debit cards for kids and teens can be invaluable, practical, hands-on learning tools.
The Take: If you visit us at WealthUp, you can check out our full lists of the best debit cards for kids, and the best debit cards for teens. But right now, we're going to introduce you to five of the best options available for any kid under age 18. From setting spending limits to offering real-time notifications and educational resources, these cards strike a balance between parental control and youthful independence.
Fidelity Youth™ Account (Best for Teen Investing)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: No account fees, no account minimum, no trading commissions*
- Promotion: Teens get $50¹ on Fidelity® when they download the Fidelity Youth™ app and activate their Youth Account; parents get $100 when they fund a new account
Learning early about saving, spending and investing can pay off big when you start on the right foot. And one tool that can help your teen get that jump is the Fidelity Youth™ Account—an account owned by teens 13 to 17 that's designed to help them start their money journey. They can start investing by buying most U.S. stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and Fidelity mutual funds for as little as $1!⁴
WealthUp Tip: Do you want your teen to start investing early? We review the best brokerage accounts for teenagers.
Your teen will also get a free debit card with no subscription fees, no account fees³, no minimum balances, and no domestic ATM fees⁵. And they can use this free debit card to manage their cash and spend it whenever they need.
And as for building smart money habits? You and your teen can access your account through the Fidelity Youth™ app, which has a dedicated Learn tab packed with materials developed specifically to help teens develop good financial habits. Not only will Fidelity's interactive lessons, videos, articles, tools, and calculators accelerate their learning—but for every level they complete, reward dollars will be deposited into their account to use however they want.
Greenlight (Best for Parental Controls)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free 1-month trial. Core: $4.99/mo. Max: $9.98/mo. Infinity: $14.98/mo. (All plans include cards for up to 5 children)
Greenlight is a feature-rich kids' debit card that gives children and teens the tools they need to build their money knowhow … and gives parents the peace of mind they need until their kids pick up those financial best practices.
Greenlight lets you transfer money onto the card, which your kid can then use to pay for expenses at approved locations. Does your teen need more money? Through Greenlight, they can take a photo of their planned purchase, and you can approve it to send that extra cash to the account.
Kids get access to a wide variety of tools, including an investment account where they can buy stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), monthly savings rewards, even parent-paid interest.
Parents, meanwhile, get what we consider to be best-in-class controls. You can receive real-time spending notifications, control how much your kids can spend, and turn your child's card off and on with the press of a button. Parents can even limit kids from using their cards at specific retailers, restaurants, and other merchants.
Copper (Best for Teen Independence)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: 30 days free. Copper $4.95/mo., Copper + Invest: $7.95/mo.
Copper Banking teaches your teen how to make smart financial decisions by providing financial tools, as well as a platform where parents and their children can connect.
With the Copper app, you get easy snapshots of your accounts. And the Copper Debit Card makes it easy to shop in-store or online, including with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
WealthUp Tip: Not a fan of fees? Check out the best free debit cards for kids and teens.
Copper, which is geared toward teens but available to any minor age 6 or older, provides teens with spending and saving features, access to 55,000-plus fee-free ATMs, engaging advice from a team of financial literacy experts, and—with the Copper + Invest tier—the ability to start investing (with as little as $1) in automatically curated smart portfolios. Parents can monitor their teen's spending. And both teens and parents alike can easily send and receive money.
GoHenry (Best for Customer Service)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: 1 month free. Individual: $4.99/child/mo. Family: $9.98/mo. for up to 4 children
GoHenry is a financial solution for minors that includes an app, prepaid debit cards, and even financial lessons. Parents are given an online account that's linked to, and allows them to oversee and manage, individual accounts for each of their teens via both the GoHenry app and the online account portal.
Teens can only spend whatever money is available on the card, so parents don't need to worry about their kids incurring costly overdraft fees or accruing debt. Parents can set up events such as automatic weekly allowance transfers into your teenagers' accounts, real-time spending alerts, and one-off or weekly spending limits. You can also keep your teens' spending in check by choosing the stores where your teens can shop, and even blocking/unblocking the card as needed.
WealthUp Tip: Locked in on prepaid debit cards? Here are our favorites.
Where GoHenry really shines is customer service. The app offers 7-day-a-week phone support, email support, and social media engagements. GoHenry has no minimum age requirements but recommends starting at age 6 or older.
Step (Best for Building Credit)
- Available: Sign up here
- Price: Free (No monthly fees)
The last card we'll talk about is the Step Visa Card, which is technically not a debit card. It's a secured credit card. But we view this as a "hybrid" that every parent should consider because it combines debit card-like functions with the features of a Visa credit card.
The biggest pro of Step is that it can build your teen's credit history. With this free, optional feature, Step reports your teen's past two years' worth of card-use information to the credit bureaus as soon as they turn 18. That can greatly improve their chances of starting adult life with a better credit score than they otherwise would've received.
WealthUp Tip: Want to know more about what kids can do to establish good credit? Here's how to build credit under age 18.
But again, it acts like a debit card. Parents add money to the account, and teens can't spend any money they don't have. You can choose between a Parent Managed Account (physical card only) or a regular Step Account (physical and virtual card). But in both cases, the Step cards are usable wherever Visa is accepted, and the physical card can be used to withdraw money from 30,000 ATMs for free.
Step also comes with great savings tools, including annual interest with a qualifying direct deposit, as well as round-ups.
Rocky, Riley & Kyle
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Terms and Conditions for Fidelity Youth™ Account
The Fidelity Youth™ Account can only be opened by a parent/guardian. Account eligibility limited to teens aged 13-17.
* $0.00 commission applies to online U.S. equity trades and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a Fidelity retail account only for Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC retail clients. Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). Other exclusions and conditions may apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for details. Employee equity compensation transactions and accounts managed by advisors or intermediaries through Fidelity Institutional® are subject to different commission schedules.
¹ Limited Time Offer. Terms Apply. Before opening a Fidelity Youth™ Account, you should carefully read the account agreement and ensure that you fully understand your responsibilities to monitor and supervise your teen's activity in the account.
³ Zero account minimums and zero account fees apply to retail brokerage accounts only. Expenses charged by investments (e.g., funds, managed accounts, and certain HSAs) and commissions, interest charges, or other expenses for transactions may still apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for further details.
⁴ Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $0.01. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00).
⁵ Your Youth Account will automatically be reimbursed for all ATM fees charged by other institutions while using the Fidelity® Debit Card at any ATM displaying the Visa®, Plus®, or Star® logos. The reimbursement will be credited to the account the same day the ATM fee is debited. Please note, for foreign transactions, there may be a 1% fee included in the amount charged to your account. The Fidelity® Debit Card is issued by PNC Bank, N.A., and the debit card program is administered by BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company. These entities are not affiliated with each other, and Fidelity is not affiliated with PNC Bank or BNY Mellon. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association, and is used by PNC Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917
Step Disclaimer
Step is a trademark of Step Mobile, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.