7 Best Banking Apps and Debit Cards for Kids and Teens

• Revolut: Best overall
• Acorns Early: Best for gamification and investing
• Current: Best for charitable giving
• Greenlight: Best for chore and allowance management
• Modak: Best for earning rewards
• Step: Best for building credit
• Till: Best for savings goals
• Other apps to consider
• Banks with kid-friendly checking accounts

Best kid and teen banking apps

Compare the apps at a glance

• Offer direct deposit, which is helpful if you have a teen with a job.
• Have high app ratings.
• Allow a co-parent for account admin.

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Five accounts.
• Minimum age: 6, with different rules for kids 13+.
• Fees: $0 for standard plan; Premium and Metal plans go for $9.99 a month and $16.99 a month, respectively, though they focus mostly on travel perks for adult accounts.  
• Why it stands out: 
  • You get a robust app with saving goals, parental controls, chore and allowance features and an ATM network for free. And you’re not missing out on much for your kid if you stick with the free plan.
  • Parental controls include setting monthly spending limits and freezing the card.
  • The app has different ranges of tools for kids and teens. For example, only teens 13 and up can send money to and receive money from friends, so the responsibilities grow with your kid.
• Skip it if you really want an app with educational tools or games. There’s no educational content for kids, such as in-app quizzes or games, within the app currently.

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Four accounts.
• Minimum age: 6.
• Fees: $8 per month for the Lite option; $12 per month for the Gold plan to get access to the investing match and interest on savings, among other things.
• Why it stands out:
  • Kids can play in-app games called “money missions” to learn about money. The topics change and get more complex as kids get older. And you have the option to pay kids for completing each game — the amount is up to you.
  • Parents can see real-time notifications, create spending limits and turn off access to lost or stolen cards.
  • Family members can send money to kids through Acorns Early’s Giftlinks feature, which works like an electronic gift card.
  • Kids can receive parent-paid interest and save for separate goals.
  • With the Gold plan, Acorns Early will match up to 1% of the first $7,000 you invest.
• Skip it if you want a free option to start your kid’s financial literacy journey or want to avoid investing until later.

• Number of kid accounts per plan: 5.
• Minimum age: None (though it is called a “Teen” account). 
• Fees: No monthly fee but going a year without account usage triggers an inactivity fee of $5 per month and closing an account costs $10.
• Why it stands out: 
  • The account is free. There’s no paid level that gives you access to more features. 
  • While other apps on this list, like Greenlight, have a specific section set up for savings for donations, only Current’s “Giving pod” is set up to connect to the charity of your choice. Once a Giving pod goal is met, the money is transferred to the charity automatically. 
  • Parental controls on the app include blocking certain merchants and “pausing” cards — i.e., temporarily blocking transactions.
• Skip it if you want your kid to be able to save for multiple goals at the same time. Teen accounts only get one savings pod and the name can’t be customized for a specific goal. 

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Five accounts.
• Minimum age: None.
• Fees: $5.99 per month for the basic plan; adding investing, cash back rewards, and customized security features such as family location sharing costs extra (from $10.98 up to $19.98 per month).
• Why it stands out:
  • Chore tracking can get quite granular at Greenlight, if that’s what you’re after. The app lets parents create both recurring and one-off chores. You can also set allowances to be paid on a regular schedule or tied to chores, giving partial or no payment until chores are complete. 
  • The app gives kids multiple buckets to split their money into, teaching kids how to divide their money for spending, saving and charitable donations.
  • Parental controls include store-level controls and blocking unsafe spending categories.
  • Accounts don’t earn traditional interest, but parents can give “parent-paid” interest.
  • Friends and family can gift money directly to your kid with a pay link. Parents have to approve all payments.
  • Kids can start investing with parental oversight on all trades, but this is only available on the more expensive plans. The investing account is in the primary account holder's name.
• Skip it if you don’t want to pay a fee. There’s no free option. Also, there’s no free ATM network and though Greenlight won’t charge you a fee for withdrawing cash, ATM operators may.

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Seven accounts.
• Minimum age: None.  
• Fee: $0 for base plan; $2.99 for the MoSilver plan to get access to savings goals, allowances, chore management, spending analytics, enhanced parental controls and the ability to add a co-parent; $5.99 for the MoGold plan, which gives you more features like 2% cash back.
• Why it stands out:
  • Modak’s in-app educational activities include games and challenges that let kids earn rewards, called MBX points. These can be converted to cash added directly to their debit cards. Every 100 MBX is $1. Kids have three ways to earn MBX: (1) They get a virtual scratchcard every day, or after every purchase, and each one comes with a financial tip and some MBX points; (2) Kids earn 10 MBX for walking 5,000 steps a day; (3) Daily challenges that reward a few MBX.
  • Out of all the apps on our list, this one’s best for large families as it allows seven subaccounts. 
  • It also has an innovative chore feature: Parents and kids can both create and assign chores, but parents can also create unassigned chores, so whichever kid on the plan completes the task can earn payment.
• Skip it if you don't want to pay for access to chores, allowances, parental controls, savings goals and other features. And this won't be for you if you really want free ATM access. You can withdraw money from ATMs using the Modak card (a new-ish feature), but there’s no free ATM network associated with the card. 

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Four accounts.
• Minimum age: None.
• Monthly fees: $0 for the standard plan. A premium service for teens is available for $4.99 a month (or for free with a qualifying direct deposit of at least $500 per month).
• Why it stands out: 
  • Step stands out for offering a secured credit card instead of a debit card. Kids can build credit over time without spending more than their balance. Once your child turns 18, Step can report up to two years of your credit history to credit bureaus. 
  • Kids can also set savings goals. With the premium service, kids can earn rewards that act like interest. 
  • With parent permission, kids can start investing. Note that the stocks are owned by the parent until the child turns 18.
• Skip it if you want granular chore management. While you can set up recurring transfers to your kid — for an allowance for example — you can’t get specific with chores like you can with other apps, where your child marks off that a chore has been done and gets paid as a result. You also can’t set custom spending limits by merchant or category like you can with other apps on this list. Instead, account limits are determined by the app.

• Number of kid accounts per plan: Six accounts.
• Minimum age: 1.
• Fees: $7.99 a month or $79 per year for premium.
• Why it stands out: 
  • Kids can make savings goals, and parents can lock the goal to keep kids from withdrawing money until they’ve reached the goal.
  • There are multiple ways to help kids grow their savings. You can pay monthly “interest,” make a weekly recurring contribution, or match each of their deposits.
  • The app has different types of parent or adult roles, such as account owner, admin (for a second parent) and community members (think family and friends who like to give your kids cash) who can also contribute to kids’ savings. And anyone can also use a gift link to send your kid some cash.
  • No foreign transaction fees, which could be handy if your family is big on travel. 
  • Parent controls include blocking certain merchants and setting limits by category.
• Skip it if you want educational games. Till has educational blog content about money lessons, in addition to other channels, but not short-form formats, such as kid-friendly games or quizzes, within the app.

Alternatives to consider

P2P apps with kid and teen-friendly accounts

• For kids (managed accounts): Cash App has a no monthly fee account for kids age 6-12 that allows kids to build money habits without using the app. Instead, kids get a debit card that’s connected to a parent’s account. Parents can set spending limits, see all transactions and lock a lost or stolen card. And kids earn interest on the money they save. 

• For teens (sponsored account): Cash App lets parents invite teens 13 and up to the app to take advantage of peer-to-peer transfers, allowance transfers, savings goals and a debit card. There’s no monthly fee, but also no free ATM network (unless you meet a direct deposit requirement) and no ability to customize a chore list in the app.

Kid-friendly checking accounts

• Capital One MONEY Teen Checking account: Kids ages 6 and up can open this interest-earning online checking account with their parents, and parents don’t need to have an account at Capital One. There are no monthly fees or minimums. Kids can visit Capital One locations (mostly in a handful of states) and many fee-free ATMs nationwide. There are parental controls, allowance transfers and savings goals.
• Chase First Banking and Chase High School Checking: The biggest U.S. bank (by assets) separates its kid-friendly offerings into Chase First Banking designed for kids ages 6 to 12 (available up to age 17) and Chase High School Checking for students ages 13 to 17. Parents must be Chase customers to open these joint accounts. Kids up to 17 years old don’t pay monthly fees. A debit card is available for both accounts. Chase First Banking has spending controls, savings goals, allowance and chore features, but the high school account doesn’t. Mobile banking features are mostly reserved for teens.

How kid and teen banking apps work

• App access for kids, teens and parents: Mobile banking, or app-based banking, is a common way to view balances and manage accounts. Some apps have a minimum age of 6 or 13, though some allow for any age, with a parent required for anyone under 18.
• Link to a debit card: Kids can use a physical spending card that’s part of the Visa or Mastercard payment network for purchases or ATM withdrawals. Some apps have prepaid debit cards that let kids make card purchases or ATM withdrawals just like debit cards. For simplicity, we’ll refer to all non-credit spending cards as debit cards. One app links to a secured credit card that acts like a debit card for spending only what is available.
• Federally insured accounts: All apps on the list partner with banks to offer accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which protects customers' money in case the partner bank fails. (These apps are also known as fintech firms or neobanks.)
• Allowances: This automatic transfer feature lets a parent decide when to send money to kids, such as on a weekly or monthly schedule or only when chores are checked off.
• Chore management: A kids banking app can function as a household chore chart with the option to link to allowance pay.
• Parental controls: Many apps allow parents to turn on or off kids’ debit cards, while some go further to let parents create custom spending limits or even block purchases from certain stores.
• Co-parenting: Multiple parents can have similar account access to review transactions and pay their kids, though there’s often a primary parent account to activate a kid’s account. Not all apps have this feature.
• Financial literacy content: Kids can learn about money through short, engaging formats such as educational videos, games or quizzes on some apps.
• Savings goals: Kids can have multiple subaccounts, or account balances, for different things they’re saving for, with no extra cost or sign-up. Some apps provide a visual of savings as a mileage meter or completion wheel, and there can be a separate option to save for charitable causes. Savings rewards may be offered, even as a percentage of the account balance, but it’s not considered interest.

Methodology for choosing the best kid and teen banking apps