Best Debit Cards for Teens and Kids of November 2023

Greenlight offers a ton of value for teens and parents, with a simple-to-use mobile experience to help teach kids how to manage money responsibly. For a low monthly fee, Greenlight offers up to five debit Mastercards for teens, all linked to a parent-controlled account. Parents can monitor all child spending, deactivate or activate debit cards, and even block specific stores and online spending within the mobile app. Identity theft protection is included.

Greenlight offers several levels of service; the most basic comes with debit cards and access to the mobile app with parental controls for $4.99 per month. For $9.98 per month, kids gain access to Greenlight’s investing platform (which is just a parent brokerage account that the kids can use to invest). In the Greenlight Max account (which costs $14.98 per month), families receive real time location monitoring, crash detection, and an SOS system.

Greenlight does come with some limitations, however. Maximum daily spending is currently capped at $1,500 per day. While this may seem high, it's lower than some other teen debit cards. Also, Greenlight does not allow accounts to be funded through PayPal or credit cards, instead requiring users to connect a bank account or debit card to fund the account; you can also load the account through payroll direct deposits.

To be fair, this also cuts out fees from third-party services, which can save users money. There are no “in-network” ATMs available, and ATM fees are not reimbursed.

Axos Bank offers its First Checking account for teens ages 13 to 17, with a debit card included. This is a standard checking account with online bill pay, peer-to-peer payments, and FDIC insurance. The best bits are that it comes with no account maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and ATM charges are reimbursed for up to $12 each month.

While the Axos Bank mobile app doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of other teen debit cards, it offers an inexpensive way to get your teen used to managing money on their own. Axos requires a parent or guardian to be a joint account owner with their teen, giving them equal control over the account. Parents can deactivate (or reactivate) their teen’s debit card directly from their dashboard, and set up automated alerts for any account activity.

Like other standard checking accounts, teens can direct deposit their paychecks. They can also earn some interest with this checking account, though it’s well below 1%, which doesn’t add up to much, and parents should consider setting up a savings account for their teens instead.

BusyKid offers a debit card for your child that pairs with the BusyKid mobile app, which allows parents to pay kids directly for chores and other work. Kids then have the option to choose whether to save, spend, invest, or donate the earned money within the app.

BusyKid gives parents full control over spending activity with a real-time activity feed and the ability to lock transfers. BusyKid also requires all outside money transfers or withdrawals to be parent-approved. These controls allow parents to give their kids access to spending tools with the safeguards of parent oversight and control.

BusyKid’s mobile app allows kids to earn money through chores or allowance, with a full chart with a preset amount for each activity. As kids perform the chore and check it off, money will be loaded onto their prepaid debit card. The earnings can be split between three categories, spending, saving, and giving. The amounts that flow into each category can be locked by parents, or adjusted as necessary.

BusyKid keeps costs low with a $48 annual fee for up to five prepaid debit cards for the family. Replacement cards cost $5. There may also be a $0.50 fee incurred when the card is used with a PIN or if a transaction is declined (after four failed attempts to purchase in a month). There is also a $2,000 balance limit on the card, and transactions are limited to 20 per day.

GoHenry is a U.K.-based company that offers a debit card and mobile app aimed at kids aged 6 to 18 to help them manage allowance and chore money. It also has built-in financial education tools, including “money missions,” which are interactive financial lessons based on the K-12 Personal Finance Education National Standards.

GoHenry is our top choice for customer service with access to phone and email support seven days a week. There is also a comprehensive support section on the website.

GoHenry offers a wide range of features, including chore tracking, savings goals, real-time notifications, parental spending controls, and peer-to-peer payments with friends and family. Direct deposit is available for anyone 14 and older. Accounts are FDIC-insured, and the debit Mastercard offers the latest in chip-and-PIN technology for an extra layer of security.

Cardholders can choose from over 45 card designs, including some designed by artist Lucie Corbasson. While GoHenry is slightly more expensive than other debit card accounts, the full-featured app and excellent support team make it a worthy consideration for parents of kids and teens. 

Jassby is an online bank that offers a virtual debit card that is also compatible with Apple Pay for in-store purchases. Teens don’t have to worry about losing a physical card with Jassby, and each transaction uses a PIN for an added layer of protection. The debit card is issued by Mastercard, and Jassby accounts are FDIC-insured through Sutton Bank of Ohio.

If you'd like, you can order a physical debit card as well.

In addition to the debit card, Jassby offers a kid-friendly mobile app that allows parents to assign chores, set up recurring allowance payments, and monitor any transactions on the account. If the card is lost or stolen, you can request a replacement or get help through the app. Kids also gain access to Jassby's rewards program, which provides awards for completing tasks that increase their financial literacy.

There are few fees to use the card. There is no minimum or maximum age, but you must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident with a U.S. phone number and an iOS or Android device, and have a U.S. bank account or credit card.

FamZoo was founded in 2006 and focuses on teaching kids good money habits. It has a prepaid debit card and mobile app that helps kids manage their money using spend, save, and give budget categories. The mobile app has payment checklists for kids to track chores and jobs that earn them money.

Payment can be split between categories, teaching kids why paying themselves first is a smart choice. Kids can also set and track savings goals, setting aside funds for larger purchases. Parent-paid interest is available as well, allowing parents to encourage saving money by paying interest on saved amounts.

FamZoo offers some unique abilities to help kids learn about real-world finances, including a loan repayment tracker and “chore fail” chart. Parents can loan their kids money (by loading it onto the prepaid card and setting a repayment schedule for kids to repay the loan). The chore fail feature is the ability to remove funds from a child’s account for failure to do a chore. FamZoo provides weekly financial reports, showing transactions and goal progress for each member of the family.

FamZoo has two options for families: prepaid cards or IOU accounts. While the IOU account only keeps track of the money you owe your child, the prepaid cards offer a lot more hands-on money management experience. Parents can make instant transfers and track purchases while retaining visibility and control over four linked prepaid cards. There are no age restrictions on FamZoo accounts. The card’s funds are stored in an FDIC-insured account, and the company doesn’t keep your sensitive data on its servers.

The pricing for FamZoo ranges from $2.50 to $5.99 per month for up to four cards. You can pay a flat fee of $3 for each additional card. You'll also receive two free card replacements before being charged a $3 replacement card fee. The reload pricing ranges from free (direct deposit, Apple Pay, PayPal, or Square Cash) to $4.95 (MasterCard rePower, GreenDot @ the Register, GreenDot MoneyPak). FamZoo doesn’t pay interest, but you may set up “parent-paid interest” to encourage saving.

Kachinga is a chore app that pairs with a prepaid debit card that helps teens learn how to earn, save, and spend money. Kachinga offers a wide range of parental controls, including spending alerts, blocking spending at certain merchants, and the ability to lock a debit card from the mobile app.

The app helps teens earn money by allowing parents to set up chore charts or recurring allowance. The earned money is loaded to the prepaid debit card, and teens can either spend, save, or give the funds on the card. The app also tracks spending over time and offers simple spending reports to help teens learn about money management.

Kachinga costs $36 per year per child, so it may get expensive for parents with multiple kids. There is a one-month free trial for the service included. There is also no ATM partner network, so ATM withdrawals will incur a $2 fee that is not reimbursed. There are no overdraft fees, inactivity fees, or reload fees on the card.