Best Debit Card For Kids in 2024: Why You Should Consider a Debit Card for Your Child

Are you considering getting a debit card for your child? As kids get older, the thought of giving them more control over their money can be scary. As parents, we worry about whether they’ll make smart decisions regarding savings and spending.

Thankfully, there are debit cards designed specifically for kids. With features like parental controls, roundup savings, autopay for chores, and more, kids’ debit cards can alleviate parents’ fears while allowing kids to learn how to manage their money properly.

The best debit cards for kids have a few things in common: They’re affordable, easy to use, and have sufficient parental control features.

🔃 Updated December 2024 with new plan names, features, and pricing for several companies on this list.

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	ATM reimbursements	Learn more

Go to BusyKid

6. Capital One MONEY Teen (8+)

Best For: Traditional checking

• Price: Free
• Chore management: No
• True checking account: Yes

The Capital One MONEY Teen account is available for children ages eight and up when opened as a joint account with a parent. There are no fees for this account and account balances earn interest of 0.10%. 

This is a traditional checking account, not just a debit card linked to an app. It doesn’t include any chore features; however, there are parental controls, and the child will have their own app experience.

You can link your own checking account for transfers, and it doesn’t have to be a Capital One checking — you can link an external account.

There is a savings goal feature and Capital One also has a kids saving account. 

Here’s our full Captial One 360 review for more information.

Go to Capital One

8. Axos First Checking (13+)

Best For: ATM reimbursements

• Price: Free
• Chore management: No
• True checking account: Yes

The Axos First Checking account is available for teens ages 13 to 17. It has no monthly fees and no overdraft fees. It also earns 0.10% APY

Parental notifications are available, you can view all the transactions, and you can activate or deactivate the debit card anytime. This is a traditional checking account with no chore management features.

Your kid will have ATM access, and Axos will reimburse up to $12 a month in ATM fees.

One possible downside of the Axos account is that the daily spending and ATM limits are preset at $500 and $100, respectively. You can’t adjust these limits. 

Here’s our full Axos Bank review for more information.

Go to Axos First Checking

1. Teach Them Money Management Skills

Giving your child access to a set amount of money each week or month is a great way to teach them money management skills. 

They become responsible for knowing how much money they have in their account and what they will spend it on. 

If money is limited, they gain the experience of choosing which items they want to spend their money on and which purchases they’d rather save for another time. 

These discipline exercises can go a long way in helping them prepare to have good budgeting skills as adults. 

2. Make the Connection Between Work and Money

In real life, you need to work to earn money. And while it’s common for parents to hand their kids cash whenever they need it, doing so regularly isn’t helping prepare them for real life. 

Many kids’ debit cards have features that allow you to assign chores to your child and then schedule a designated amount of pay when those chores are completed. 

This feature can be a great way to help your child understand that work equals money in the real world. 

In addition, you can use the feature to encourage your child to take on extra chores when they need extra money for a large expense.

The result? Less work for you, a great life lesson for your child. 

3. Make Your Life Easier

Along with that, having a debit card for your child can make your life easier. 

Many kids’ debit cards have an automatic deposit feature letting you decide when you want money to go into their account and how much money you want to deposit.

For instance, you could set up an automatic deposit of $50 a week for lunch money. Utilizing this feature for your child’s individual needs can help make your life much easier.

You don’t have to worry about your child regularly harassing you for cash, and your child has steady access to the money they need through their debit card. 

How Kid’s Debit Cards Work

There are two kinds of debit cards for kids — a prepaid debit card or a traditional checking account.

Prepaid debit cards (FamZoo, Greenlight, Acorns Early, and Busykid) link to your checking account and then are managed through the app. You load money onto the cards from your personal checking account and then the kids can spend it using the debit card.

Traditional checking accounts (Capital one MONEY Teen, Chase First Banking, and Axos First Checking) work just like your own checking account. It’s a real deposit account with an account number and routing number. You’ll likely still want to link your own checking account to it for easy transfers, but it’s not strictly necessary.

Final Thoughts on the Best Kids Debit Cards

There is no shortage of options when it comes to choosing a debit card for your child. To help narrow the search, we recommend focusing on the most important features to you and the age at which you want your child to have a debit card. Also, if you decide that your child isn’t quite ready, that’s ok too. But when the time comes, a debit card can help them learn powerful money management skills early in life.