You may want your teen to have control of their own money, but still be able to see what they are spending. Or you may feel that your child doesn’t need a current account until they are in their later teenage years.
In those situations, there is a range of prepaid debit cards for teenagers now available on the UK market. They come with an accompanying mobile app which is there to help teach them good financial skills and help you as a parent keep an eye on their spending.
Compare the following features when shopping around for a debit card for your teenager:
Many debit cards for teenagers are prepaid cards. You can load money onto them from the parent’s bank account using a mobile app that accompanies the physical card.
A lot of these cards and apps come with extra features, like the ability to see how your child spends their money or the option to pay them pocket money for doing their chores.
Prepaid cards can be available for kids as young as six.
You can let your child keep their prepaid card as they get older or help them open a current account for teenagers when they’ve outgrown the prepaid card.
Typically, your child can open their own current account from age 11.
Before you get a debit card for your child, consider these features and drawbacks:
A prepaid debit card that comes with a mobile app can help your child learn how to manage money responsibly, plus it lets parents track their kids’ spending so you can see if they’re meeting that goal. If this is the route you want to go down, there are a number of products available in the UK – our guide on GoHenry and similar alternatives explores these more.
However, prepaid debit card accounts aren’t designed to be full current accounts or savings accounts, so you’ll have to weigh up what type of financial account you’re looking for for your child. Check out our guides on current accounts for children and savings accounts for children to help you decide.
Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.
To find out more, read our full methodology.
As more businesses plan to go global, find out how WorldFirst’s multi-currency account could benefit your operations. Paid content.
XTB and eToro are cheap investment platforms with a lot to offer. We compare the features, fees, account types and more – side by side in eToro vs XTB.
Browse our collection of payday loan guides, designed to answer all of your short term loan questions and help you find the right payday loan.
We’ve compiled a list of side hustle ideas, so you can give your teenager a nudge in the right direction next time they come to you asking for money.
Find out how euro business accounts work and who they might suit.
We explain the benefits of opening multiple business bank accounts and what to watch out for.
Freetrade and Hargreaves Lansdown are both investment platforms with a lot to offer. We compare their features, fees, account types and more – side by side in Freetrade vs HL.
Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) are both investment platforms with a lot to offer. We compare their features, fees, account types and more – side by side in Bestinvest vs Hargreaves Lansdown.
Hargreaves Lansdown and Moneybox are both investment platforms with a lot to offer. We compare their features, fees, account types and more – side by side in Moneybox vs Hargreaves Lansdown (HL).
Hargreaves Lansdown and Moneyfarm are both investment platforms with a lot to offer. We compare their features, fees, account types and more – side by side in Moneyfarm vs Hargreaves Lansdown (HL).