Cards for kids

13/07/2023

When teenagers start using their money more regularly for purchases, parents are faced with the dilemma of whether to give them a card so that they have more autonomy, especially for online purchases. It can also be a good instrument for financial education for children, who will learn to manage their own funds wisely.

For young people, financial institutions offer different types of adapted cards that, in most cases, do not have fees.

The intervention of parents or legal representatives is necessary to acquire one, and they will be responsible for managing the money available to the young person. The age of the children for whom this type of product can be acquired varies from entity to entity.

There are two types of cards for minors:

Debit cards: which are usually linked to bank accounts for young people and allow the payment of their purchases and the withdrawal of cash from ATMs.

Wallets or prepaid cards: that parents can recharge, so their children only have the money available on the card.

The advantages associated with this type of product include the ability of parents (or legal representatives) to manage and limit children's spending, as well as the amount of money they can withdraw from ATMs, especially with prepaid cards.

From the kids’ point of view, having their first means of payment provides them with a certain sense of independence, which must be tempered with necessary responsibility and financial education.