Checking Account for Teenagers/debit/credit Card

Debit card only, you should also be on the account. This way if you need to add funds when she is away it will be easier. Absolutely NO credit cards for a teenager. The debit cards do the same as a credit card accept let you go over what you actually have.

go for it! She's at the perfect age to teach such important life skills!

I'm spoiled. We live in a small town, & my sons use my debit card without question. It's almost too easy. :)

I agree its time to start teaching her about money. Have some rules but try to give her as much freedom with it as she can handle. She will need the skills that she learns very soon.

When they have their own money they are responsible for, age 14-16. Banks typically have a parent on the account also, so you can monitor how they are handling it. Get a checking account with a debit card. You don't want them to have a credit card card, but have the money come directly out of the account with a debit card. Checks are not very useful for most of a teen's expenses because more and more places do not accept checks.

This is a learning opportunity for your child. Sit down with her when she gets her first few bank statements and have her reconcile them. When she has the system down, you can back off and let her manage it herself.

I opened a checking account for my stepdaughter when she was 16. She and I both had access to it online, so that I could keep an eye on her activity. She was the only one that had the associated card. She was completely responsible with it from the beginning. My online access came in handy if I needed to transfer money to her for any reason. Because of this, we kept it open until she was out of college, then we just removed my access.

I would go with her to talk with your bank, to have them describe the options they have available. This is a common request of parents of teens.

Both of our children, now 22 and almost 18, we set up with debit/checking accounts when they were 16. *They both have had savings accounts since they were little. Any 'checks' like from family members for birthdays etc. went into savings accounts and it's amazing how that added up over the years.

Anyway, especially with our oldest, it has been the BEST learning experience! We did let him overdraft so he would understand, that you can't buy a $5 snack at the theatre when you only have $3 in your account. "I just thought it wouldn't work!" So when he paid that $25 overdraft fee from his savings account it was a great lesson to ALWAYS know how much is in your account.

It's also nice that we set them up with our bank so we can look on line and see where the kids are. Again, the learning lesson when they say "I don't know where it goes" and we can pull up the account and show them all the silly spending. And maybe they should stop treating their friends who never seem to have money with them. ;)

We did not set up either one with paper checks since it really is becoming a debit or plastic world.

Now, when the youngest was just 12 or 13 she did get a credit card in her name. Before anyone completely freaks. . . . she was going on a group trip to Europe. Travelers checks, again the paper thing, aren't used as much anymore and we thought having a cc would be a little more secure. We did have to open the account through our bank in our name, but the actual card has her name on it. She still carries it but is very responsible and will only use it with permission.

And for all the years the kids have had the debit cards, we've never had a problem with friends stealing them. Our oldest 'lost' his one time but we monitored the account and it was never used. He found it later in his truck. He had used it, and apparently just slipped it into his shorts pocket instead of his wallet and it fell out between the seat and console. But it wasn't stolen.

My daughter opened a checking account with a debit card when she started high school. The account is linked with mine so she incurs no fees. I can check her activity online, and she can check her account online, but has no access to our accounts. I think it's a great learning experience for her to handle money before going off to college. I've found that when she's spending her money she is much more selective about what she's going to spend it on than when Mom is paying. Also, we were told if the debit card is stolen she's not responsible for charges if it's used as a credit card, but if someone uses it as a debit (meaning she shared her PIN with someone else) then she is responsible for a certain amount. When we opened the account, she and I sat down with the banker and he explained everything to her so she understood. So far, it's working great.

Our daughter, 17, has a savings account. She is also an officer in our company and on my payroll. I know Chase banking has a student account with no fees until they are out of college or 26 yrs old. She also has a savings account at BOA. We have accounts set up at both banking locations.

She ends up with a nice stash of cash and she does not carry it with her. She is a popular babysittter and makes an easy $100 per weekend cash. Cash is so easy to lose, even for a responsible teen. I have "rule" for her to have a least $20 in her wallet at all times and she has her company credit card. If she is going shopping for clothes, etc, she will take her cash.

We pay for ALL school related expenses including her food as well as her car expenses which is only gas. She pays for her clothing, fun things, etc.

She has a set limit on the credit card for things such as school lunch or out with friends lunches, occasional clothing, etc. She has never abused the card but we expected that she would not because she knows debt is evil and we live debt free. She knows the deal that the card is always paid in full before statements are even cut, there is never ever a balance or fee incurred with credit card or banking.

The card is helpful because she is a cheerleader and often away at games, etc and we don't want her in a position to be without any access to funds.

People may not agree with me but I do believe children model the behavior of their parents. If parents are witnessed splurging on things or abusing credit cards or money, etc the child is more likely to as well.

In our house, we have taught delayed gratification from day 1 and not owing anybody anything. She shadows me with accounting and finances with our company and she gets it... We run personal finances much like our company..... get a bill/invoice in the mail... you pay it that day so it is gone and taken care of.

I think your idea is just fine for a responsible 16 yr old. She needs access to funds when she is away from home. Set guidelines, give some rope and see how she does then loosen the rope as she gets better with her financial decisions.

Good luck!

My parents use a credit union and when I turned 16 they were able to open a sub checking account under their account. All my babysiting money and birthday/christmas money went into that account. Each month they released a certain amount of money that was mine to use on a debit card and once it was gone, it was gone until next time. We would talk occaisonally about special events that were coming up, like the need for more money for prom, or Christmas events, but generally the amount stay the same. I think it was around $100.

Out of that money came school lunches if I didn't want to pack my own, clothing beyoned what my parents would buy, birthday presents, any money that I needed for dates, parties and any extras. I could save the money for something big instead of spending it, but after a certain amount, it had to go back into the bank, with the understanding that ite was accesible once I had met my goal.

Once I showed I was responsible with my money, the more control I had over my account. I was eventually allowed to get a debit card, but not a credit card.

Is there any way you can do something like that for your daughter? I'm still with the same credit union (with my own account now) so I don't know if banks do things like that, but maybe you could do this independantly on your own.

I think it's great you are wanting to teach fiscal responsibility to your daughter. I think it is wise to start in small steps. One way to go is with a pre paid visa that you can load for her, and say this is it, if you spend it all, there won't be anymore until ______________.

Good luck in finding something that works for you.

My daughters both have an ING debit card, in which we deposit their monthly allowance. They are 12 and 10. It isn't a large amount of money, usually they have less than 25.00 in that account. If they are gifted any larger amounts of money for Christmas or birthdays, that goes into a separate account they need permission from us to transfer it out, so we can monitor/approve what they are spending for bigger things. The nice thing is that if the card is lost or stolen, they aren't out the money. We just called and ordered a new card for my 12 year old that misplaced hers. There are lot of reasons I prefer my kids not to hold on to and handle cash.

If they need extra money, we can easily do an electronic transfer to their cards. Example, my older DD pleaded one morning last minute she desparately needed some school supplies. I told her I would approve pencils and paper only, at a reasonable cost, please shop for price. And I transferred 15.00 onto her ING card so she could stop at Walgreens on her way to the bus stop. The deal is she has to save the receipt for me so I can monitor her purchases, then I will reimburse her for the expenses I approved. Sometimes if they are invited out with a friend, I will quick transfer them some money on their cards for a meal out or snack, rather than hand them cash. And afterwards when they bring me the receipt, I reimburse. If she loses the receipt she is out of luck, it comes out of her allowance, or is taken out of her next month's allowance. It's helping them be more responsible with money, and learn that lack of organizational skills with finances also carries a price.

This is the perfect time for her to learn how to keep a checking account. I opened my first account when I was 16. Teach her to balance it and keep track of her spending so she doesn't overdraft. It will be an awesome life lesson for her. :)

Well, at that age I opened my own bank account and had control with out my parents even on the account. Is that not an option? If it is her money she needs to learn how to manage it. Iif you fear she may not be ready, then set it up where you have an account with the bulk of her money and transfer a bi weekly "paycheck" of sorts so she may begin to learn how to budget.

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If she is 16 and collecting cash and being responsible about that, she will have the same mentality with an account. For starters, she is old enough to have one on her own. You can add your name to it for security, etc until she is in college or proven otherwise. It will begin to teach her how to handle money in the real world. I recommend her getting one and being a honor student, dependable, deserves one.

My four year old has a savings account with a debit card... not that she has access to the card.....
I think it would be a good idea to talk to your bank and see what products they have. Most banks have free accounts with debit cards for kids and teenagers that have certain protections - for example you can absolutely not overdraw.
I had a debit card as soon as I started earning my own money from babysitting - I was 14 at the time.
Also introduce your child to online banking when she gets her card, so she learns to regularly monitor her account.
Good luck!

We opened a savings account for our daughter once she got her first job. We didn't get her a card right away. (She had to stop at the bank in person to get money each time.) After a month or so, we got her a card that she can use at their ATMs. We so far have not gotten her an ATM card since she has has a tendency to spend money like it grows on trees.

I'm sure we will get her a debit card next year once she graduates.

At 16, we opened both our sons checking acounts linked to ours with debit cards. That way we could monitor the activity online.

Do it today.

She will need to get in the habit of keeping a bank account. She already sounds like she is on the right track. This is a safer way to keep up with her money.

She will need an official ID so if she does not have a drivers license yet, she will need to get a personal ID card at the DMV.

Just a word of warning. If they offer you overdraft protection on the account of $100, then they will pay any ammount up to that $100 and charge a fee for whatever they force pay of anywhere from $18 to $30 a pop. They don't include their fee in that $100. Before you know it the account can be in the red by a pretty big chunk. If you don't have overdraft protection then if your daughter tries to use her debit without enough funds, the transaction won't go through and the charge will only be $1. It will teacher not to spend what she doesn't have and she won't get into the habit of using the overdraft protection as a line of credit.

I would wait to get any kind of credit card until she has kept a positive balance in her account for a set lenghth of time and until she has learned and habitually writes down all transactions and balances her account on a weekly basis for a set lenghth of time.

That's just been my experience, so take it for what it's worth. Hope this helps.

Talk to your bank. They may have an account specifically for young people, and perhaps they have a financial seminar for kids as well.

My bank has a debit card called "cool cash".
It is a debit card that I can deposit money onto - designed for youth ages 13 through 20ish.
No fees, not a credit card. When he gets a job his paycheck can be direct deposited to it.

Don't go for a Walmart, or get any of those pre-pay cards - they most charge fees. Do read the fine print.

She is definitely old enough to learn about money management, so I think it is great! You don't want to send her off to college to make huge financial mistakes. Let her learn now, with her own money.

The problem with teens its not so much yours which you feel is dependable. Its the friends she has who are not or the kids at school who can steal it. I think whether its a debit card or a credit card it needs to have a low spending limit. Say 200 for the month, the type you have to pay off before you use it again. I think disney has one. I know target has one also but that will limit where she can shop. If you get her her own banking account I'd do the same so regardless how much she has in the bank she cannot spend more than 200 in a month.

A child can use a parents card but they cannot legally enter into a contract until the are of legal age. To write a check or use a credit card is entering into a legal contract.

"I promise to pay, have the money available, for you when you present this check/charge statement to my bank". That is what you are saying, contracting, when you write a check or use a credit card.

In stores if a person presents a credit card and we think they are under age we have to ask for an id. If they are not 18 yet we cannot except it.

A lot of stores don't care but if the check bounces there is nothing the store can do about it. They cannot charge a minor with a hot check charge since they can't legally enter that contract. If a child steals a card or checkbook and runs up a lot of debt or hot check charges I am not sure that the stores can even do anything to you. That would be a question for the local DA's office that handles check and credit card charges.

I do think that if the account was yours and she was a co-signer they might allow that but again, would the businesses allow her to sign the checks to them?????

I would ask the bank though. The legalities would be something they will know about.

I would want to know for sure from all areas before doing this. I would not want to be responsible in the event a friend stole her billfold or if she lost it and someone ran up a huge debt.

I had a checking account at 16 too. I opened it at a credit union shortly after I started working.

She's old enough to do it on her own, so I think you should make the suggestion but not be part of the process/work in getting it set up. This should be her responsibility to set up and maintain.

Somewhere around 16-17 is when I got my first checking account. When I began earning money. Back then checks were fine and accepted everywhere (and I don't think debt cards were really around and accepted much yet), but checks aren't accepted at a lot of places now at all so a debt card really is a must now. I also had a credit card when I started driving, off my parents account, so I could buy gas and have one in case of emergencies while driving. I could not use it willy nilly and I paid them back for my portion of the gas etc.
If she's going to be traveling soon then a debt at the least, a credit card at best is a must! You get far more protection from a credit card then a debt card if the card or number is stolen.
Make sure she has a physical paper check register and show her how to go online to keep her account balanced. Teach her to go online every week at minimum to balance the checkbook. Put a reminder on the calendar. Teach her to pay the balance of her credit card every few days and to enter the amounts in her register.
It can be done responsibly at that age.

get her a savings account that allows a debit card.

I had a checking acct at 16. She sounds responsible enough to have one!

my daughter has had one for about a year or so now. It just made it easier for her dad to pay her for her grades. It teaches them money management.

We bank at Wells Fargo and they have a teen account just for this. No checks, but a debit card and its attached to OUR accounts. She actually has 2 savings accounts, one is attached to her card, and one is and old account from childhood.

We, as her parents, can see the accounts, transfer her allowance into it, etc. When she needs money for running to pick up a few groceries for the household or to grab dinner we transfer money into there for this as well (ours is 17 now and drives occasionally...shes not to fond of it, but will go in a bit of a distance from the house). We do it immediately online and its there.

Check your bank.

My daughter opened a savings account at age 16 that came with a debit card. The money put into the account was hers collected from B-days and direct deposit from a summer job. We can review her account on line. She's had it a year and no problems other than making a few bad choices in purchasing items that were overpriced.