Best Debit Cards for Teens of February 2025

Debit cards for kids can be a great way to teach your child or teen financial literacy. The best debit cards for kids and teens offer easy-to-use mobile banking apps to help your child learn money management. They also come with parental control features for you and finance learning tools for your kid.

Below, you'll find our top picks for kids' debit cards. We've researched each debit card's features and fees so that you can narrow down your options and choose the best debit card for you and your child.

Best Debit Cards for Teens for February

• Famzoo Prepaid Debit Card: Best overall
• BusyKid Spend Card: Best for parental control features
• Chase First Banking℠ Account: Best for traditional banking
• Acorns Early: Best for financial literacy education
• Greenlight Prepaid Debit Card: Best interest-bearing account

Compare the Top Debit Cards for Teens

The best debit cards for kids should have ample ways to monitor the account, be easy to use, and have low monthly fees. Many of the best debit cards for kids also have educational materials for kids to learn about finances and money management. Many of them are also joint bank accounts where both the parent and the child have access to the account.

Here are the best debit cards for kids as picked by Business Insider editors in 2025.

Best Overall

 The Famzoo debit card is a good option for families with more than one child, and it made Business Insider's list of the best prepaid debit cards. You can get up to four free debit cards with one subscription. At other institutions, you may have to get individual plans for each child.

Prepaid debit cards like this can be a good option for unbanked households because they don't require a bank account to work. If you have trouble opening bank accounts, you might like Famzoo.

It also may be worthwhile if you're looking for a debit card that's easy to use. Access Famzoo through your computer, Famzoo's mobile app, or even via text message, so your child doesn't need a smartphone to use and manage the card.

You also don't need to link a bank account, which may be a requirement at other companies. Instead, Famzoo allows you to load cash onto your card at Green Dot locations. However, you may be charged a fee by participating retailers.

Famzoo has multiple plan options, but the most affordable is the 2-year plan. You'll prepay $59.99 for two years ($2.50 per month), which is a lower fee than with some of our other options. If you need more than four debit cards, there's also a one-time $3 fee for each additional card. 

Monthly service fee: $5.99 monthly, $25.99 for six months, $39.99 for 12 months, OR $59.99 for 24 months

Best for Strong Parental Monitoring Features

BusyKid offers kids' debit cards for children between the ages of 5 and 17. Parents and kids will manage the card through the company's mobile app.

The BusyKid Spend Card has a lot of options for kids to make financial decisions, but parents have to weigh in on the decision first.

For example, children will need to get approval before making a debit card purchase or donating to participating charities. Parents also have the option to lock money transfers between savings and spending categories to limit spending.

To put money into the debit card, you'll need to link an external bank account, debit card, or credit card. You won't be able to deposit cash onto the BusyKid Spend card.

Monthly service fee: $3.99 monthly OR $38.99 annually

Best for Traditional Banking

Chase First Banking has a debit card attached to a bank account. Chase is on our list of best banks and is an excellent choice if you're looking for a traditional brick-and-mortar bank experience.

Chase also has a big branch network in the US — it has over 4,800 locations in 48 states. You'll have access to over 16,000 free ATMs, which helps this bank avoid ATM fees.

Chase First Banking has zero monthly services and zero overdraft fees. The debit card also has strong features that make it easy to use. Parents may set limits or alerts on how much a child can spend or withdraw, and kids have savings and spending tools to set individual goals.

To open Chase First Banking, parents must already have a Chase checking account. The bank also charges out-of-network bank ATM fees if you don't use a Chase ATM. 

Monthly service fee: None

Best for Financial Literacy Education

Acorns Early used to be known as GoHenry, but it changed its name when it was acquired by the investing fintech Acorns. Acorns Early offers fairly similar products to what the GoHenry card offered, but it also comes with a large ATM network that GoHenry didn't have. Acorns Early can be used by kids between the ages of 6 and 18. You might like it if you're looking for strong financial literary features for children.

The mobile app offers three levels of financial literacy lessons, with level one having the easiest lessons catered to a younger audience and level three having the hardest lessons catered to an older audience. The lessons teach kids about different topics in personal finance, like budgeting and investing. Young children may learn about money basics, while older kids pick up more nuanced money topics like investing in stocks or borrowing responsibly.

The card gives you several ways to reward good financial behavior, such as letting you set up payments in exchange for doing financial literacy lessons or chores and letting you pay "interest" on your child's savings. To pay interest, you set up a certain percentage that kids can earn on their savings so that, each month, money will be deducted from your account and added to your child's account. With this feature, you can help teach your child about interest and simulate what having a high-yield savings account is like.

To put money onto the Acorns Early debit card, you'll need to link an external bank account or debit card. You won't be able to deposit cash onto the Acorns Early debit card. That being said, Acorns Early gives your child access to over 55,000 ATMs nationwide for free through the Allpoint network, so withdrawing cash is easy.

Acorns Gold subscribers get Acorns Early for free. It costs $12 to be an Acorns Gold subscriber, so it's not a good deal if you're only interested in Acorns Early. But if you're already an Acorns Gold member, or if you were thinking of becoming one because of its other features, this could be a good deal for you.

Monthly service fee: First 30 days free, then $5 monthly fee for one child and $10 monthly fee for two to four children. Can also get access through a $12 Acorns Gold subscription.

Best Interest-Earning Account

The Greenlight prepaid debit card might be good if you want to give your child hands-on experience with personal finance software and financial tools such as interest rates, cash back, and investing.

Greenlight lets you add a debit card to your account for your kid. You'll be able to limit how much your kids spend, monitor how much they're spending, and set up chores and allowances for your kids. One account lets you have up to five debit cards.

Unlike many debit cards for kids, Greenlight is an interest-earning account. You'll earn up to 5.00% APY on your account, depending on which of three plans you go for. For the two most expensive plans, your kids' debit card will become a cash-back debit card, letting your child earn 1% cash back on their purchases.

Those plans also let you and your child use Greenlight's investment app services, which means they'll be able to trade stocks and ETFs with parental approval.

Note that there isn't a free Greenlight plan; after a one-month free trial, you'll have to spend at least $4.99 to use a Greenlight debit card. And the cheapest plan doesn't come with many of Greenlight's standout features, such as investing services and cash back. You also won't be able to use ATMs to load cash directly into the card. You'll first have to deposit cash into your account, then move it to the card.

Monthly service fee: One month free, then either $4.99 monthly, $9.98 monthly, or $15.98 monthly, depending on the plan

Are These Companies Trustworthy?

We use Better Business Bureau scores to help you choose banks that are trustworthy and respond to customer complaints well.

Famzoo does not currently have a BBB page; therefore, it doesn't have a ranking yet.

BusyKid has a B+ rating. The BBB lists several customer complaints filed against the business as the reason for the ranking.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has an A- rating from the BBB because it hasn't responded to a few customer complaints.

Acorns has an NR rating because it is in the process of responding to previously closed complaints.

Greenlight also has a B rating from the BBB due to a high volume of customer complaints.

Chase is the only institution on our list that has been involved in recent public controversies.

In December 2024, the CFPB sued JPMorgan Chase, Zelle, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for not doing enough to protect customers who use Zelle from fraud. The CFPB says that over $870 million has been lost due to Zelle's lack of fraud protection, and that the listed banks did not properly investigate or reimburse complaints.

In 2023, JP Morgan Chase was required to pay $75 million in a settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands that accused the financial institution of failing to report suspicious activity regarding Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. 

What to Look for in a Debit Card for Teens

Parental Controls and Monitoring

Many kids' debit cards come with tools to help parents monitor their child's debit card use. Parental control debit cards for kids will usually come with features that include being able to monitor the account using a dashboard, setting alerts for when the card is used, and establishing spending limits. These can help make sure that kids are using their debit cards responsibly. Make sure to look for flexible controls, real-time notifications, and other useful parental tools.

Educational Resources on Financial Literacy

Many cards offer videos, articles, or other financial literacy tools for children. If this is something you're interested in, check out what form these educational banking products for kids take; for example, if you have a younger child, articles might not be the easiest way for them to learn about finances. In that case, you might prefer to find a card that offers video resources on financial basics.

If you're looking for more help with personal finance literacy, you might also consider budgeting apps.

Low Fees and Transparent Pricing

Getting a card with low or no monthly maintenance fees is always nice, but you also need to make sure that there aren't any surprise fees associated with the card. For example, some cards might cost extra if you use the card too often in a month, or they might charge extra for educational tools you thought were included in the base cost. 

This is extra important since you aren't the primary person using the card. Even if you would catch the fees, your child might not remember them.

Benefits of Debit Cards for Teens

Promoting Financial Independence

Letting your child or teen use a debit card can help them become more financially independent, as they'll be able to safely make financial decisions even if you're not around. They can start making decisions on when to spend and when to save and start planning out their savings goals.

Cards that come with financial literacy tools are especially helpful as kids can seek out more financial information independently if they want.

Hands-on Learning with Real Money

Using a debit card gives kids a chance to get concrete financial experience that mirrors what they'll encounter as spending adults. It will help them learn how debit purchases work, how to use a PIN number, how much tax they'll need to be prepared to pay at checkout, and other important lessons that purely theoretical or pretend scenarios are likely to miss.

Building Saving and Spending Habits

With a debit card, kids can start planning out what they want to do with their money long-term. Many kids' debit cards come with tools to help kids start saving, such as setting up debit card limits. Parents can also use the debit card as a reason to start conversations with their kids about what they want to start saving up for. Safe spending cards for children help them start learning how to save without risk.

Chore and Allowance Payments

Some debit cards for kids will let you automate things like paying your children for allowance and chores. This can include anything from letting you set up weekly or monthly direct deposits to the card to creating specific chores in the app and setting up a payment you can give your kids if they finish that chore. This can help your child learn about how to earn money and manage paychecks on a much smaller scale. This also makes it easier for you to remember to pay your child for chores and allowance.

Parental Involvement for Kids Debit Cards

Setting Spending Limits

Many kids' debit cards let parents set limits on how much kids can spend a month with their debit card. Parents can use this to jumpstart conversations with their child or teen on how much they want to save per month, which in turn helps kids learn how to budget.

Tracking Transactions and Balances

Many debit cards for kids also allow parents to monitor their children's purchases and account balances. Tracking spending can help parents ensure that their children are making sound financial decisions, limit overspending, and give them peace of mind.

Engaging in Financial Discussions

Ultimately, one of the best ways to teach kids about money management is to be willing to sit down and talk about it with them. Kids' debit cards help parents start conversations with their child about finances, especially if the cards include financial literary tools. These conversations can be practical, focusing on how much money the child has and spending and saving strategies, or theoretical, using financial lessons the debit cards offers.

How to Set Up a Debit Card for Teens

The setup process for debit cards for teens will depend on what service you're using. If you're opening a bank account for your child, the process will be similar to how to open a checking account normally. You'll need to provide some personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, and physical address.

You'll also need to meet requirements for account approval, which might include having good credit or not having bank accounts in bad standing. If you can't meet those requirements, you might want to work with a bank that offers second-chance bank accounts.

Some banks require you to have a checking account or other bank account with them already if you want to open a debit card for your child.

If you're not using a bank, you'll have to make an account with the fintech plaform. You might need to provide similar personal information as you would with a bank.

No matter what, once you've set up the debit card for your child or teen, you'll want to load money onto the card to get them started. Generally, this will require transferring money from your account to theirs, although some companies might give you a way to deposit cash.

Generally, you'll need to customize your account as part of the setup process. This could include physical debit card customization, such as creating your children's debit card with their name or a customizable debit card design. But this also includes more substantial account customizations, too, like creating your child's savings goals, allowance payments, or chores.

Once your account is set up and funded, you can start using it. If you open an account online, though, you might need to wait for a physical debit card to arrive.

How to Choose the Right Debit Card for Your Child

Ultimately, you'll want to consider your budget, along with what tools are right for your kid. If your child is younger, you might not care as much about financial literacy lessons that your child might not be ready for, but you might care more about how strong the card's monitoring tools are. If your child is older, you might not need quite as intense monitoring tools, but those financial literacy lessons might be more useful.

Before you start researching how to get a specific debit card, sit down with your child and talk about what both of you want. Keep in mind that the more tools and resources the card comes with, the higher the price will probably be.

Kids Debit Card FAQs

Why You Should Trust Us: Experts' Advice on the Best Kids' Debit Cards

We consulted banking and financial planning experts to inform these picks and provide their advice on finding the best kids' debit card for your needs.

• Sophia Acevedo, banking editor, Business Insider
• Mykail James, MBA, certified financial education instructor, BoujieBudgets.com

Here's what they had to say about kids' debit cards. (Some text may be lightly edited for clarity.)

Is a kids' debit card worth it? 

Mykail James, MBA, certified financial education instructor, BoujieBudgets.com:

"I think that these are great options to get children to start being a little bit more financially focused. It's a wonderful way to help them understand how to stick within a budget. That's actually how my mother taught me how to budget. She would give us a prepaid debit card for Christmas."

Sophia Acevedo, banking editor, Business Insider:

"Kids' debit cards can be useful to teach kids about spending. It's a simple way of teaching them to make financial decisions while still being able to monitor and control their usage. A lot of kids' debit cards have tools or features that let you set limits or alerts for parents."

What should I look for in a kids' debit card? 

Mykail James, MBA, CFEI:

"I like the ones that have an app where you can see how much money is in the account."

Sophia Acevedo, Business Insider:

"I would look at any fees needed to maintain the account. You might have to pay a fee for each time you load money into a card or a monthly service fee. Some debit cards also may also have age requirements."

Methodology: How Did We Choose the Best Kids' Debit Cards?

We examined over a dozen kids' debit cards before selecting our favorites. We wanted to provide you with options, so we compared various features and services to find the standouts for each category.

For every debit card, we looked at how it could be used. For example, you should be able to use a debit card for both online purchases and in-store purchases, as well as at ATMs. If a card had a special perk like a budgeting app or parental monitoring features, we took that into consideration, too. 

Kids' debit cards may often have monthly service fees, but we chose ones that are pretty manageable. We looked at charges for signing up for a card, reloading money, or using an ATM, to find options that didn't charge high fees. If debit cards have tiered bank account options, we compared different price points and features for each plan.

Lastly, we also reviewed each institution's privacy policy and debit card security features. We took into account whether a card had purchase protection or let parents block purchases. If the debit card was linked to a bank account, we review whether it the bank account was FDIC insured.

We give each of these categories a score from zero to five, then calculate the weighted average to get the total score for the debit card. This is similar to how we rate bank accounts. To learn more on how we rate bank accounts, check out our bank account rating methodology.

Evelyn He

Compliance and Operations Associate

Evelyn He is a compliance and operations associate for Business Insider’s Personal Finance team. Evelyn ensures content accuracy and editorial independence so readers get the most up-to-date and objective financial advice, enabling them to make informed financial decisions.ExperienceAs part of the compliance team, Evelyn helps fact check Personal Finance stories and works to make sure that the language is clear, precise, and compliant with government regulations and partner guidelines. Previously, Evelyn worked as a compliance specialist for Apellis Pharmaceuticals and a legal assistant at the law firm Morrison Mahoney.ExpertiseEvelyn is an expert in the following areas:

• Compliance
• Quality assurance
• Affiliate marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Content strategy

EducationEvelyn earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UMass Amherst and a master’s in marketing from Boston University.Evelyn has two dogs, Money and Tibber.

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Kit Pulliam

Banking reporter

Kit Pulliam (they/them) is a banking expert who specializes in certificates of deposit, savings accounts, and checking accounts. They’ve been reporting, editing, and fact-checking personal finance stories for more than four years. ExperienceIn college, Kit worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a psychology lab. While there, they found that they were passionate about writing and helping others write about topics that matter.Before Business Insider, Kit was an editorial specialist for Tax Analysts, diving into the tax code to help readers get the best information about a confusing but necessary subject.They find banking similar to taxes in that way: There are some things everyone needs to know because just about everyone needs to work with a bank — and you don’t want to end up with an account that doesn’t serve your needs.As interest rates change, they enjoy the fast pace of reviewing rates for products like CDs and high-yield savings, which can change daily and have a direct impact on readers’ money.Their work has been featured in Business Insider and MSN. They were part of the My Financial Life series with Business Insider.ExpertiseTheir expertise includes:

• Certificates of deposit
• Savings accounts
• Checking accounts
• CD rates
• Bank reviews

EducationKit is an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where they studied English and psychology and received the Jum C. Nunnally Honors Research Award for their senior thesis.Outside personal finance, Kit enjoys reading, film, video games, and cross stitching. They are based in the DC area.

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