The features available on a debit card for kids are all about supervision, security and safety. These include:
Parental supervision
Many banks allow parental supervision of kids’ debit cards up until the age of 13 or 14. This can mean that parents can see all transactions the child has made with their debit card in their own online banking or mobile app. Some debit cards for kids can be set up to allow the parent to give consent for every transaction, through a text notification received on their mobile phone asking them to accept or decline the purchase. Such controls can be very useful if a very young child is given a debit card.
However, once a child reaches 13 or 14 years of age, the teen is often able to take off certain parental controls (such as transaction viewing) without their parent's consent.
Spending limits
Some debit cards allow parents to set up spending limits on their child’s debit card. These may be daily, weekly or monthly limits which restrict how much a child can spend in a set period and can be useful to prevent your child from cleaning out their bank account. If they try to exceed the spending limit, the transaction will be declined. Other debit cards can include ATM cash withdrawal limits, either in terms of a daily maximum or a limit on the amount of cash that may be withdrawn in a single transaction.
Spending restrictions
In addition to spending limits, some debit cards provide control over how the kids’ debit card is used. For example, it’s possible to prevent a debit card from being used for online purchases. Controls may also include a prohibition on the purchase of alcohol, tobacco or gambling products. To prevent spending on online games, some debit cards allow parents to limit or ban in-game transactions.
Binding age restrictions which are legislated around Australia, such as the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol or tobacco products, can remain on the card until the youth reaches the appropriate age of 16 or 18 years old.
Card security and locking
Kids are notorious for losing things and, unfortunately, debit cards are no exception. As such, many debit cards for kids enable the child or parent to lock their card once they realise it is lost or stolen. Locking a card is usually a simple process, either through online banking, a mobile app or a phone call to a lost card hotline. This prevents the card from being used until it’s either unlocked or cancelled and a replacement card is issued.
Tracking spending
Many online banking portals and mobile apps allow tracking of how a debit card is used. In some apps, transactions can be summarised into categories of spending, so it’s possible for a child to see what they are spending their money on. This type of spending analysis can be a very useful educational tool to teach a child responsible spending and saving habits.
