Best debit card for kids?

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

We're thinking of getting DD a kids debit card (she'll be 11 soon) and are wondering which ones are the best. Preferably free to top up rather than one with a top up fee as well as a monthly fee. Any recommendations?

Nationwide have been excellent. All done online if your DD has a passport. I transfer money. My DC spend it. I use the app to check

www.nationwide.co.uk/current-accounts/flexone/

Wait until age 11 and get them an current account with a high street bank and they'll get a debit card free with it.

This.

HyperJar is free. You have an adult account and then link a kids 'jar' and they get a card for it.

This is what DS had from age 11, no fuss or fees

We use HyperJar and really pleased with it. I couldn’t open DS a childrens account as the bank weren’t making appointments as it’s not a priority. My bank doesn’t offer child accounts. But I’m actually happier with HyperJar.

I don't want to get her an ordinary bank/building society account because you can't control them as easily as you can with others like GoHenry etc

Why do you need so much control?
I thought the whole point was that they learn to manage their own money.
I would never use anything you had to pay for

We’ve just started using Hyperjar and it has worked well so far! Only thing is that money can’t be withdrawn from an ATM but this isn’t as issue for me as my kids only need the card to spend pocket money in shops and online. As mentioned above also, it’s free so that’s what convinced me to try it as no commitment

Op I asked this a few days ago and hyper jar xame out top

@AdamantEve

Is it really easy for them to see their money and actually manage it?

Another vote for Hyper Jar, really easy to use and free.

Another hyperjar user here. No fuss. Easy to send money to DS 'jar' (account). Don't need to go in branch or any faffing to set it up .

They can see the amount they have on the app but DS likes it as an exercise in memory maths. He regularly tells me how much he has to ‘Spend’. Not sure he gets saving yet,

Definitely Hyperjar - I only use it for the kids and use monzo for myself but absolutely no issues so far and I got an email from them the other day saying kids can now download the app too (didn’t read it thoroughly so not sure what it really entails)

@ICanSmellSummerComing they need to download an app so obviously not ideal if they don’t have a mobile - my eldest does so she can see how much money she has left at a glance. When the card is used, a notification is also sent to her phone and mine saying how much was spent and where. Not sure if this can be turned off on parents phone.
My youngest doesn’t have a phone so I have to show them their balance on my mobile which is less convenient.

The app is really clear though and child friendly so a good way to introduce money management. I’m happy with it so far

Why do you need control over her money? Nationwide is excellent, full banking services for young people. Excellent for learning to manage money, and the accounts grow with them into student accounts and then adult ones.

In what way?

My 8yo has got a starling kite card and it's perfect for now. £25 daily spend limit in case she loses it, free to use abroad and I get notifications about everything. The £2 monthly fee is worth it.

We have hyperjar, it's great all kids have cards and older ones have app too. Cards work for online purchases and Google pay also.

I've just got ds2's Hyperjar debit card through the post thanks to this thread.

He's 9 and I'd been considering gohenry but this is absolutely ideal for introducing him to managing a fairly small amount of pocket money. I have complete control and he can see what's in his "account" on his tablet.

I had no idea that this was possible for free!

Yeah, we have a NatWest bank account linked to mine. Was extremely easy to do online.

What additional control does a GoHenry account or similar give her? You can link a savings account to a current account for birthday money or regular savings from pocket money. I'd expect that to be enough for an 11 year old to learn to take control of their money.

I have a revolut account which I transfer my disposable income into every month (separate from my current account). They do a junior version which is managed through my app, she had a debit card which I can transfer money too and keep track of spending. She also has the app but can only see her balance. I also have to approve online spending so she can’t go nuts one day and you can set allowances. I think I paid £5 for the card and there’s no fees. The only thing I don’t like is she doesn’t have an acc number and sort code so family members have to transfer to my revolut then I have to transfer to her. Worth a look!