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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think secondary aged children need access to bank accounts

85 replies

allthethinkz · 08/08/2020 13:19

My DD is 11 and starting secondary school next month. As she will be travelling to school independently I tried to open an account for her today. It seems that most if not all of the High Street banks have withdrawn the facility to open new accounts for 11-12 year olds at this time. Are other people aware of this? Its as if they see it as a novelty for these children rather thsn an essential. But it will put children at risk if they lose or run out of money for bus/train and end up having to walk home or wait alone somewhere. AIBU to think this should be seen as an essential service, and that if pubs and swimming pools are open then the banks should be able to provide child accounts?

OP posts:
myfurloughedfriend · 08/08/2020 14:10

DC have a Nationwide accounts. I can remember at the time, they could have had an account at Halifax but the Nationwide was the only place that did a contactless card and a phone app so they could keep track of spending.

They now have a saving accounts and a current accounts, so allowance goes into their savings accounts and when they want to buy something use the app to transfer over to the current account to spend on the card. A good lesson in managing money and the safety of not having all their money accessible should they loose their card.

Thehogfatherstolemycurry · 08/08/2020 14:10

Oh, you can connect Nimbl to parentpay from school too if your school uses that for paying dinner money etc

cariadlet · 08/08/2020 14:15

My dd is in 6th form and has her own bank account now but when she was at secondary school, she had apple pay on her phone, linked to my bank account.

It meant that she could use her phone to pay for bus and train fares and also in shops. I use Google pay so could easily check my bank statements to see which items were down to dd and she would pay me back if she'd been a bit cheeky and used apple pay for something that could have come out of her pocket money.

Lexilooo · 08/08/2020 14:17

What about an online only bank like starling or monzo? Both have great customer service and no need to visit a branch ever!

Sarahandco · 08/08/2020 14:19

Go to metro bank and get the card the same day

ChicCroissant · 08/08/2020 14:27

Can't apply for a children's HSBC account either at the moment Hmm

Original poster
allthethinkz · 08/08/2020 14:44

Thanks, some helpful replies. The key problem is that services are suspended due to covid, so many things which were available a year ago are no longer available. If you already have an account its fine but you just can't open a new one in most places, not for an 11 year old at least. It just seems unfair and problematic for secondary school starters. I don't really want to pay for something like Nimbl or GoHenry, just want a free account. But I willl try TSB on Monday

OP posts:
M0mmyneedswine · 08/08/2020 14:49

I opened a natwest account for ds12 a few weeks ago, opened online then posted birth certificate for proof of ID

RoomOfRequirement · 08/08/2020 15:11

It's not essential for an 11 year old to have a bank account, it is a novelty. Your reasoning doesn't make sense. If they lose/run out of money? What's to stop them losing their card or running out of money on the card? Surely teaching them to be sensible with the money they have is a better use of time anyway. And keeping a £5 note somewhere separate to their money just in case of loss?

If they're getting a bus, check if they have an app you can buy tickets on. Most do now. Or set up an uber acct using your bank details for emergency use only.

ThePlantsitter · 08/08/2020 15:14

It's not essential for an 11 year old to have a bank account, it is a novelty

This was certainly true when cash was accepted everywhere. But now it's not, and 11 year olds are necessarily becoming more independent and need to be able to pay for things. So I'd say it's more than a novelty at the moment but also more difficult to do at the moment. Another way in which children are bearing the brunt of this virus.

Nacreous · 08/08/2020 15:18

I guess the point is if they have an unexpected expense and don't have a card they have no options. Seems safer to have a card to me, especially as at the moment loads of places won't take cash at all.

I had my own bank account from the age of about 7-8 and was allowed to have complete control over my money from 12, including all my savings, but I was an irritatingly sensible child so I don't think my parents saw it as a risk.

SaveloyDip · 08/08/2020 15:27

I opened accounts online just last week for my 15 and 13 year old with Santander, 123mini I think it was.

I had to photograph passports and birth certificates and upload them for proof of ID.

The account comes with a debit card so they have that on the Google pay app on their phones so they do not need to carry a bank card with them and I can transfer money from my account instantly if there is an emergency.

UselessTrees · 08/08/2020 15:36

Having the same issue at the moment - tried Nationwide, Santander and Halifax with no luck. This is specifically a problem for 11 and 12 year olds, btw, because over 13s can open them online. Will try TSB in the week, thanks!

Thehogfatherstolemycurry · 08/08/2020 15:39

If you don't want to pay monzo is a good online one and they were taking new customers last month as dh got one. I'd still recommend nimbl for a child though as you can control it. It's only £1.99 a month.

moveoverhogger · 08/08/2020 16:02

The service isn't available at most bank branches because this service currently requires a face to face appointment & the offices todo the appointments in are not big enough to adhere to social distancing. I am aware this is under review for 11-13 year olds so that a process can be put in place to do the application in a different way, but as of yesterday when I left the office there was no resolution. I expect something will change very soon though.

SockYarn · 08/08/2020 16:05

Is this to do with keeping people out of banks? because obviously an 11 or 12 year old would need a parent with them?

NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy · 08/08/2020 16:08

I opened one yesterday for my ds (11) at Barclays. I tried online and via the video app which was useless. Couldn't get an appointment at the branch by phone so I went in with him on the off chance and they gave us an appointment for an hour later.

blacktop · 08/08/2020 16:13

@feliciabirthgiver

Go Henry is really quick and simple to set up and ideal for that age group

And absolutely ridiculous for a child who can have their own current account. Nice gimmick for an 8 year old, not needed for a high school child.

AveEldon · 08/08/2020 16:19

Mine haven't needed cards for secondary - school food credit is on a card in one school, fingerprint access on another
Travel - again a card/pass

They just have a few quid and then a emergency fiver stashed away

BlackberrySky · 08/08/2020 16:22

We had this issue last month when trying to open an account for my son's 11th birthday. We did it via video banking at Barclays in the end. Lots of places have suspended it due to Covid because of the need to present in person.

canigooutyet · 08/08/2020 16:22

Have you tried your own bank? 2 weeks ago anyway, Barclays were allowing children's account if their parents are customers.

Monzo 16+
Osper, GoHenry etc there are costs per child.

For contactless travel have you checked your area to see if there is a travel card like Oyster?

Schools usually have an online parent payment system as they have cashless systems. For parents who haven't got online systems, cheques/cash to the main office. Cannot remember the last time secondary school took cash in for their lunches. They provide cards, or have thumbprint tech.

Infullbloom · 08/08/2020 16:23

It was the TSB we opened ds's account with this week. As I said though they had a 5 week wait for appointments.

canigooutyet · 08/08/2020 16:27

Paysafe card is also a good one to use, although not sure how widely it can be used in-store.

Linnet · 08/08/2020 16:40

My dd is 16 and has had an account at the TSB since she was a baby. When she turned 16 this year we had to go in and sign forms so that I could pay money into her account and I was under the impression that what we had done was upgraded the account to an under 19’s account. We were told she couldn’t have a card at the moment because of Covid, all of this was back in May.

Last week we went to the bank to pay in another cheque and ask again about getting a card seeing as everyone wants you to pay contactless and this meant if she was out it was harder to pay for things. It turned out that she hadn’t been upgraded to an under 19’s account and they can’t just switch it over they need to open a whole new account with proof of id and address etc, even though she already has an account!

The under 19’s account can’t be opened online and they can’t do apppointments in the bank so she had to do a phone appointment then we had to go down the next day with proof of age etc, which we had done in May and they already have, to finish setting up the account. So it was all done and she was told a card would be sent out and we thought all was well.

The bank card arrived this week and it’s not contactless. We went back to the bank and asked about it and were told that if you are under 18 they don’t give you a contactless card but you can setup google pay/applepay on your phone instead!

It was such a hassle and in the end we didn’t even get Exactly what we wanted. Dd has set up gogglepay on her phone but she really just wanted a contactless card so if her phone runs out or she doesn’t have it she can still pay. She can still pay by putting the card in the card machine but she wants to limit what she’s touching when she out.

Also her friend who is with a different bank got a contactless card for under 18’s so we don’t understand why ours doesn’t.

Absofruitly · 08/08/2020 16:45

I opened an Adapt kids account with NatWest yesterday. Rocked up with my 12-year-old son to the branch in town and walked out in under an hour with his account all sorted. He should have his Visa debit card arriving in the post early next week. Worth giving them a try.