Bank account for 13 year old ?

[Lappy214]

I'd like ds to get used to having an allowance to cover school stuff like weekly travel card/lunches and also his spending money on top of that.

Can he have an account with access via atm or use a debit card at 13 ?

His school run takes him past a variety of bank atms each day so withdrawing cash wouldn't be a problem.

My son's Lloyds Bank acc offers a card that can be used in ATMs (but not contactless payments) and is currently paying 2.2%. It can't be accessed online though, which I think is s shame because I'd like him to be able to check his balance online.

My son (11) has had a Nationwide current a/c for nearly a year, now, ever since he started at secondary school (you have to be 11, I think). He can do online banking, and use his card in ATMs and as a debit card.. He was offered a contactless one - in fact that's the default - but I ordered a 'normal' one, as I think contactless is unwise for an 11 year old! It doesn't pay interest, but if you have this account, it gives you access to a linked savings a/c which has quite a good interest rate - can't remember exactly, off the top of my head, I'm afraid.

meowii did you need to take your son to the Nationwide for an hour appointment to open his account? We have been customers with them for over 20 years and they are insisting we take dd down to the branch for an hours appointment with a shed load of ID before she can have an account, she is severely dyslexic and has the attention span of the dog, it would be total torture...and the next appointment they can offer us is months away!!

I was looking at GoHenry the other day, could work?

Yes, we did, Rose. It was quite long-winded, but ds put up with it, on the basis that he was keen to have a bank a/c. I think we both glazed over a bit from time to time!

I'm surprised they can't fit you in sooner. We had to wait a few weeks, but only because ds hadn't had his b'day, I think. Might it be worth trying again? Someone different might come up with a different response, and once there, you could explain that dd may not be able to focus for an hour. I'm sure they could hurry it up if they wanted, their main aim being to get your business!

Dd has a bank account with bank of Scotland and we did have to go for an appointment to get it set up and take ID, etc. She got it when she was 11 and it comes with a debit card. GoHenry, etc charge a fee so I wouldn't bother with them

My son has a Metro Bank account.

He has a contactless debit card and online banking. He opened a savings account at the same time.

Metro Bank print their own cards in the branch, so he was out with his card within the hour (you need to go with them to open the account, but it's a walk-in, no booking needed).

My dd is with Nationwide too - she needed an hour long appointment, it was in branch but via a webcam with someone in a call centre - she enjoyed it.

She has internet banking, ATM and debit card access and it seems to work really well for her.

My older daughter has a nationwide debut account, but my 10yo has a GoHenry account which she has a contactless debit card, she uses it to buy stuff online and in town. You can set a daily spend and online spend limit on it.

My DD age 11 has a Santander Mini 123 account which comes with a debit card (not contactless).

It can be opened on line and we both have online access to it. It pays 3% interest on savings between £300 - £3,000.

The Santander Mini sounds good!