Teenagers own bank account

[Onemoret1me]

Just after advice/thoughts on when a child should start having their own bank account

my DD is just turned 14. I feel now might be a good time to get her her own bank account. She uses cash at the moment and tends to just keep £20 on her when she goes out. She doesn’t socialise very often, occassionally pops to the shop with a friend or after school but I think she’d like the independence of having her own account and being able to start managing her money and saving rather than just in her piggy bank

just interested in what others have done with their children?

Mine have a NatWest account from age 11. Once a week I give them their pocket money and we sit down with their budget in YNAB and enter it into spend, save and give. The first category they’re allowed to spend it on whatever they want. The second has to have my approval (ie if they want to save up for a bike I’d say yes but for more cheap make up for my daughter no). The third category they spend as and when they want to support something.

we do have the risk that they could blow it all on their card but to be honest If they do I’d rather they do it with their pocket money / teen wages than with their grown up budget.

Mine have HSBC accounts ( basically because I do) and use the app to transfer money between savings and current- that way they keep minimum in current to limit losses if they lose their card and it gets used. They have cards for current but DS uses Apple pay on his phone as he’s 13 ( can’t use before this). I use Fidelity for their ISAs but I control that side and they don’t have access to it.

We went with Santander as DH has a account and he could set it up without going into a branch. Our nearest branch of any bank is not close!

DSs has a Lloyds account as that where our joint account is. Set up at 11. Was a faff to set up. Was very glad he had it when he went on a Y6 summer trip and it was to a cash free venue so he could take his bank card to buy a drink. Which he did.

Yes we got them bank accounts for their pocket money.

DD2 has a Lloyds Smart Start which is from age 11.
DS has a Santander 123 account.

Both come with debit cards which is handy when we are out shopping, as they can spend their own pocket money.

It’s also useful for when they start working if they already have an account set up. DD1 does babysitting and cat sitting, and they ask for her bank details, they say it’s easier than having to remember to leave cash!

Ds got one at age 11. He needed it for school lunch money and going out with friends, gym etc.

There's occasions over summer where it would have been useful for my 9yr old to have one, but I can't find one for his age that doesn't have fees with it (looking at you Go Henry).

Like most on here, they got bank accounts with bank cards when they were 11. I don't think the accounts vary much, so I'd go with whatever bank suits you best.

I'm also surprised that your DC hasn't said something to you about this before - at 14, I'm sure most of their friends would have had their own accounts for quite some time (particularly as cash isn't accepted for everything, or is more awkward). I'd personally want to quietly explore why they didn't mention anything.

I preferred DD to use cash to start with as I think it teaches spending better as it's tangible you can physically see the amount of cash decrease etc.

Then when she expressed interested in having a card this summer(she's 14) I made her research the best one for her age group and to tell me the pros and cons, explained Apr to her (I obviously did my own research). She choose Nationwide and opened it herself on her phone, downloaded the app and then we went to a branch together and I taught her how to pay in and use the ATM safely and securely. Obviously she's seen me use it before and I've pointed things out to her but teaching when it's relevant is different.

Lloyds at 11. Really easy to set up

Mine have nationwide accounts opened at 14 , they have their own linked savings accounts and an App to manage it . If they have a Child Trust Fund that shows in their App too . Only mentioned as mine weren’t aware they had such a thing or that I’ve been drip feeding spare pennies into it

Yep my dd has a nationwide account, she had a savings account with a little book when she was younger and then got a debit card when she was older (I've forgotten what she she was when she got a debit card.)

She has a basic general account and an isa with them now (age 18!)

We have the revolut <18 account. Very pleased with it as I can add and withdraw money, freeze her card, stop ATM withdrawals, stop online transactions and get alerts for every purchase. You can switch these controls and notifications off bug useful to have. I can also set pocket money challenges for her to complete to earn money. Free service too, no charges

My kids had accounts with Lloyds from age 11 as that’s where I had my account. They link their card to Apple Pay and use their phones.

Opened as soon as they turned 11, Nationwide is good as they get interest on the account. Mine use their debit cards rather than cash. They get monthly pocket money paid in on the 1st.

Easiest is fir them to get over at the place you bank. Means you can transfer cash to them very quickly for eg. if i forgot to give them lunch money or if they saw a bargain when out shopping.

The faster payments system means most transfers between banks are pretty much instant anyway

We use Hyperjar here. It's a bit like Go Henry but free to use.

You open the account and then can get a kids card and assign them 'pots' of money. Eg pocket money, school lunch, savings etc. it's really easy to use and the good thing is that you can monitor their spending in the app.

Mine have had Rooster cards for their pocket money as you can link it to chores etc. DS1 has a part time job now, and HSBC automatically set up a current account when I opened a savings account for him so his pay goes into that. I have been with Nationwide since I was a teenager though, and really like them. I didn't know about their young person's account so may look into changing it if he wants.

We’ve now been into branch and set up a hsbc account which comes with a savings account too

i I feel like I should have done this a couple of years ago but it just never crossed my mind. My daughter never asked, she’s said most of her friends have accounts but she’s never been bothered. She always has cash in her and like I said she rarely goes out. She awaiting autism assessment and thrives on routine so I imagine she’s been comfortable doing what she’s always done and hadn’t even given it any thought.

I've just done a nationwide one for eldest. It's great for transferring money, debit card, Apple Pay etc but 1 word of warning - they have a junior ISA with nationwide also which I hadn't told them about and hadn't intended to yet. I was surprised to see it pop up on their online banking dashboard without being asked beforehand. I know it's their account and in their name etc, but they cannot withdraw from it until 18 though so I assumed it wouldn't show on there yet.

I opened a starling account in my name for DS when he was 8/9 and paid his pocket money in there - he could have had a HyperJar card of his own but I didn't like the faff of it so went with starling in my name but he used it.

As soon as he turned 11 I opened his own account which gives him his own card.