Before choosing Greenlight, we asked the same questions as many parents in our heads: How old should a child be before they get their first debit card? How do I teach my children to be responsible with money? Should they be given pocket money? If so, how much? Should they “work” to earn money by doing chores?
If you want to teach your children any responsible information about finance it won’t happen overnight. I always thought cash was best because it was the real thing and because children were very visual and understood the concepts in that way. However, now that they are older I have realised a few things: I never had cash with me and always owed my kids chores until I could use an ATM. It also means that I never use money in front of them – just debit or credit cards.
The Greenlight card allows you to set spending limits for specific shops so that parents can have fine control over their children’s money. It also has unique features such as a savings account that earns interest paid by parents and an investment platform where your child can make real-time investments with your permission.
Greenlight Kids Debit Card Reviews
After reading many more Greenlight card reviews, I think Greenlight is trustworthy. When I looked up Greenlight’s BBB rating, I saw that they had received 36 Greenlight complaints, all of which were resolved promptly by Greenlight customer service.
Our children received these cards for Christmas and they love the independence it brings! I had a problem, my child’s phone number had changed and it was now my other child’s phone number and I couldn’t find a way to change this number on the app so I emailed customer services and they replied the next day and got the information in the information system to change the phone number. Very friendly, very attentive and very fast service!!! Would recommend to everyone! Now my daughter can stop trying to buy things with a handful of change, she found out haha she can give us the change and we put it on her card!!! Edit – we’ve had these cards for over a year now! Love them even more with the new savings option!!! Our children can see how close or far they are to their special savings goal. Plus now we can give their grandparents the link to send money directly to their card as a gift!!! No more lost birthday money!!! We have old savings accounts for them at the bank that we don’t even use now. The kids love being able to manage their money at a glance in the app! Have used customer service a few times and still get prompt help, they’re great!!!
I really like the idea of the app and the cards that go with it. We are very happy to start using it. But here are some things that would give it a 5 star rating …… 1. add the ability to have 2 parent wallets for the kids cards. In today’s world and with such a high divorce rate and so many split families, the ability for every family to have access to a child card would be amazing! I even think that you could bucket extract your profits by charging $5 per parent wallet for bamboo leaves. 2. the ability to ask your child to complete a chore for their allowance. I chose to use this app due to the debit card feature, but a friend of mine has a different app in which he can assign chores that “require an allowance”. If these chores are not completed, they don’t get an allowance. Then he can also assign chores that have some extra money and can be redeemed (I know this is also a feature of Greenlight). 3. Finally, I think there should be a parental approval process so that the children can be held accountable for what they say before the allowance runs out. These are all things that would really help our family, and I’m sure other families would be helped too. Hopefully these things can be implemented soon so that we can make the most of the app. Thank you for your consideration!
My daughter is 11 (received her card at 10) and loves having her own debit card! The app is easy to use and functions well. I like that it reduces the likelihood of her losing cash. I do wish she could have a child version of the app on her phone to track her account balance without allowing parents full access to the account. But my biggest complaint now is the time it takes to deposit funds from the funding account to the parent account . It used to be much shorter and now it takes almost a full working week. For this reason we have really reduced the use of the scheme as some spending decisions are made on a much shorter timescale and there is no time to wait for the slow funding process. There were also times when my child didn’t have enough money for something on a field trip, but I couldn’t add money directly to her account unless it was already in my parents’ account. I only had a few minutes to spare at the time and it took a few days to deposit from my bank into my parents’ account. In those cases she had to leave as I was not present and the process took a long time. Please change this back to the instant money access you used to have.
We don’t do pocket money at home but we do have jobs that the kids (3 teenagers) can do to earn money. I have a really hard time managing expenses because I always have a lot of small bills on hand. Then the kids would turn around and give me cash because they mostly bought things online. It was a complete logistical nightmare. Enter Greenlight. It’s the perfect balance between simplicity and functionality. I got the account set up in minutes and the cards came in a few days later. I’ve arranged for the transfer to be set up for my kids’ work pay. I can also add extra money to their card in three clicks if they do something extra. If I need to record their wages for any reason, it’s easy to take the money away. Everything in life should be so easy! I just need to replace the lost card. It took less than 5 minutes on the automated phone system. The first lost card was free of charge. So far everything on this app has been quick, easy and working perfectly. It’s a good idea for an app and is very, very well implemented. It saves me from headaches every week. Thank you Greenlight!!!
Features of the Greenlight debit card
The Greenlight card itself is secure. It is a Mastercard and any photos or personal information you submit through the app is encrypted. Greenlight has customer service representatives available by email or phone, and its partner banks meet payment card industry data security standards. All accounts are FDIC insured and purchased through Greenlight’s partner bank, Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB).
The Greenlight Debit Card allows you to pay your child an allowance – whether you want to link it to a chore list or not. Once your child receives the allowance, they can split the funds between savings, spending and giving categories. This debit card must be funded from the parent’s account. If your child is old enough to work, they can also top up their card with their salary via direct deposit. Your child can use their Greenlight debit card almost anywhere MasterCard is accepted.
- As long as you have funded your parent's account, you can transfer money instantly to your child's account via the Favourable Light app.
- You can set one-off or recurring chores for your child to complete by the deadline. If your child completes their chores on time, they will receive a cash reward paid by you.
- You can also use the Favours app to set up weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments for your child's allowance, independent of the chore list.
- Whenever your child uses their Greenlight debit card, you will receive real-time notifications telling you how much they have spent and where they have spent it. You will also be notified if your child's card is declined for any reason.
- Because the Greenlight Debit Card is designed for children, it has a number of safety features. Your child will not be able to spend money on certain businesses related to adult entertainment, gambling, stock trading, wire transfers, etc. Parents can also set additional spending and shop limits through a feature of the app called 'Greenlight'. Greenlight’s debit card requires a monthly fee, which is not uncommon for prepaid cards used to pay benefits. However, there is no way to waive or reduce this fee. The Greenlight debit card does not pay interest and does not allow cash deposits. Apart from the monthly fee, the only other Greenlight card fees are for card personalisation and replacement. Although there are no fees for ATM withdrawals with the Greenlight, you may still be charged by the ATM owner if your child decides to withdraw money.
Is the Greenlight debit card right for you?
If you are looking for a way to distribute your child allowance digitally, Greenlight’s prepaid debit card is a good option. While it does have a fee, the cost is fairly moderate compared to direct competition. The main value you are likely to get from the Greenlight debit card will come from the financial teaching tools and the allowance allocation system.
Free for the first month : Try out the Greenlight card to see if it’s right for you and your child.
Is the Greenlight Debit Card legal?
Yes, it is. Founded in 2014, it has been funded to the tune of nearly $300 million and is already widely accepted as one of the best prepaid cards for young people today.
Is the Greenlight Debit Card a good prepaid card?
This is a great card for kids. Its parental control features and benefits are second to none.
What if my child loses their Greenlight Debit Card?
I personally worry about my child if the card is lost or stolen and parents can disable the card from the mobile app. If the card is then found, parents can easily reopen the card. The first replacement card is free of charge.
Is there a minimum age to get a Greenlight debit card?
No.
Is the Greenlight Debit Card safe?
Absolutely. The money is FDIC insured. Greenlight uses the most advanced encryption technology to protect data. They also block insecure categories of spending. As mentioned above, parents can decide whether their child can withdraw money from an ATM. In addition, Greenlight notifies parents via the app whenever the card is used or even declined.
Is the Greenlight Debit Card FDIC insured?
Yes.
Will the Greenlight Debit Card help me build my credit or my child’s credit?
As with all prepaid debit cards. It will not affect your credit score.
First month free: Try the Greenlight card to see if it’s right for you and your child.
