Here’s an article from Finextra that’s worth exploring:
Atlanta-based Greenlight combines a “smart” debit card with an app to help kids improve their financial literacy while giving parents controls on spending. Since launching in 2017, half a million parents and kids have signed up. Parents can choose the exact stores where their children can spend, manage chores and allowances, set parent-paid interest rates on savings and more. Kids monitor balances, create saving goals and learn to make real world trade-off decisions.
Learning how money is earned (via work or chores) and then choosing how to wisely spend, gift or save it, is a great skill set to learn as young as possible in life to avoid financial mistakes that can have long term, detrimental effects.
Many young adults make financial mistakes that could be avoided if a tool like Greenlight had been available to them (over drafting a checking account, for example). Prepaid debit cards are a financial tool that are similar to checking accounts with a debit card, but help consumers avoid over drafts, as only the money loaded on the card can be spent.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both have invest in kids debit card Greenlight. Thomas Richardson, head, strategic partnership investing, Wells Fargo, says: “Greenlight offers parents an opportunity to build that core competency of financial literacy in their child’s formative years, through its innovative, interactive and fully digitized product offering.
“We are impressed by Greenlight’s rapid growth, and we are excited to help fuel the next phase of its development.”
I like the ability to designate specific dollars for spend at predetermined locations, but also having dollars that are available to spend at any location. Not to mention the ability for the adult on the account to send dollars should there be an emergency situation. I’m also looking forward to how they will handle cash loads on to the card/app for those who are paid in cash, such as babysitters, lawn mowers, and dog walkers.
Overview by Sue Brown, Director, Prepaid Advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group
