I’d rather not have cash: Why kids want cards and the best accounts

By Liam On Jun 8, 2023

While many people are concerned about the death of cash, the younger generation likes to spend money only on cards. Alicia Lambert, 12 (a day spent shadowing her dad, This is Money’s Simon Lambert) explains why she and many of her friends feel this way.

Plus, This is Money rounds up some of the best bank accounts and cards for kids.

The rise of contactless payments has further eroded the use of cash – and while some are concerned about this, many of the younger generation are avoiding cash

When I buy my lunch at school, I have money close at hand, but it’s not cash.

These days many places use cards and not cash. Some schools go even further by using fingerprints to spend money.

My school is one of those schools. They put your fingerprint in the system, linked to your name, and you can get your parents to put money on it.

You are then given a limit of £5 to spend each day and can use it for whatever you like found in the cafeteria or take-away snack shop.

Your parents can see what you spend and it’s much easier than carrying cash to school. You can’t forget to bring money, because your finger can’t stay at home.

But as good as that is, it doesn’t work for other things and I can’t spend money outside of school.

Outside of school, I’d rather have a debit card than cash. This is why.

A good thing for us kids with cards is that if you find that your pocket money is inconsistent – maybe because your parents agreed on an amount but never find the time to give you the money because they’re too busy – they’ll have an automatic amount that is credited to your bank account monthly or weekly.

Having a card is also much easier for you parents in terms of spending money, because in the fast-paced world we live in, you may find yourself running out of cash – and it’s never where you think you have it abandoned.

Some more reasons why a card is better is because they are an easier and safer place to have your money.

If you need to buy something quite expensive, it’s safer to store all your money there than to have a lot of cash.

If your card is stolen, it’s easier to get another card and get your money back than if your money was stolen.

Meanwhile a lot of places just accept cards now and if you have cash and no card it’s harder to get stuff.

With cash, it’s much more difficult to keep track of how much you’re spending, what it’s been spent on, and how much money you have left without having to pile it all up, count it, and keep receipts.

However, with my debit card, I can just go into my banking app and see how much I have.

Some prepaid cards for children allow you to set limits and other things, but many of these services require payment and eat into your pocket money.

I got my first bank account, with Nationwide Building Society, about nine months ago, after my 12th birthday. I got a debit card and have been using it ever since. I almost always use it when I have to pay for something.

It’s much easier to pay for things with. I just take it with me and tap it or use my PIN if I need to pay for something outside of school.

When Alicia went to the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley she had cash on her but was unable to spend it as the venue has no cash

Of course you have to remember it. There was a time recently when I accidentally left my bank card on the floor of my bedroom when I went to the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley with my football team, the Gazelles.

I went to pay for a drink and some food and realized I forgot my card. “Don’t worry,” I thought, because my father had also given me enough money to make sure I had enough money to spend.

There was one small problem: Wembley Stadium is cashless and I couldn’t buy anything without a card. Luckily my football coach is very nice and he paid for me and I gave him the money.

So the one time I depended on cash, I couldn’t even spend it.

You can understand why I prefer a card over cash, even though my parents’ and grandparents’ generations think that’s odd.

Four of the best kid accounts

This is money says: Accounts that offer cards for kids can be divided into prepaid card based accounts and bank accounts that offer debit cards.

Prepaid card based accounts often offer special features designed to help kids learn about money and help parents track their spending, but they also tend to charge.

The allowances are relatively small, but will be at the expense of the amounts allocated for pocket money. For example, Go Henry charges £3.99 per month, which is almost 20 per cent of £20 monthly pocket money.

Prepaid cards must be loaded with cash and usually have a linked app that both parents and children can download. Cards can be used in stores, for ATM withdrawals and for online purchases.

Current Accounts for kids and younger teens are usually free, come with debit cards, and often require children to be at least 11 years old. They don’t overdraft kids and some even pay interest on credits.

However, kid’s bank accounts can also incur fees, so watch out for these – and some of their apps may not be more advanced or offer more control than standard banking apps.

Go Hendrik

Go Henry describes itself as the UK’s number one debit card and app for kids. It has 45 custom card designs, but what’s more convenient, it also has an app that helps parents monitor the spending of children and young people. You can set money missions, reward kids for chores, and set savings goals.

It costs £3.99 a month and children can get a debit card from the age of 6. Keep in mind that it only offers one free top-up per month, after that adding money to the card costs 50 cents each time.

RoosterMoney

RoosterMoney is part of banking giant NatWest, with a prepaid Visa card costing £1.99 per month or £19.99 per year for those aged 6 and over. It is free for parents who are NatWest customers and registered for online banking.

RoosterMoney has an app and, for an extra 99p per month, offers a chore manager feature and the ability to unlock parent-paid interest – all designed to get kids working for their money and saving.

Parents can divide money into jars, which gives extra control over children’s spending and can encourage them to save.

Topping up the card is free up to three times a day and ten times a month, after that it’s 50 pence each time.

National FlexOne

Nationwide’s FlexOne is a free current account for children aged 11 to 17, which also pays 2 per cent interest on balances up to £1,000

Children get an online account and app access and the choice between a debit card and a full debit card.

starling kite

Starling’s Kite account offers a debit card to children aged 6 to 16. Parents set up a Kite room for kids, who get their own version of the Starling app to manage their money.

Parents get instant payment notifications when kids spend, full access to their spending history, and spending control limits.

Starling Kite costs £2 per month.

The best savings rates for children

Children’s savings accounts often offer better rates than their adult counterparts, but there are limits to the amount that can be saved.

Junior Isas offer tax-free money savings with an annual allowance of £9,000, but money cannot be withdrawn until the age of 18 and control automatically passes to the child at the age of 16.

We have a regularly updated Best Child Savings and Junior Cash Isas Chart in our Savings Charts.

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