Yes, you can get a debit card for your kid. Most major banks offer joint teen checking accounts starting at age 13, and a group of family-focused fintech companies issue prepaid cards for children as young as 6. In either case, you co-own the account as the legally responsible adult, and your child carries the card and spends from it.
How Young Can a Child Have a Debit Card
There is no single federal minimum age. Traditional banks generally set the floor at 13. Prepaid card providers built for families — Greenlight, GoHenry, and FamZoo among them — often accept children as young as 6 or 8.
The 13-year cutoff isn’t arbitrary. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act requires any online service that knowingly collects personal information from a child under 13 to first obtain verifiable parental consent.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 6502 – Regulation of Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices in Connection With the Collection and Use of Personal Information From and About Children on the Internet That extra verification step is why many banks simply set their teen account minimum at 13 and avoid the requirement altogether.2Federal Trade Commission. Complying With COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions Providers that do serve younger children build the consent steps directly into their sign-up process.
Two Options: Bank Account or Prepaid Card
You’re essentially choosing between a joint checking account at a bank and a prepaid card from a fintech app. They behave very differently.
Joint Teen Checking
A joint checking account at a bank means both you and your child are co-owners. Your child gets a standard debit card that draws from the shared balance. These accounts usually have no monthly fee for minors and come with mobile banking, direct deposit, and ATM access through the bank’s network. The tradeoff: parental controls tend to be lighter than what fintech apps offer.
Prepaid Fintech Cards
Family-focused providers issue a prepaid card that you load through an app. Age minimums are lower, and controls are more granular. You can cap spending by merchant category, freeze the card instantly, and get real-time transaction alerts. Because the card is prepaid, it can’t be overdrawn — when the loaded balance hits zero, the next transaction declines. Expect a monthly subscription fee of roughly $5 to $15 depending on the plan.
Some providers give you a virtual card number right after sign-up, so your child can use it online or in a mobile wallet before the physical card arrives, which usually takes seven to ten business days.
What You’ll Need to Open One
Federal rules require every bank to run a Customer Identification Program before opening an account. At a minimum, the bank collects each account holder’s legal name, date of birth, address, and a taxpayer identification number.3eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks That means both you and your child.
For most U.S. residents, the taxpayer ID is a Social Security number. If your child doesn’t qualify for an SSN, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the IRS may work — the regulation calls for a “taxpayer identification number,” which an ITIN is.4Internal Revenue Service. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Not every bank accepts an ITIN for account opening, so ask before you apply.
Beyond the taxpayer ID, plan to provide:
- Your government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport, or state ID).
- Your child’s birth certificate, often a certified copy, to confirm the parent-child relationship.
- Proof of your current physical address, such as a utility bill, lease, or bank statement.
Check that the names match across documents. A mismatch between a birth certificate and an SSN card is one of the most common reasons applications stall.
Most providers let you apply online or through the app. Some traditional banks still want you to walk into a branch. After approval, the card arrives at your home address, and activation is a quick call or app prompt during which you or your child sets a PIN.
What You’re Signing Up For as the Parent
A minor can’t legally enter into a contract, so the bank treats you as the responsible party. The account agreement makes you liable for the balance, any fees, and any negative balance created by your child’s spending. Your child is the authorized user; you are the accountable owner.
That structure cuts both ways. You get broad authority — monitor transactions in real time, adjust daily spending limits, freeze or close the card, and withdraw the entire balance — without needing your child’s permission. And you carry the exposure. If the account overdraws and you opted into overdraft coverage, the resulting fees, often around $35 per transaction, are yours.5FDIC.gov. Overdraft and Account Fees
A simple defense: decline overdraft coverage when you open the account. The bank will just decline transactions that would push the balance below zero.
Fees to Watch For
Costs vary a lot between traditional banks and fintech providers. The ones that typically come up:
- Monthly maintenance fees. Banks often waive these on teen checking. Prepaid providers usually charge $5 to $15 per month.
- Overdraft fees. Around $35 per overdrawn transaction if you’ve opted in. Prepaid cards avoid this by declining transactions when the balance is empty.5FDIC.gov. Overdraft and Account Fees
- Out-of-network ATM fees. Typically $2 to $3 from your own bank plus a surcharge from the ATM operator. Some youth accounts waive a set number of these per month.
- Card replacement fees. Often $5 to $25, though the first replacement is frequently free.
Read the fee schedule before you sign. Most of these are avoidable once you know they exist.
If the Card Is Lost or Used Without Permission
Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized debit card use, but the cap depends on how quickly you tell the bank. Under Regulation E:6eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1005 – Electronic Fund Transfers (Regulation E)
- Report within 2 business days of learning about the loss or theft, and your maximum liability is $50 or the amount of unauthorized charges, whichever is less.
- Report after 2 but before 60 days, and liability can rise to $500.
- Wait more than 60 days from the statement date, and you could be on the hook for the full amount of unauthorized transfers that occurred after that 60-day window, with no cap.
The clock starts when you learn the card is gone, not when a charge posts. Teach your child to tell you the moment the card goes missing or an unfamiliar charge shows up. A phone call or an in-app notification to the bank is enough to start the process; written follow-up is a good idea but not a prerequisite.
A Joint Debit Account Is Not a Custodial Account
If you’re only looking for a spending card you control, a joint checking account is the right tool. It’s worth knowing what it isn’t, because the labels sit next to each other in a lot of bank marketing.
A custodial account under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) or the older UGMA is a legally different animal. Money deposited into a UTMA account is an irrevocable gift to the child. You serve as custodian with a fiduciary duty to manage the money for the child’s benefit, and withdrawals are only permitted if they serve the child. When the child reaches the age set by state law — 18 in most states, though some allow 21 or 25 — they gain full, unrestricted access, and your authority ends. Custodial accounts are built for longer-term savings or investing, not everyday spending.
A joint checking account, by contrast, keeps both names on the money. You can withdraw, transfer, or close it at any time.
What Happens When Your Child Turns 18
The age of majority is 18 in most states, with a few setting it at 19 or 21. Once your child reaches it, they can open and manage accounts entirely on their own.
What happens to the existing joint account depends on the bank. Some automatically convert a teen account into a standard adult checking account. Others leave the joint account in place with both names on it until someone requests a change. As long as your name stays on it, you keep both access and liability under the account agreement.
The cleanest handoff, if your child wants full independence and you want your liability to end, is for the child to open a new account in their name alone and either close the joint account or remove you from it.