Best Bank Account for 16 year old

bscousegit

My 16 year old son is starting part time work and needs a basic bank account to pay into. He will want to have a card that he can withdraw money from an ATM and buy items when shopping.

What is the best account - any ideas would be helpful

thecotswolds

Lloyds TSB Under 19s account comes with a VISA debit card.

http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/under_19s_account.asp

hustle90

I'd also recommend Lloyds TSB under 19's account.

skyrider007

A&L and Barclays also do VISA debit card

JPizzle

I've got to agree with all these previous posts. Lloyds TSB are particularly good. Barclays are the poorest of these I'd say. You want an account with a Visa debit and not a Solo or Electron (my opinion anyway).

I don't know of any other bank with Visa debit for under 18s beside these. Does anyone else?

amiehall

i don't really get the obsession with having a visa.... i had a solo when i was younger and the only place i ever found that i couldn't use it was in monsoon. i'm not sure your son is going to find that to be so much of an issue.... you really can use them basically everywhere. even if you find the odd place you can't, it's hardly the end of the world and worth it imo if you like the bank you're with better.

skyrider007

amiehall wrote: »

i don't really get the obsession with having a visa.... i had a solo when i was younger and the only place i ever found that i couldn't use it was in monsoon. i'm not sure your son is going to find that to be so much of an issue.... you really can use them basically everywhere. even if you find the odd place you can't, it's hardly the end of the world and worth it imo if you like the bank you're with better.

I agree with you on this. I used to have a Solo card six years ago when I started banking with HSBC. Today I have a Maestro Card and find that it's accepted at every merchant in the UK (almost no exception at all)! I use my credit card for foreign transactions as it gives better protection.

Don't choose a bank by the type of debit card they offer, consider other factors as well.

hustle90

Lloyds, Barclays and Alliance & Leicester all offer Visa Debit Cards.

Lloyds are great and have some useful features such as save the change.
Barclays I would say is second best. Their customer service isn't up to much, but they give a basic bank account that is easy to use for teenagers.
Alliance and Leicester I wouldn't go with unless you have a branch near you. Their customer service is terrible and their banking service isn't up to much either.

JPizzle

I think there's plenty of advantages of a Visa debit over a Solo/Electron. I have both, and Solo is the worst.

You can't use Solo to buy train tickets (online and at the station)
Places like Pizza Hut etc. don't take Solo or Electron online
You can use a Visa debit as a "credit card" because you can use it anywhere that Visa is accepted. (There's a few shops which only take credit cards, particularly online, including buying from abroad)

Above all, if you have a Visa debit under the age of 18, you can feel big because some adults can't get accepted for them =D (like my dear mother)

hustle90

JPizzle wrote: »

I think there's plenty of advantages of a Visa debit over a Solo/Electron. I have both, and Solo is the worst.

You can't use Solo to buy train tickets (online and at the station)
Places like Pizza Hut etc. don't take Solo or Electron online
You can use a Visa debit as a "credit card" because you can use it anywhere that Visa is accepted. (There's a few shops which only take credit cards, particularly online, including buying from abroad)

Above all, if you have a Visa debit under the age of 18, you can feel big because some adults can't get accepted for them =D (like my dear mother)

Ha, it's great when adults who have wrecked their credit rating, cannot get a Visa Debit and have to use a Solo or Cash Card, and then us teenagers can use our Visa Debits...

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. :rotfl:

bscousegit

Thanks for your replies. Lloyds and Barclays appear the front runners. In discussing the accounts with my son, he says he wants an overdraft. Are there young persons accounts that allow overdrafts?