Does anyone have any experience of go-henry

tickety-boo_2

As title really. I have come across this site, on my facebook newsfeed, offering pre-paid visa facilities for children over 8. There is a monthly fee from parents of £1.97 (free for first month) and aims to increase financial independence in children in this ever changing world before they can actually qualify for debit card facilitys from most major banks.

I havent heard of it til now, am interested as my youngest is 10 and not quite old enough to have a debit card/cash card from the bank she saves with.

Does anyone have any experience please? Tia

JKSandy

Never heard of it but I can't think of any situation my ten year old would be in that they would need their own debit/credit card.

I'm all for financially educating our children but not making them financial independent at such a young age.

alanq

A couple of years ago the media was discussing the pktmny (apparently text speak for "pocket money") card for children. pktmny.com now redirects to gohenry.co.uk so I assume that this is a rebranding / development of the former offering.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2237324/Would-child-pocket-money-Visa-raft-fees.html

I thought that GoHenry was going to be about a vacuum cleaner!

ozzage

This looks like a terrible idea and a credit card "gateway drug", preparing them to spend spend spend off plastic in later life.

"Aims to increase financial independence"?? Sorry this is a marketing ploy!

maninthestreet

An 8 year old with a debit card? I've heard it all now...

Archi_Bald

Why should kids not be buying their sweets with a contactless card? Not much difference to using their pocket money. Though actual pocket money might help them learn their maths better than using a card.

It must be the parents' decision when they feel their kids are ready for a card.

"Spending off plastic" isn't anything terrible - - in fact, it can be a lot smarter than spending cash.

FireWyrm

I would be inclined to get the child familiar with cash. From debit cards is a short hop to credit cards and it is almost as bad as buying a toy dyson vacuum cleaner, ranking little better than product placement. I'm pretty sure I wouldnt pay a monthly fee for the 'service' either. I dont agree with this push to make us all use cards and from experience on DFW, a significant majority of adults cant handle them properly anyway.

Archi_Bald

FireWyrm wrote: »

from experience on DFW, a significant majority of adults cant handle them properly anyway.

One contributing factor is perhaps because nobody ever taught them how to use cards properly.

I am not saying cards is the be all and end all - - kids need to learn about all methods of payments, and how to use them responsibly.

FireWyrm

Archi_Bald wrote: »

One contributing factor is perhaps because nobody ever taught them how to use cards properly.

I am not saying cards is the be all and end all - - kids need to learn about all methods of payments, and how to use them responsibly.

It isnt rocket science. One doesnt get taught lots of things, you just pick it up. What might be more of a contributing issue is that when you spend money on a card (debit or credit), it isnt real in your mind. If you spend cash in hand, then you are seeing that cash disappear and you have a visual cue that the money is being spent and how much is left. This is the problem. Kids are more circumspect spending £1 if it is a coin, than if they are spending virtual money on a card. The problem could be solved very easily with technology by adding a screen to the card which tells you what your balance is, although even that wouldnt give you much of a feeling of having 'spent' the money. Most people who pull themselves out of the mire do so by going to cash and ditching all cards. I'm not convinced that 'education' has any more to do with it than it does with lowering teenage pregnancies and the arguments to do with using cards, have as much validity as the argument that teenagers are going to 'do it' so you might as well teach them safety precautions. How about teaching them that all actions have consequences and just because you can, doesnt mean you should.

Archi_Bald

FireWyrm wrote: »

One doesnt get taught lots of things, you just pick it up.

Perhaps one should get taught a few more fundamental things, such as how to use plastic, incl. the dangers of racking up credit card bills and overdraft charges.

tickety-boo_2

thank you for the helpful replies. My op was asking if anyone had any experience of it, not whether you thought it was a good idea or not. jees...