Children's Pocket Money - Bank Account or Prepaid Card (like GoHenry)?

sweetdaisy

Hello,  wondering if anyone has some opinions re: pocket money/children's bank accounts?

I have two sons (11 years old and 8 years old).  They don't get pocket money, but I'm looking to give them pocket money each week in lieu of doing some chores around the house and for them to realise the value of money.  I've been looking into the prepaid credit cards i.e. GoHenry, Rooster Money, Nimble, Osper etc but they seem quite expensive.  However, I can see the appeal of these cards as they have Apps so that the children can see what chores needs to be done, view balances online etc. Unlike when I was young, I would go to my local Bank on a Saturday morning and withdraw any pocket money I needed, our local Bank is 10 miles away and due to children's sports activities on a Saturday morning, we are unable to make it before they close. 

As the eldest is 11 years old he can qualify for the Natwest Adapt Bank Account with card (I bank with Natwest so would rather use the same Bank), but as the youngest is 8 he can only have an account where he gets a physical piggy bank.  Whilst the eldest will be happy with this as he gets a card, the youngest won't be.

Another reason for me wanting to get a pocket money account is that since my eldest son started Comprehensive School and 'pays' for his dinner using his thumb it's taken a while for him to realise he can't continue spending the maximum allowance of £6.00 a day on school lunch.  Thankfully, the novelty of it all has calmed down and he now spends around £4.00 a day, but I want him to 'see' what his school dinners costs me each week.

Are these Prepaid cards worth the costs associated with them? I carry little cash on me so trying to find the exact amount of cash each week for pocket money is going to be difficult?  Any opinions/recommendations are appreciated.

alissiamik

Hello, actualy many parents have the same questions)) It can be a long discussion about pros and cons of cash or children's bank account. I have another point of view, reality is about cashless society and it might be easier for a child to grasp the concept of saving via an app, cause the fact that the app allows kid to set savings goals will encourage to save his/her money rather than spend it. Also it (app) allows children to keep track of exactly when and where they spend + inform parents via notificantion.

george9071

When i was younger i had the HSBC MyMoney account it was really good, comes attached with a savings account and from 7 years old you can get the savings account once they turn 11 they can get the bank account attached to that. Have a look at each bank (High Street or not) and have a look at the prepaid to get a good idea of what will be best.

colsten

MSE article on the subject: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/cards-for-under-18s/

tehone

Why was my post removed from this thread? I can see a few others were removed too. Do posters not get told> Its only because I bookmarked the thread that I've noticed
It was fundamentally my opinion on which I thought was better (based on having done exactly the same process about a month ago)

tehone

Thanks to the mod team for replying to me (my post mentioned it was possible to get a referral), so totally my fault.

Annoying it was a long post that had a lot of other useful info, so it a shame that those few words couldn't be deleted, or if I had been notified with a copy of my post, I could have done it myself.

Very short answer below

Yes I think its worth the money for a card / app. I personally recommend Rooster as thats the one I chose when looking at all the various options.

OP - if you have further specific questions - PM or post and I'll answer in thread

colsten

tehone said:

OP - if you have further specific questions - PM or post and I'll answer in thread

You are quite desperate for that referral, aren't you.

jonesMUFCforever

Just my opinion here, why would you want to pay a monthly fee for an account with somebody like Go Henry when you can operate an account with all high street banks for free?

glider3560

jonesMUFCforever said:

Just my opinion here, why would you want to pay a monthly fee for an account with somebody like Go Henry when you can operate an account with all high street banks for free?

I guess you're paying for the "added value" of the app: both child and parent can see transactions, they can set up goals, etc etc.

IMO, it would be better to get them a proper bank account and teach them how to run this properly.  It will set them up better for adult life.

sweetdaisy

Thank you for all of your replies, it's been very helpful.  After a lot of consideration I'm not going to go with the Prepaid cards such as Go Henry, Rooster etc.  I'm thinking that whilst it sounds very good and the Apps look appealing, I am reluctant to pay the charges that come with it.  Besides, I think that the novelty of the apps will fade quickly.

As the eldest Son is 11 he's eligible for the Natwest Adapt bank account with debit card and the youngest Son who is 8 will get a Natwest Pigby First Saver account in trust until he turns 11, then he can get an Adapt account.

tehone

colsten said:

tehone said:

OP - if you have further specific questions - PM or post and I'll answer in thread

You are quite desperate for that referral, aren't you.

Not at all, I don't care about it at all. I just thought there might be specific questions that the OP had that I might be able to help with. TBH I was more annoyed at forum staff not just saving the rest of my post - it takes time and effort to post to help others (and thats what I thought I was subtly having a dig at)

e.g. I like the feature that allows others to deposit to the the Rooster card via a bank transfer using a normal sort code and account number -  its one of the reasons I chose it, but I think its quite a niche consideration. In contrast I was a bit disappointed it couldn't be custom printed like I think the GoHenry card - swings and roundabouts.

some words as apparently body is too short to post