Teenage Bank Accounts..Why so difficult???

thesmoothound5

I am trying my hardest to set up a bank account for my 13 year old daughter so that she has access to a bank account and an online account. I can't believe how difficult this is proving to be. I have tried Natwest who made it impossible to have an online account and then Nationwide who seemed OK to start with but when it came to setting up an online account, wanted every piece of identification you can think of. Not sure if I have just had a bad experience but would appreciate some suggestions on a bank that can easily deal with this type of account. Thank you. 

rider22

if you have got halifax account then you can apply for kids account with them 

grumbler

And what exactly "every piece of identification" did they want?

Don't know why this is allegedly needed for online banking, but it's normal for any new customer whose identity can't be checked by other means, e.g. for a teenager without any digital trace behind.

Hoenir

Why the neccessity for an online bank account ?  Have you considered a building society saving account. 

pramsay13

My three children all have Nationwide accounts and it was fairly easy to do other than having to go into a branch. 
They will have their reasons so either do what they need done or try someone else. 
If you have a Starling account it's easy to set up a child space that is similar to their own account although it's more closely linked to your account. 

New_in_the_fens

We opened teen accounts with Halifax and Metrobank with no issues. I seem to think we just needed a passport for the teen, then proof of address for a parent with the same surname and address, but it was a few years ago now. The Metrobank was useable online. Can’t recall for the Halifax one. 

Rob5342

Have you tried Starling's Kite account? That will probably be easier to apply for than the old fashioned banks are.

xylophone

Has your daughter tried Santander?

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/123-mini-current-account

Veteransaver

I had similar issues with Lloyds. They insisted I had to go to a branch with my daughter bringing ID etc (yet they've closed loads of branches including our closest one!)

She even already has a kids savings account I  opened for her when she was born!

400ixl

We went with Nationwide, partly due to daughter wanting to be able to use Apple Pay to saving having to carry her debit card with her all the time. Many accounts do not allow Apple / Google pay for under 18's (or at least didn't then).

Application wise we did 90% online and then just had to go into a branch to show ID (Passport) and to get the PIN machine they used.

Pretty straight forward and no hassle other than going to the branch which was 10 miles away, so nothing major.

penners324

Starling offer accounts for teenagers