Today, Earning and spending money is a prevalent thing among teenagers in the present world. But lots of teenagers didn’t have an idea about money management. Actually, this is not a good thing for their future life as adults.
In the present society, this is really a big problem arising among teenagers. The question is, How do we manage money as teenagers? And what are the best ways that help them to grow as financially independent people in the future? As a teenager, we can open a checking account. Surely it helps to be a financially independent person in the future. Everyone has this problem in childhood; how can we gain knowledge about money management.
Luckily now teenagers and their parents can be guaranteed that teenagers can learn critical banking skills before they enter the real world with the support of the best checking accounts for teens. Also, parents can monitor their expenditures by establishing account parameters.
What is a teen checking account?
A teen checking account is for kids between the ages of 13 to 17. The teen under 18 with a bank account should have parents or legal guidance as to the co-owner of the account. Typically the adult co-owner has the power to set the limits as they need, and also, teens have the freedom to access the account using their debit card that has been provided by the bank.
And so on, There can be some extra features and tools made for budgeting and saving. But these features depend on the bank. By things like this, It is easy for adult co-owners to help their teens to build those skills in real-time.
Features that we are looking for in a teen checking account.
As parents, you have a responsibility to find out the best teen checking account for your teens. So we have listed out some features to ensure that you find the best account for your kids.
- Extra fees – Definitely, we all like to find an account that has no charge of monthly service fee or anything extra. So attempt to find the best matching account for your teen and also concentrate on things like fees for ATM use, overdrafts, nonsufficient funds, paper statements, and replacement debit cards.
- ATM access – ATM networks are beneficial for all of us. So it is always important to keep in touch with the ATM network and pay attention to the ATM fee, only if you have to pay it.
- Debit card – Check whether account suppliers provide two debit cards for the adult (co-owner) and teen owner. In addition, always check the purchase limits and withdrawal limits of teens’ debit cards. And if you are using a mobile wallet or have an idea of that, don’t forget to check that your card can be used for that.
- Mobile and Online banking ability – Most of Today’s teens like online banking. And mobile and online banking also help to reduce time-wasting. Nowadays, most banks have pages dedicated to their online and mobile banking products to make things easy for users.
- Parental tools – As the co-owner of the account, parent, or legal guardian, they should check how much execute power they have when accessing the teen’s account.
So when you are choosing a teen checking account, firstly, you should decide what you require. Then you can easily find out the best account that matches your requirements. To find you the best teen account as you wish, we have listed the best teen checking accounts in each category, along with a description of each account’s qualities.
Best online banking for teens: Capital one 360 money
- Monthly fee – $0
- Minimum deposit – $0
- Mobile Application – Yes
Capital one 360 banks provide some best online offerings which higher interest rates and fewer fees than their other traditional accounts. In this account, it has no monthly fee or a minimum value to have but can earn 0.1% APY on all balances. However, Capital one teen checking account is also available for kids age above 8 as kids checking account. When opening an account, teens should sign with their adult co-owner. The co-owner of the account does not have to be a customer of the bank to complete this task.
We can easily open an account and has online accessibility too. Teens and adults also can work with the Capital one mobile banking app using their own login information. Teens have access to monitor their checking account, and also they can set saving goals as they wish while parents can use the app to pay their teen’s allowance, track the account and also they can lock and unlock their kid’s debit card as their need. The Capital One account offers a Mastercard debit card to the teen’s name. Using that card, they can make free withdrawals at any Capital One or Allpoint ATM.
Best brick-and-mortar Teens checking account: Chase High School Checking
- Monthly fee – $0
- Minimum deposit – $0
- Mobile Application – Yes
Chase High School Checking account can open for teens between 13 and 17 with their parent or legal guardian at a chase branch. Chase bank has many branches spread in 38 states and the district of Columbia. Teens must have an adult to create an account, and the teen’s checking account is linked with the qualifying Chase account of the adult (co-owner).
The Chase teen account comes with a debit card, but this has some transaction limitations as well. This has limited to $400 in purchases, $500 in Chase in-branch ATM withdrawals, $500 in other Chase ATM withdrawals, and $400 in non-Chase ATM withdrawals per day. Otherwise, The Chase account is straightforward, and there are no monthly charges and no need to have a minimum value to open the account. Mobile banking is easy with the Chase mobile app, and it also contains alerts for transfers, transactions, purchases, and more.
The teen account will automatically convert to a Chase total checking account after the teen owner’s 19. Then teens have a right to keep or remove the co-owner of the account. Also, teens have a chance to convert their account to a Chase College Checking account if they qualify.
Best teen checking for overdrafts: Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking
- Monthly fee – $5, or $0 when the primary owner is 13-24 years old
- Minimum deposit – $25
- Mobile Application – Yes
Wells Fargo’s new teen checking account is the best overdraft checking account. With Clear Access Banking, it doesn’t allow overdraft protection or services, so there’s no risk of over-drafting the account, and also, there are no overdraft or non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees to worry about. Teens offer a free debit card from the bank. They can use it to pay bills as well as online payments. But there is no capability to check-writing. Always keep in mind the ATM chargers levied by the Wells Fargo bank. You will have to pay $2.50 for the use of local ATMs, and also $5 for the use of non-Wells Forgo international ATMs.
It would help if you visited Wells Fargo bank to open an account for your teens. Teens age between 13 and 16 are definitely need an adult co-owner to open teens checking accounts, while teens age 17 or above can open an account with or without a co-owner if you like.
Best credit union for a teen checking account: Alliant Free Teen Checking
- Monthly fee – $0
- Minimum deposit – $0
- Mobile Application – Yes
The Alliant Free Teen Checking account has no monthly fee and no minimum deposit or balance requirement to open an account. Also, the Alliant Free Teen Checking account can be named as one of the best bank accounts for teens between the ages of 13 to 17 in every way. As long as you enroll in eStatements and receive at least one electronic deposit into the Free Teen Checking account, you can earn 0.25% APY on all balances the same way as the credit union’s adult High-Rate Checking. The joint co-owner of the checking account has the ability to access the account fully. Also, the co-owner can set up the transaction alerts as well as account owner is the only one who can handle the outgoing transfers.
Bank has provided two free Visa debit cards for both teens and the adult co-owner. Alliant Credit Union will provide up to $20 per month in ATM rebates, and also you have the ability to use your debit card at over 80,000 ATMs for free. Here you can get a minimum of $100 withdrawal per day from an ATM, and you can spend a maximum of $300 per day from your debit card. However, most parents appropriate these limitations, while some teens have different ideas about these limits. So it is important to discuss anticipated spending levels before opening an account. Also, Alliant mobile app is handy for any teen to manage their account because the mobile app comes with smart tools to manage spendings and budgeting.
Both teens and adults must be Alliant members. Also, Alliant membership is open to employees and retirees of qualifying companies, members of qualifying organizations, immediate family members or domestic partners of an existing Alliant member and also anyone who lives or works in a qualifying area in Chicago and those who become members of Foster Care to Success (whose dues Alliant will pay for you).
Best teen checking account for military kids: USAA Youth Spending
- Monthly fee – $0
- Minimum deposit – $25
- Mobile Application – Yes
USAA’s Youth Spending account is a good solution for teens from military families. This is military-only teens checking accounts, and Parents who already have an account in this bank can open their child’s account at the same institution. Surely this is a good asset for the teens of military families. There is no matter where the family goes because after the kids turn in to 18 old, the accounts will automatically transition into a full-fledged USAA Classic Checking account.
You need to deposit a minimum of $25 to open an account. Also, there is no monthly fee for this teen checking account, as well as no minimum balance required after opening the account. Parents can sign up to the account for alerts, and also, they can transfer money to the account, and parents have the right to give permissions to their kids to transfer money and make deposits or not. The bank offers a debit card, and it can be used over 60,000 USAA-friendly ATMs without any charge. However, the adult co-owner has the ability to limit or disable debit card usage by their kids.
What should I do to my bank account when I reach the age of 18?
After you come to the age of 18, you can transfer your money to your own account if you don’t want your parents to access your accounts. However, sometimes there may be fees to close your account, and it depends on the bank you choose.
So you can gain a lot of knowledge about the best teen checking accounts in 2021 after reading this article. Let’s comment on your thoughts below in the comment section!
