Debit Cards for Kids

BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend Card + Chore App Review

Written by: Lauren Graves
Published April 23, 2021

BusyKid has been around since 2011, founded by certified financial planner and father Greg Murset. What began as a chore and allowance app expanded into a money management tool that empowers kids to make financial decisions for themselves and gives parents peace of mind when their children make purchases.

BusyKid is a subscription-based product that features prepaid debit cards and an app for managing payments and spending. This card might be right for your family if you pay your kids allowance and want them to have spending freedom.

Read more about the features and benefits of BusyKid below – or see how it stacks up against the competition in our rundown of the best debit cards for kids and teens in 2021.

Who’s It For?

Average age: 5-16

Good Candidate: Kids and young adults that receive money through allowance paid by their parents.

Kids between the ages of five and 16 are eligible to get the BusyKid spend card. And because this product started as a chore and allowance app, BusyKid is best for young users that receive payment from their parents or guardians for chores they complete (whether for individual tasks or on a weekly basis in fixed payouts).

BusyKid makes it easier for parents to pay their children allowance and gives kids the opportunity to learn about money through hands-on, real-world experiences. Families who operate on a system of chores and allowance will get the most out of this product.

Features and Benefits

Fees: $0.50decline/PIN transaction fee, $5 monthly paper statement fee, $5 replacement fee for new cards ($7.99 if replacing with a designed card), subscription fee (see “How Much Does the BusyKid Spend Card Cost?”), foreign transaction/currency conversion fee of 3%, $3 for card to account transfers.

There are many fees associated with a BusyKid account. These are, for the most part, pretty low, but the majority of them can not be avoided.

There are no fees for low balances, inactivity, or monthly maintenance.

For Parents

The BusyKid platform lets parents pay their kids for chores in a couple of ways. They can assign them individual chores to be done during a pay period or give them a flat rate payment every week.

Chores need to be assigned to individual children. BusyKid provides a number of age-appropriate chores and values to choose from, but parents can change how much they pay their kids for each task as well.

Allowance is paid out via weekly paydays, which fall on Fridays. Money for allowance is not automatically loaded onto a child’s spend card.

If a child has gone above and beyond the tasks expected of them or done something great that is not chore-related, a parent can choose to give them a bonus that can be loaded directly onto their spend card or put into a different category.

Parents can encourage their children to save their money by offering savings matching. They can choose a percentage of their child’s savings to match every week and this amount will automatically be withdrawn from the parent’s account and deposited into the selected child’s account on their next payday.

Parents can always track how much their child has earned in allowance, how they’ve spent their money, and when funds are transferred into different categories. They can see this complete account history from their dashboard in the BusyKid app and choose to receive push notifications when their child uses their card as well.

In addition to allowing parents to monitor their kids’ spending, there are a few things they can do to intervene in how their kids spend.

Parents can prevent their children from moving their money between their different accounts (money to spend, money in savings, etc.) by enabling “Money Lock.” Both parents and kids can load a spend card with funds from a child’s account.

Parents can also easily withdraw money from their child’s account from the app or report a card lost or stolen with the tap of a button, which will instantly cancel the card and order a new one.

To avoid decline fees, parents can set up low balance alerts when their child’s card balance approaches $0.

Two parents can co-own one BusyKid account and fund it separately.

For Kids

Kids can choose to Spend, Save, Share, or Invest their money. BusyKid automatically sets percentages of a user’s balance to be distributed to each category based on a user’s age, but these are just suggested amounts. Kids can choose how much money to allocate to different uses for themselves (or parents can do this for them).

However, before a child can designate their money to a category that will move funds outside of their BusyKid account (e.g. loading their card, making investments, donating to charities, etc.), their parent must approve it. Parents can lock these categories to push their child in the right direction as they see fit.

Spend: A child can use their card to spend money using whatever balance they have allocated to this category. When spending, it is not possible to overdraw a BusyKid account. A BusyKid Visa spend card can be used almost anywhere Visa is accepted, including online. Users can load their cards with money from any category.

Save: Kids can also save their money in a savings category. Savings balances do not earn interest (either paid by a parent or by BusyKid), but parents can reward their kids with bonuses or savings matching for saving money and reaching goals.

Share: Kids can also donate their money to charity. They can choose from a list of options selected by BusyKid including the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and the Special Olympics. You can see the complete list of charity options here (charities not on this list are not eligible for direct donations).

Invest: Finally, kids can use their investing money to purchase real stocks that they’ll be excited about. BusyKid partners with Stockpile to provide users with fee-free stock options. Please note that selling a stock incurs a $0.99 fee. Just a few of the companies kids can invest in include Apple, Disney, and Apple. There is a minimum stock purchase of $10.

Cards are not eligible for ATM withdrawals, so a child will never have cash access to the money in their account. Cash back is also prohibited.

Every kid on a BusyKid account can have their own card and PIN. Kids can choose from 10 different BusyKid spend card designs.

How Much Does the BusyKid Spend Card Cost?

The annual cost for a family BusyKid subscription is $19.99. This fee includes all of the services BusyKid offers as well as one spend card. There is no per-kid charge for a BusyKid subscription, but there is a per-kid charge for spend cards.

On top of this subscription fee, it costs $7.99 per year for every spend card in your account. You get one for free when you enroll in BusyKid, but you’ll pay this fee annually for each card after that.

This is the one and only plan. There is currently no free version of a BusyKid account.

This does not include fees associated with card use (e, which you can read about above in “Features and Benefits.”

Benefits of BusyKid Over Competitors

BusyKid is great because it gives users more freedom over what they can do with their money. For one, BusyKid allows users to invest, which not many of its competitors do. Children can also use their BusyKid account to share or donate money to one of many pre-selected charities.

Another benefit of BusyKid over consumers is that it allows for multiple parent users per child account. The primary and secondary parent can work together to ensure that their child is making sound financial decisions and learning.

Potential Drawbacks

If you’re looking for a kids’ debit card that’s free to use, this is not it. Not only does a BusyKid subscription cost money, but users incur fees for things like adding spend cards to their account and making PIN purchases.

Another major inconvenience associated with this product is that the only way to load a BusyKid account is through the BusyKid website or app. It is not possible to add money to an account with a cash deposit or mobile payment through a platform like PayPal.

Another con to be aware of is that all account bonuses and savings matching comes from a parent account, so parents will need to be prepared to spend more than they are paying their kids for chores if they want to encourage good financial habits with monetary incentives.

These cards are also not eligible for ATM withdrawals, which could be quite inconvenient for a child if they need to pay for something with cash or want to pay someone back quickly and easily.

Consumer Sentiment

Real users seem to be generally happy with their experiences with BusyKid. The company has overhauled its customer service in the past year to better accommodate its growing user base, and it shows. Most users have no problem receiving help when they need it and are satisfied with the quality of service they receive.

The BusyKid app isn’t perfect and could use updating. The main things people complain about are that the app requires parents to assign chores to each of their kids, that the app does not show a detailed running balance of a spend card, and that transfers can take a while to appear in their child’s account. Some parents are also frustrated that they can’t choose charities for their kids to donate to themselves (these are chosen by BusyKid).

This app has a rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars in the App Store and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google Play.

To get in touch with customer support, we recommend using the chat feature on the BusyKid site or emailing help@busykid.com. The support team is available from 9 AM to 6 PM (PT) Monday through Friday and from 9-11 AM and again from 4-6 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

You can also leave a message at 833-287-9543. For questions concerning Cliq, BusyKid’s card provider, call 866-634-3044 between 6 AM and 5 PM PT.

Is It Safe?

BusyKid’s parent institution, Stride Bank, is a Member FDIC and all BusyKid cardholder funds are insured up to the federal limit of $250,000.

This debit card is backed by Visa’s Zero Liability policy, which will keep your kids’ money safe if their card is lost or used without their authorization.

How to Sign Up

To enroll in BusyKid, just fill out an application with your personal information and set up a payment account.

You fund your account by linking a checking account, credit card, or debit card upon sign-up. Credit and debit cards move funds into your account faster but may incur fees; linking a checking account is free but transactions will take a little longer to process.

BusyKid partners with Plaid and Stripe to link bank accounts and credit or debit cards with a BusyKid parent account.

If you want to add more spend cards to your account, you will need to pay the annual fee of $7.99 per additional card on top of the subscription fee of $19.99.

Final Thoughts

The BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend Debit Card offers more flexibility for kids than other cards like it and a good number of parental control options. BusyKid may not get as much attention as products like Greenlight and FamZoo, but it competes fairly well with other prepaid cards for kids in terms of accessibility, safety, and features.

BusyKid is essentially a chores app with money management features, so it is best for families that use allowance systems to pay children. If this sounds good to you and you don’t mind paying subscription and account fees, you may be a good candidate for this BusyKid spend card.

FamZoo Review – Build Strong Financial Habits Early

Written by: Lauren Graves
Published February 22, 2021

If you’ve shown any interest at all in getting your kids their own debit cards, you’ve probably come across FamZoo. The FamZoo prepaid debit card is flexible and easy for kids to use, and it is accompanied by an app designed to help parents teach their children valuable financial literacy skills.

FamZoo seems to be gaining popularity, but it isn’t new—this company has been doing business since 2006, and what started as a father making an allowance app to more easily pay his kids has turned into a highly-rated financial product. But is FamZoo a good fit for your family’s needs? Keep reading to find out.

Who is FamZoo For

Average age: Kids ages 12 to 18

Good candidate: Parents who want to play an active role in teaching their children about money management and children who are motivated to learn more about financial literacy and practice

FamZoo claims to be “perfect for all ages,” but it is ideal for older children and teens. With that said, all ages are permitted, there are just different rules for how children in certain age groups are verified and allowed to use these cards. The three age groups are Young Child (<12), Teen Child (13 to 17), and Adult Child (>18).

Young Child: If your kids are less than 12 years old, they may not have a debit card in their own name but may use a card issued in their parent’s name. In this instance, your child may use this card as they would their own and track their spending in the FamZoo app, their card just won’t have their name on it and you may need to verify your identity for certain purchases. According to FamZoo, more than half of all users are younger than 13.

Teen Child: If your kid is between the ages of 13 and 17, they need to pass a teen verification test to prove their identity. Users in this age bracket may have cards issued in their own names.

Adult Child: Yes, your children can still be FamZoo users after turning 18, they just need to provide a little extra documentation. Adult child users are required to complete an adult verification test before their card can be activated.

When your child moves into a new age bracket, you will need to arrange for them to get a new card and complete any necessary identity verification processes.

Features and Benefits

Fees: FamZoo does not charge overdraft fees (this is a prepaid debit card and overdrafting is not possible/permitted), non-cash reload fees, low balance fees, or ATM withdrawal fees.

The two FamZoo products offered are prepaid debit cards and IOU accounts. The prepaid cards can be loaded with money to be used to make purchases and the IOU accounts can be used by parents to track the money they owe their children without actually putting these funds in a separate account.

For this article, we’ll stick to covering the prepaid cards, but you can read more about the FamZoo IOU accounts here. Each FamZoo account may have both prepaid cards and IOU accounts, but you do not have to use both products if you don’t want to.

For Parents

At least one parent is required to open a FamZoo account, and this parent becomes the account holder and receives a funding card of their own. The parent then must load their card via bank transfer, direct deposit, cash, etc. as this is what they will use to pay their kids.

Parents load their kids’ cards from their funding account. Many parent users choose to make automatic transfers from their cards to their kids’ to pay them an allowance or compensate them for completed chores and jobs. Each automatic transfer can be awarded on an age-based, fixed, or combination basis. Parents can also make transfers instantly between their card and a child’s at any time or kids can request money themselves (more on this below).

To incentivize saving rather than spending and teach their children about compound interest, parents can pay their kids interest on money they put away. This amount is set and paid by parents, paid out at the interval of their choosing.

Another interesting feature of FamZoo is that parents can also charge their kids or penalize them for certain things. This can be a good way to encourage kids to complete chores on time and/or teach them early on to help pay for services they use and share with the family, like internet and phone bills. Parents can also loan money to their kids informally and schedule automatic debits for repayment, even charging interest.

Parents may choose to give each of their kids a single card of their own or to give their children multiple cards each to be used for different purposes.

Whenever a child uses their card, their parent is notified immediately. Users can have these alerts sent to multiple people via text or email. Alerts include detailed information about how much money was spent, where it was spent in terms of location, and at what vendor it was spent.

Cards can be instantly shut off and re-activated from a parent account as well. If a transaction is ever declined, parents are given detailed summaries of why it was declined and whether any follow-up action needs to be taken (e.g. putting more money on a card or making sure their child knows their pin number).

For Kids

Every FamZoo child user can use the money on their card in three different ways: they can spend it, save it, or donate it to charity. These spend categories allow children to practice simple envelope budgeting techniques by giving all of their money a purpose. They can allocate a percentage of their earnings to each category and have all the money they earn automatically split into these categories.

If a child decides that they need more money on their card, they can request a reload themselves. The parent may approve this request as is, approve it but change the amount of money, or decline it. Both kids and parents can leave notes on such transactions to keep track of what requests have been made and why.

Kids can set savings goals for themselves and use savings projections provided automatically by FamZoo to see how long it will take them to reach a certain goal.

Kids can also create budget categories for themselves to practice good spending habits. They can make budget proposals for the entire year and submit these to their parents for approval, and their parents can then help them adapt their budgets as they see fit.

FamZoo prepaid debit cards can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted, including online.

FamZoo Costs and Pricing

Have your kids chip in on the FamZoo bill!

FamZoo pricing is for families of up to four children. The standard monthly fee is $5.95 for a FamZoo account with four cards, but you pay less per month if you pay in advance.

Here’s a breakdown of pricing when you pre-pay:

6 months: $25.99 or $4.33/month
12 months: $39.99 or $3.33/month
24 months: $59.99 or $2.50/month

When you pay month-to-month, you can cancel at any time. If you need to cancel but have paid in advance, you will need to call for a refund.

Other potential charges to be aware of are:

Cash reload fee of up to $4.95
Additional card fee for each card after the first four you get for free of $3
Card replacement fee of $3 each time after the first two free replacements

Right now, you can try FamZoo with prepaid cards for one month at no charge or FamZoo IOU accounts for two months for free.

FamZoo VS Competitors

FamZoo is definitely one of the most educational kids’ debit cards out there. It gives parents total control and there are many opportunities to make notes on transactions, purchases, and other actions. The detailed record keeping aspect of FamZoo is one of the major benefits of this product over others.

Another pro of this product is that these prepaid debit cards don’t need to be funded by a parent account. They can also be funded via direct deposit if they have their own source of income. Also, the parent account itself can be loaded in a variety of ways including direct deposit, bank transfer, cash, and debit card transactions.

FamZoo VS Greenlight

The Greenlight debit card is another popular option for families. Here is a side by side comparison of the two options:

Item	FamZoo	Greenlight
Monthly Fee	$2.50 – $5.99	$4.99/family
ATM fees	$0	$0
Allowance Payment/Control	Yes	Yes
Interest Distribution	Yes	Yes
Custom Card Design	Not Offered	$9.99
Card Replacement Fee	$0	Up to $3.50

If you pay monthly and have a family of 4, Greenlight beats FamZoo on price, however, if you opt for FamZoo’s “pay-in-advance” plan, you’ll end up saving more with the FamZoo plan.

FamZoo VS BusyKid

BusyKid is another popular choice for families looking to introduce debit cards to their kid(s). Below is a side by side comparison of the two options:

Item	FamZoo	BusyKid
Monthly Fee	$2.50 – $5.99	$0 – 19.99/year
ATM fees	$0	Not Eligible
Allowance Payment/Control	Yes	Yes
Interest Distribution	Yes	No
Custom Card Design	Not Offered	Not Offered
Card Replacement Fee	$0	$5.00

BusyKid started as an app designed to motivate kids to save, invest, donate and spend the allowance they earn doing chores around the house. The Spend Card was introduced by BusyKid in October 2017.

Potential Drawbacks with FamZoo

FamZoo is certainly one of the best kids’ debit cards on the market from an objective standpoint, but it’s not for everyone. For example, this product requires parents to manage their kids’ spending closely and approve/deny requests. If you’re not going to take full advantage of all the tools available to you with FamZoo, you might be better off using a different card and app that is a little more hands-off.

However, it goes without saying that the more time you’re willing to commit to educating your children about how to manage their money responsibly and guide them through real-world experiences, the more they will learn.

FamZoo is also a little more expensive than some of its competitors. There are free products that you can use to teach your kids about money management and kids’ debit cards that cost a bit less.

As with many products like this, families with multiple kids get a bit more bang for their buck. If you are most interested in getting the best price or you only have one child and don’t feel this service would be worth it, check out some great alternatives like the Jassby virtual debit card and the Copper debit card in our article about the top 12 best debit cards for kids.

Consumer Sentiment

The FamZoo blog and website are packed with positive reviews from users, and you can also visit the site and read posts written by users about their family’s experiences with the product.

FamZoo service receives high praise from the majority of customers as well. Most consumers say they are happy with the support they receive as well as the promptness of service. FamZoo also has a private community of users on Facebook that you can join with questions about the product or tips for other parents.

The FamZoo app is available for both Android and Apple devices. In the App Store, the FamZoo app has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. On Google Play, the FamZoo app has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Overall, consumers agree that the app is easy to use and functional.

Is FamZoo Safe?

All FamZoo prepaid debit cards are federally insured by the FDIC up to the limit of $250,000.

In terms of protecting your kids from making unsafe purchases or losing money to scams, FamZoo is also safe in this respect. All purchases are protected by the Mastercard Zero Liability policy.

Parents can also take necessary precautions against having their child’s identities compromised by requesting “on-behalf-of” cards for their child instead of a card issued in their child’s name.

How to Sign Up

To create a FamZoo account, register your family here and enter your information for verification. After doing this, just add prepaid cards to your account for your family and enter payment information for your plan. As soon as your cards arrive in the mail, they’re ready to use.

If you have any questions about signing up or registering, you can refer to the FAQs or watch a tutorial video on the FamZoo site.

Final Thoughts

FamZoo is an excellent kids’ debit card because it offers more real-world money management experiences than the average product like it and comes with more educational resources. The FamZoo platform is very collaborative so this product is best for families that want to work together—parents with time to teach and kids excited to learn. This debit card is packed with features and comes at a value that’s hard to beat.