An under 18 prepaid card offers lots of the same benefits as a traditional credit or debit card but is available to teenagers. Learn more about this type of card by reading our guide.
If you’re a teenager, managing your money can be tough. You may have a part-time job or allowance and you need to keep control of your spending. Or, you may be away from home and reliant on your parents to fund you. That’s where the prepaid card for teenagers comes in.
The benefits of prepaid cards for 16 year olds
When you open a teenage prepaid card account you choose how much cash to load onto your card.
You can then use the card in much the same way as a traditional debit card – buying goods and services online and on the High Street and withdrawing cash from an ATM – but you can never spend more than the money you have loaded onto the card.
This means that it is easy for you to keep control over your spending and to work to a budget. It also helps you save money by giving you the ability to buy from cheap online retailers.
And, if you’re a parent, using an under 18 pre loaded cash card can help you transfer money to your child when they are travelling or when they are studying at college or university.
Finding the best prepaid cards for teenagers
The criteria for taking out prepaid cards differ from provider to provider and many companies have a minimum age of 18 or 21.
So, if you’re looking for a cash card for under 18 year olds, heading online and carrying out a comparison of the leading prepaid cards for 16 year olds is the answer.
When you are looking for a teenage prepaid card, make sure you take the following into account:
- Fees and charges such as the initial cost of the card, any fees for ATM withdrawals and any charges for topping up your card
- The minimum and maximum amount that you can load onto your card
- Whether the card offers telephone, branch or online banking
