Debit Card Review for Kids

Greenlight Debit Card Review

Helping kids understand finance and money management is the driving force behind The Greenlight debit card. This online bank makes it easy for kids and parents to monitor sending, pay allowances and to learn the essentials of personal finance.


What is Greenlight?

Greenlight is a fintech company that launched in 2014 by co-founders Tim Sheehan and Johnson Cook. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia and has more than 3 million users.

Greenlight works to enhance financial literacy among families across the country. Their primary offer includes a debit card that parents can use for things like paying allowances and monitor spending.

With the Greenlight card, kids have the chance to learn about spending and saving, and the other services offered by Greenlight can help kids learn the basics of investing

 

How does Greenlight work?

The Greenlight debit card is designed for kids to use. Parents can easily fund the debit card using the Greenlight app on Android or IOS.

Manual or scheduled automatic transfers are optional. Parents also set the terms for adding money, which could include requiring chores, getting good grades, or just providing an allowance.

The Greenlight app is accessible to both kids and their parents, but they see different information when they log in. For instance, parents can see your child’s sending activity and easily monitor balances and purchases.

If investing is included, you can approve each trade. When your kids log in, they can see their balances and set savings goals. The objective is for your child to learn about money management with fun and easy to use tools in the Greenlight mobile app.

Greenlight card spending and saving balances are Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insured up to the limit of $250,000.

On the investing side, Greenlight is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is also a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

So although there’s no guarantee against decisions you and your kids make about money, you are protected in the event that the Greenlight company fails.