New Debit Card Aims To Teach Teens Financial Responsibility
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There's a new kind of prepaid debit card on the market that's targeting kids and families, and the vendor says its primary purpose is to help make youngsters more fiscally responsible.
Tami Farrow with TD Bank says this TD Go card that has a minimum balance of $20 and a maximum balance of $2,000 is a far cry from those Kardashian debit cards (see related story) that were on the market a few years ago which had exorbitant user fees.
"There's an enrollment or purchase fee of $4.95 and every time you load the card there is a fee."
Farrow says there's also an ATM fee, but these cards are meant to be used more so as a learning tool.
"What we want to do is have this be a partnership and an opportunity for parents to talk with their children about finances and how to live on a budget and start to manage their money."
Shawn Needham, with ClariFi, a financial literacy company says, "While the cards are convenient, we think that parents should strike a balance with their kids and encourage cash use as well. Typically, you are going to spend more when you don't see the money you're spending and it just goes onto a card."
Not only can parents put money on the card, they can track their kids spending online. "The card actually has a website interface that allows parents to go on and set up alerts and also review transactions. And that's true for the teens as well, they can take a look and see where they have been spending."