debit card for minors

[knieft]

My 7th grade daughter wanted to open a bank account, primarily to get cash out of the house and be able to access her money with a debit card.

While FHB has a keiki savings account, there is no way she can access it with a debit card. They don't issue them to minors.

Before I call around among the banks and CUs, I thought I'd ask if anyone knows of one that is, shall we say, "minor debit card friendly"?

Cheers,
Kirt

[dlnragent]

My 9th grade daughter is a boarding student at Kamehameha Schools on Oahu, and we faced a similar problem. My bank is American Savings, and has been since BOA closed in Hawaii. I told them that I wanted to open a joint checking/debit account with my daughter, so that getting her money would be simplified. They said that debit cards are not normally issued to people of her age, but since I have been a long-time good customer, they would look into it. Shortly thereafter, I got a call back, and we were able to set up the account as I wanted. Now I can deposit money as needed, and she can either use the card for purchases or get cash from the ATM.

[Bob Orts]

Every financial institution could issue a debit or credit card to anyone under 18 and over 12 if they want.

Minors under 18 are protected from some of their own actions due to age. Financial companies don't want to be stuck holding the bag on a transaction that the minor alone can't be held responsible for. So most require an adult to be part of the deal. This way, all transactions are considered transactions of that adult. The minor is just a user but the adult is the one agreeing to all the terms and conditions. If the adult wants the minor to use the card without direct supervision, the burden is still on the adult. Try opening a joint account or co-signing on the account as the responsible adult.

[PaulW]

Why don't you open an account in your name, get a debit card, and give that to your daughter?
That way she can use it to get cash at ATMs, and then spend the cash in stores without having to show a card.

[knieft]

Thanks for the replies. I am aware of the workarounds, just wondering if there any local banks that actually issued a debit card in a minors name.

I didn't realize that people can "overdraft" a debit card. I thought that when you ran out of funds it would say "insufficient funds" or something like at an ATM. Apparently, when using a debit card at a store it may overdraft, incurring penalty fees...

So...starting a separate account and giving my daughter my card would be the best option, since she couldn't use it at a store anyway.

Again, thanks for the responses!

Cheers,
Kirt

[Bob Orts]

Most banks make as much money on Fees as they do on other lines of business. If they can, through clever marketing, get you to agree to overdraft protection, that's fees waiting to be racked up. If they can get you to agree to cash back purchases as a cash advance, that’s more fees waiting to be racked up. There are many ways to get you to pay them fees upon fees. The smart consumer uses a debit card as it was designed. It's the ones who don't understand and treat it like a credit card that ends up paying those fees.

[csgray]

Wow, times have really changed. When I was 14 I got my first "real" job and used my first paycheck to open up a checking account with no cosigner. At sixteen, I started college 1000 miles from home and opened a different checking account that I used to pay for things like tuition, books, dorm fees and for accessing spending money. Again, with no cosigner.

Have you thought about simply opening a checking account in her name at a credit union and just quietly waiting to see if she gets sent a debit card? If not, she can write checks for most purchases and most stores let you write a check for a little extra if you need cash. She would have to learn how to balance a check book though, something an entire generation has unfortunately never heard of

Carol

[knieft]

Bob,

Yeah, the fees are something else. One of my 6th grade students reported that her older sister used her debit card to buy a dollar's worth of french fries, which eventually cost $26 with a $25 overdraft fee. (The prepaid credit/debit cards are absolutely absurd with the fees as far as I have seen online--and don't have to disclose them--yikes!)
dinragent,

That sounds like a good story from a banking institution! Any problems occur?

Carol,

FHB won't open a checking account for a minor whatsoever, even with a parent co-sign. Not sure about other banks. I have also heard that CUHawaii will issue minors debit cards--unsure of the details.

We will likely use Paul's idea, which will prevent her from using it anywhere other than an ATM. Except online, I guess.

Thanks again,
Kirt

[PaulW]

"Except online, I guess"

Scratch out the security code on the back before you give it to her!

[knieft]

PaulW,

Why didn't I think of that? Brilliant.

Cheers,
Kirt