Greenlight Card for Kids Review
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Greenlight is a wonderful option for parents who want to teach their kids more about money.
8/10
Cost
8/10
Features
9/10
Ease of use
8/10
Services
8/10
When kids begin to talk, they tell you exactly what they want, no holds barred. "Gimme candy!" "I want that!" "No!!" As a result, I've sometimes had the urge to never, ever go into a store with my kids. (Seriously, online shopping has saved my sanity!)
And yet, that's not a sustainable lifestyle if you want your kids to learn money management. So, my husband and I introduced an allowance to our preschooler. First, we had to decide when, how, and how much to give.
Ultimately, we landed on $5 per week in cold hard cash. The idea of money he could touch and smell appealed to us, plus we didn't need to worry about the security aspect of a lost or stolen card. But as my best friend recently pointed out, we should prepare our kids to live in a cashless society.
That's where Greenlight comes into play. This review explains how.
Related: The Best Digital Wallets
In this article
What is Greenlight?
The Greenlight card is a prepaid debit card designed for kids and issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, an FDIC-insured financial institution.
The kids get a personalized card they can use almost anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Parents can set controls, receive notifications on spending, and easily send money. The overall goal of the card seems to be helping parents raise financially savvy kids in a safe environment.
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How does Greenlight work?
To start with Greenlight, you'll simply need to enter a mobile phone number on their homepage, www.greenlight.com.
Note: Greenlight doesn't accept VoIP numbers, so it won't work if you have a budget phone carrier like Google Voice, Ting, or Republic Wireless.
As part of the registration process, you'll need to:
- Download the Greenlight app for Apple or Android
- Set up your parent account with a compatible mobile phone number, email address, and password
- Add kids (up to five) to your Greenlight account
- Provide your physical address, date of birth, and SSN to verify your identity
- Fund your wallet by connecting your account balance with an online bank account ($10 minimum load) or debit card ($20 minimum)
Once logged in, you can add funds to your child's account and set up chores, allowances, spending controls, and savings goals. You can also opt for biometric verification, so the security setting will require TouchID or FaceID when you open the mobile app.
Your child's card should arrive within seven to 10 business days after opening your account. When it does, you'll need to activate it using the app.
How much does Greenlight cost?
Plan | Monthly cost |
Greenlight Core | $4.99 |
Greenlight Max | $9.98 |
Greenlight Infinity | $14.98 |
As you can see, multiple plans are available, and each comes with a 30-day trial. After that, the most affordable plan is called Greenlight Core. The monthly fee is $4.99 per family. It includes debit cards for up to five kids, a credit card for parents, and 1% savings rewards.
For $9.98 per month, kids and parents are introduced to investing with Greenlight Max, which bumps up the savings reward to 2% and adds 1% on purchases.
And if you're willing to spend just a bit more, you can sign up for Greenlight Infinity for $14.98 per month. You'll get all of the above plus perks like family location sharing, SOS alerts, and an option we hope never comes into play: Crash detection, which automatically dispatches 911 when a crash is detected.
As for other fees, they're pretty nominal. ATM withdrawals are free, card replacement costs $3.50 after the first, and a custom card costs $9.99. Since it's a prepaid card, there are no overdrafts, transactions, or other hidden fees.
Greenlight features
Convenient chore management
As a parent, you can create chore lists in the app and even reward chore completion with money.
Easy transfers
Parents can automate allowance and instantly fund their child's account whenever needed.
Direct deposit
If your child receives money from a job, they can set up direct deposit, so their paychecks go directly to their Greenlight account.
Charitable giving
Children can donate money to a charity through the app from their giving account.
Spending controls
Parents can set spending limits (including store-specific limits) to help manage their child's spending. They'll also get real-time notifications whenever and wherever the card is used.
Educational app
In the app, children can track their balance and view progress on chores anytime. In addition, kids learn the value of money management by saving and spending while supervised by a parent.
Motivation to save
Kids can organize their money in a spending and savings account where they can:
- Set up and track personal savings goals
- Learn to save more with the roundup program
- Earn interest from parents
- Earn 1% savings rewards from Greenlight (2% with the Greenlight Max plan)
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Who is Greenlight best for?
Parents who want to teach their kids about money. There is no minimum or maximum age to use the Greenlight Card. Parents who want to teach their kids more about money may appreciate it the most. It's not the most cost-conscious option for parents looking for a simple way to give their kids an allowance. However, it does provide a convenient one-stop shop for money-teaching tools, savings goals, etc.
Younger teens who want a card, not a checking account. Greenlight is also ideal for elementary or middle-school-aged kids looking for money independence but not ready for a full-fledged checking account. Greenlight allows parents more oversight than a traditional debit card. Plus, kids can use the card virtually anywhere and get instant transfers from parents when allowance time or funds run low.
Who shouldn't use Greenlight?
People when need or want to build credit. Greenlight is a prepaid debit card, so it's really like money on training wheels. It doesn't report to the credit bureaus as a credit card company would. It won't help anyone build or maintain a positive credit history.
Older kids. For teenagers, Greenlight might seem kind of gimmicky. While the investment plan is pretty cool, there are still a lot of parental controls over kids' spending. An older child might find the parent approval thing awkward, especially since parents are notified every time the child's card is used—including when, where, and how much is spent.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Convenient. The app makes it easy for parents to transfer and monitor funds.
- Secure. Parents can set spending limits and turn the card off or on from the app.
- Educational. Kids learn how to budget and save using the app.
Cons
- No credit reporting. Greenlight does not help kids build credit.
- Costs a monthly fee. There is no free plan.
Greenlight vs. competitors
Account | Features | Monthly cost |
Greenlight | Parental controls, chore management, savings rewards, spending notifications | $4.99 to $14.98 |
FamZoo | Collaborative budgeting, chore management, child bill pay, informal loan tracking | $5.99 (discounts available for paying 6 months to two years upfront) |
GoHenry | Chore management, split the check, receive monetary gifts directly to the card from family and friends | $4.99 |
FamZoo
FamZoo is also a prepaid card for kids. Funds are shared between family members, and collaborative tools include budgeting, savings, reimbursements, chore management, and "child bill pay" (billing kids for their portion of a shared bill, like a cell phone bill). Like Greenlight, there are no overdraft fees.
GoHenry
GoHenry (also a prepaid card) gamifies the process of money management for kids ages 6-18 with videos, quizzes, and Money Missions. Teens may like the fun card designs and the ability to send and receive payments from friends or family. GoHenry also manages chores, transfers money, sets allowance, donates, and tracks spending.
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- Sign up for FREE & complete your profile
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- $55k+ Paid to Survey Junkie members daily
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FAQs
Does Greenlight pay interest?
Technically no, Greenlight doesn't pay interest per se. But they do offer a savings reward of up to 3%, depending on your plan, which can help kids understand the concept of an interest rate and compounding growth.
Is Greenlight safe to use?
Greenlight offers robust safety features like blocking unsafe spending categories, biometric verification, and the ability to turn the card off from the app instantly.
Can kids use Greenlight without a cell phone?
Yes, kids can still use the card without a cell phone. They can download the app onto an iPad or tablet to view their account.
The bottom line
Greenlight is a wonderful option for parents who want to teach their kids more about money. The tools embedded in their app make it easy to save and track spending, manage chores, and give allowance automatically.
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Writer
A veteran wordsmith and research nerd, Brittany Wren spent a decade working in higher education where she helped people overcome challenges to chart a path forward. These days, she writes about personal finance, careers, parenting and education. Her content has been published by a wide variety of brands including T-Mobile, Intuit, LifeLock, Reliant Fund Administration and CURO Financial Technologies Corp.
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