Seeking experience with debit cards for teens

[Pen]

Problems that I should know about?

 

Hidden fees?

 

Point of sale transaction fees? (Can they be used by teens at point of sale or online or is that restricted?)

 

Benefits?

 

Ways to help teen start off on right foot with managing bank account etc.?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ds has had one for a couple of years now.  He has it set with a minimum balance alert that tells him and me (I'm cc'd on the e-mails since it is a custodial account) if he goes below $15.00.  He can use it online and in stores.  There is no fee.  Custodial accounts often don't have the fees that "adult" accounts would normally have.  But all of that can depend on the bank, I think.  

[EKS]

The problem we had was that my son used his to go online and purchase forbidden items.  That was the end of the debit card.

[Scarlett]

My 15 yo old has one. Has had it for about 6 months. It has worked out great. So much easier for me to not have to constantly worry if he has cash while he isn't with me. It doesn't have over draft protection so if he runs out of money it will be declined. I am the custodian on the account so I can see every transaction. I also can easily transfer money to his account if I need to reimburse him. Or money out if he owes me.

 

He has ordered things on line, but he asked my permission first.

[Okra]

I think debit cards for teens are great.

 

 The one thing about ours that is tricky is that it's associated with a  "high school checking account"  At the age of 19 this automatically gets switched over to a "College checking account" which has fees.  The kids need to go in and switch to free checking (they have to be 18 to do this)  before they are nineteen to avoid the fees associated the "College checking account"  

 

Just a sneaky way to make more money in fees I guess.

 

But, other than that, I think that the debit card for teen has been great.

[Rebel Yell]

Problems that I should know about?

 

Hidden fees?

 

Point of sale transaction fees? (Can they be used by teens at point of sale or online or is that restricted?)

 

Benefits?

 

Ways to help teen start off on right foot with managing bank account etc.?

 

A lot of that will depend on your bank.

 

Two of mine have student checking accounts under their own name with me as a second "name" on the account. (BabyBaby is not yet old enough for a checking account.) The debit cards have the Visa logo, and are accepted just like a Visa up to the daily transaction limit (I think $250.00 for Visa purchases, $100 for ATM) (or the total account balance, assuming no overdraft protection) and also as a debit card with a pin number.

 

No hidden fees- all very simple, free account with no minimum balance through our bank. Using ATMs for cash withdrawals at non-OurBank ATMs may have a fee, but that is disclosed on-screen before the transaction is completed, with the option to cancel.  My girls know that it makes more sense to go to a grocery store and buy a $1 candy bar and use the "cash back" option on the debit card than it does to pay a $3 fee at the ATM- plus at many store you can just get $5 cash back with a purchase. No pesky $20 burning a hole in their pocket, KWIM?

 

I have no idea what "point of sale transaction fees" are, nor why teens would not be allowed to do this.

 

Benefits? My girls don't have to carry cash, pay ATM fees, use our debit cards, remember balances on pre-paid Visa or other "credit" cards, plus we don't have/use credit cards. They learn how to balance a checkbook. Their bank offers free check deposits through a mobile app- they can deposit their paychecks before they even walk out of work! We can add money to their account online if they have an emergency and not enough money in their account. They can also set up overdraft protection so that if they make apurchase and there is not enough money in the checking account it will come from their savings...  just keep an eye on this. It is important to my 20yo especially- she may need to fill a gas tank before her paycheck 'fills' her account.

 

Our accounts are linked online- we have it set up so that we (parents) can transfer money TO their account and also see their transaction history. They cannot see ours, nor transfer money FROM our account. It was great when Diamond was volunteering at a summer camp several hours away- we could add money if her balance was low- and I wondered what was so magical abou tthis place called "Jitters" that she had several transactions there so I checked out their website :coolgleamA:

 

The only downside with this particular account is the transaction limit. When Diamond bought her iPhone, she had to give us the money and we used our debit card (higher limit) to make the purchase, but this is rare that she or my other daughter spend that much money in one day.

 

Other downside is BabyBaby is not yet old enough for a checking account or debit card in her name, but she wil be soon!

 

It has helped mine get off on the right foot for managing their accounts- but they do have to be taught. When Diamond was 15 at the camp her fellow volunteers (age 14-college) were amazed that she had a checking account and knew how to balance it. :huh:

[katilac]

We don't use debit cards, so my oldest teen has a credit card linked to our account. 

 

She can use it anywhere; it's no different than our own credit cards. Transactions from all 3 cards show up on the same monthly statement. 

 

We don't pay any fees, and balance is paid off monthly. 

 

She pays us in cash at home when she uses it for extra Starbucks, etc.  

[Julie Smith]

My boys have them. But they both have me carry them in my wallet.

 

Eldest doesn't spend money he keeps in the bank, and he puts all his large sums of money in the bank.

 

Youngest likes buying things sometimes. But if he is going to spend his money I obviously have to be with him.

 

The cards have no fees.

[Pawz4me]

A lot probably depends on your bank or credit union.

 

I started custodial savings accounts for both of our boys shortly after they were born.  When they were teenagers I started them custodial checking accounts with debit cards.  Those accounts will remain custodial until I remove my name from them.  We've had no problem at all, but they don't use their debit cards a lot.  Mainly just for getting cash.  We've also provided each of them with a credit card and prefer that they use those for most transactions.  There are no fees on their checking accounts/debit cards other than if they withdraw money from an ATM that's not part of our network.  And under most circumstances (but not all) those fees are refunded.  There is no difference in a teen with a debit card and an adult with a debit card as far as the transactions that can be made.  The daily cash withdrawal limit probably depends on your banking institution and/or whatever limit you set for that.

[Guest]

We have a custodial account for college girl and will be making one for DSs as soon as he gets his Lerner's Permit. It has no fees for five years, when it becomes their own account. I really love this, because I can manipulate money from the Virtual Wallet, which lets my college kid use the debit for books or personal needs. She also puts her money from working in that account but keeps it in the savings until needed. I have not had problems so far with her misusing the card, or probelms with theft. Which is not to say those things could not happen, but we are okay so far.

 

P.S. It would be easier to use a credit card that we obtained for her, but I like this better at spresent, because debit directly and immediately affects her bank balence. This is good training, I think.

[BlsdMama]

You should probably have a good handle on how kiddo behaves with money.  Will they balance their account?

 

Both my two oldest have debit cards associated with their checking/savings accounts.  They are with our local credit union.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Put a block on being allowed to overdraft.  You have to opt out of overdraft protection.  In that case it won't let you overdraft.  Otherwise they charge INSANE fees. 

 

I have never encountered a place that charges any kind of fees for using a debit card.  

 

Benefit is that it offers similar protections as credit cards in terms of fraud.  I was reimbursed for purchasing something on-line that turned out to be from a fraudulent/fake company. 

[regentrude]

We had a VIsabuxx card through US bank (sadly, they are closing the program) for several years and it worked great. It was free, money transfer instantaneous, accepted like a credit card.

The only drawback: don't have  them get gas with the card! If you use it to buy gas at the pump, the gas station puts  a hold on a substantial chunk of money, and those funds don't get cleared until a week later, so the money is there, but not available.

[Guest]

We got a no-overdraft debit card for my son at age 16.  He went crazy ("Hey, imaginary money!") and then had to use cash for awhile and then he got the card back and he's been totally responsible about using it.  (Kinda like what happened to me when I got my first credit card...I spent :::gasp::: $100 I didn't have.  It was fairly easy to get straight in both cases.)  He has gotten bit twice and both instances were due to subscriptions her purchased...the monthly payment rolled around and...the service got cancelled because the bank didn't have overdraft on him.  That was when he learned to keep $100 in his account and call it $0.  It's his own backstop.  

 

He doesn't balance his account, but then, I never have either.  He can tell you to the penny how much is in and out, however, because he has that online access on his phone, and he keeps close track.  Frankly, at this point, I am pretty sure he has a better handle on his account than I do on mine.  

[Guest]

:::snip:::

 

The only drawback: don't have  them get gas with the card! If you use it to buy gas at the pump, the gas station puts  a hold on a substantial chunk of money, and those funds don't get cleared until a week later, so the money is there, but not available.

 

I did not know this.  This is good information for ME.  

 

In the past, we got gift cards for gas stations for my son; maybe it is time for him to do that with his own debit card now.  And me too, for that matter.  

[Upennmama]

Huh. I didn't know you could do this. My bank will only let people over 18 have checking accounts/cards.

[SebastianCat]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but at what age did you get your teen a debit card?    Did they have a source of income (like a part time job)?   Just thinking about when this would be appropriate for my 13-year-old, whose only source of income right now is allowance and Christmas/birthday gifts.....but who is itching to get a job when he's old enough, to start saving for his first car.

 

Thanks!

[Guest]

As far as age goes, I think my son had a checking account at age 15 or so.  Maybe it was 16.  I've never heard of a bank not allowing this; it has to be under your account or you have to be "joint" on it, or something until they are 18, but I can't believe the bank has nothing for a teen.  When we signed up my son, it was like a shark tank--they wanted to get him signed up so they would be his bank when he got the chance at 18.  Maybe it was 16.  But good grief, *IIII* had a checking account when I was in high school and that was back in the Dark Ages.

 

[regentrude]

In the past, we got gift cards for gas stations for my son; maybe it is time for him to do that with his own debit card now.  And me too, for that matter.  

 

But those gas cards are a rip off (at least at the gas station I checked with): first, you have to pay tax on the amount for which you buy the card, and THEN you pay sales tax again on the gas when you pay with the card.

 

[Guest]

But those gas cards are a rip off (at least at the gas station I checked with): first, you have to pay tax on the amount for which you buy the card, and THEN you pay sales tax again on the gas when you pay with the card.

 

WOW.  You are giving me all kinds of information.  So how do YOU pay for gas?  I'm learning a lot here!

 

(And I'm going to check because I think when I paid for the gas card, I did not pay tax...but I will double check it...  I usually have a decent eye on this kind of thing, but if this one slipped by me, I do thank you for the alert!)

[Butter]

Problems that I should know about?

 

Hidden fees?

 

Point of sale transaction fees? (Can they be used by teens at point of sale or online or is that restricted?)

 

Benefits?

 

Ways to help teen start off on right foot with managing bank account etc.?

 

YMMV due to different banks and their policies.  My teens have debit cards through USAA.  It's been a great experience.

 

No fees at all.

 

Debit cards can be used at POS or on-line.  It's the same as anyone using a debit card.

 

They're doing really well managing their money on their own.  They keep track of how much they have.  We've been really happy.

[regentrude]

WOW.  You are giving me all kinds of information.  So how do YOU pay for gas?  I'm learning a lot here!

 

Credit card. Always. (We like the miles and pay off every month).

So, if teen car needs gas, we either take it to fill up or send teen with our credit card to swipe.

 

 

Maybe your gas card is different. I checked into ours a few months ago, because I thought it would be convenient for DS to have one, and decided against it because of the double taxation.

 

[Guest]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but at what age did you get your teen a debit card? Did they have a source of income (like a part time job)? Just thinking about when this would be appropriate for my 13-year-old, whose only source of income right now is allowance and Christmas/birthday gifts.....but who is itching to get a job when he's old enough, to start saving for his first car.

 

Thanks!

DD got this custodial account at 16. I tried to get it for DS this past summer, because he earned a fair amount of money, but they need an official photo ID, which we don't have at present. So we're going to go back once he has his Learner's.

 

One thing to be careful of, which I did not know, is don't let the child's account sit inactive. We had a saving account for my son since...not sure when, maybe 12, but he put some birthday money in and then let it sit inactive. When, this past summer, we put his earnings from his summer job in, the bank waned me that this account was on probation and would have soon been turned over to the state as unclaimed money. (! Say what?) So the lesson to me is, if your kid is young and will not be using the account much, it may be better to wait until they will incur regular expenses and deposits.

[Guest]

Credit card. Always. (We like the miles and pay off every month).

So, if teen car needs gas, we either take it to fill up or send teen with our credit card to swipe.

 

 

Maybe your gas card is different. I checked into ours a few months ago, because I thought it would be convenient for DS to have one, and decided against it because of the double taxation.

 

We use credit cards too, like cash, for everything, and pay it off at the end of the month.  BUT the cash price for gas is like $.10 less...)

 

The same used to be true for debit cards, but it is not true anymore...some law was passed that ended the practice, so now the price is the same as for credit cards.  So one might as well defer the payment.  

 

Also, my dh wonders if you use the debit card as a credit card that the hold of a large amount of cash happens.  If you use the debit card as a debit card (eg. you put in the PIN, isn't it a direct transfer?  

 

This is so darn complicated.  

[Pen]

Ds and I both are learning a lot reading this thread!

 

 Thank you to all contributing!

[Pen]

... That was when he learned to keep $100 in his account and call it $0.  It's his own backstop.  

 

...

 

 

Thank you for specifically mentioning this!!!  I do that myself (more than 100 in my case since just my groceries could go over that or an auto payment), but have not thought about it so consciously and did not think to tell my ds to do that.

[Butter]

BUT the cash price for gas is like $.10 less...)

 

<snip>

 

 

Also, my dh wonders if you use the debit card as a credit card that the hold of a large amount of cash happens.  If you use the debit card as a debit card (eg. you put in the PIN, isn't it a direct transfer?  

 

I didn't know there was anywhere that still had a different credit vs. cash price.

 

I believe the answer to his question is yes if you use it as a credit card.  Not all gas stations actually do the large hold.  We've got one chain of gas station near us that doesn't and then we have another chain that does.  We always use a credit card (yay, air miles!) but since I check it daily I always see the authorizations.  The one station authorizes the exact amount of the gas we buy while the other one authorizes $101.  Within a couple days the authorization changes to the actual amount of gas and then it posts a day or two later.  I think it's just the way the gas station makes sure the card is good and has enough credit/money in the account.  I am 99% sure it works the same way no matter if it's a debit or credit card if you tell the machine it's a credit card.  I'm not sure what a gas station does if you input the PIN.

[Pen]

To all of you, whether I was able to "like" or not, please consider your reply "liked"--some of the posts have the like button for me to click on and some do not, I don't understand why or why not.  Before this I only ever noticed that SWB's posts did not have a "like" option.

 

 

I don't want to hijack the thread, but at what age did you get your teen a debit card?    Did they have a source of income (like a part time job)?   Just thinking about when this would be appropriate for my 13-year-old, whose only source of income right now is allowance and Christmas/birthday gifts.....but who is itching to get a job when he's old enough, to start saving for his first car.

 

Thanks!

 

My ds has one as of this morning and is 13. The bank we used seems to allow accounts for age 12 and over with a parent or guardian to co-sign.  He started it with money gotten from a grandparent.  Though he has already earned some money from outside the family at this point.  Minimum deposits at this particular bank were in the neighborhood of $25 each to open a savings and "checking" account (the quotes because he cannot actually use checks). He put more than that in, but could have opened it with less than he had.  It does not allow people under 18 to sign checks, but he can use a debit card, apparently will be able to for all the same sorts of transactions an adult could according to someone on the phone.

 

From this bank he is eligible for a debit card, but not a credit card.  I have used a credit card not a debit card for years, hence was not very knowledgeable about debit cards.  Though my morning learning curve has been pretty steep!

 

It is a fairly small local bank where we could go in in person.  

 

 

Credit card. Always. (We like the miles and pay off every month).

So, if teen car needs gas, we either take it to fill up or send teen with our credit card to swipe.

 

 

Maybe your gas card is different. I checked into ours a few months ago, because I thought it would be convenient for DS to have one, and decided against it because of the double taxation.

 

 

Double taxation?

 

DD got this custodial account at 16. I tried to get it for DS this past summer, because he earned a fair amount of money, but they need an official photo ID, which we don't have at present. So we're going to go back once he has his Learner's.

One thing to be careful of, which I did not know, is don't let the child's account sit inactive. We had a saving account for my son since...not sure when, maybe 12, but he put some birthday money in and then let it sit inactive. When, this past summer, we put his earnings from his summer job in, the bank waned me that this account was on probation and would have soon been turned over to the state as unclaimed money. (! Say what?) So the lesson to me is, if your kid is young and will not be using the account much, it may be better to wait until they will incur regular expenses and deposits.

 

We used a passport for photo ID, though the first time we went in we didn't have it with us and had to go in again.  Also neither of us had his social security number memorized, which was also needed.

 

We use credit cards too, like cash, for everything, and pay it off at the end of the month.  BUT the cash price for gas is like $.10 less...)

 

The same used to be true for debit cards, but it is not true anymore...some law was passed that ended the practice, so now the price is the same as for credit cards.  So one might as well defer the payment.  

 

Also, my dh wonders if you use the debit card as a credit card that the hold of a large amount of cash happens.  If you use the debit card as a debit card (eg. you put in the PIN, isn't it a direct transfer?  

 

This is so darn complicated.  

 

 

I have the feeling that something about these questions might be important for me to understand too, but am not quite sure.

 

I told ds to use his check register to keep track of his payments and will tell him to use the $100 as a minimum amount in reserve rather than $0 in order to avoid the holds and overdrafts problem.

 

Currently by law perhaps, or at least at the bank we are using, overdraft protection is "opt-in" rather than "opt-out" and I will have him keep careful track rather than use the overdraft protection option since invoking it is $30 a pop.

 

Some states apparently do not allow extra fees to be assessed on point of sale charges, but ours does.  Our bank says it does not charge any, but that merchants can do so, though by law that they are supposed to post this fact clearly.  The man from the bank told ds to watch for that and be careful.

 

 

[Pen]

PS if he had had a school photo ID card, that apparently would have worked for a photo id.  As homeschoolers we don't have that (but maybe could have had one made up if necessary). Apparently at least the particular bank we used is not requiring something as official as a passport or learner's permit.

[Pen]

I didn't know there was anywhere that still had a different credit vs. cash price.

 

I believe the answer to his question is yes if you use it as a credit card.  Not all gas stations actually do the large hold.  We've got one chain of gas station near us that doesn't and then we have another chain that does.  We always use a credit card (yay, air miles!) but since I check it daily I always see the authorizations.  The one station authorizes the exact amount of the gas we buy while the other one authorizes $101.  Within a couple days the authorization changes to the actual amount of gas and then it posts a day or two later.  I think it's just the way the gas station makes sure the card is good and has enough credit/money in the account.  I am 99% sure it works the same way no matter if it's a debit or credit card if you tell the machine it's a credit card.  I'm not sure what a gas station does if you input the PIN.

 

 

Wow!  I never knew about that before!  Do you or does anyone reading this know if anything other than gas stations do this?

[Laura Corin]

I set them up with accounts of their own with a weekly direct debit of pocket money from my account into their accounts.  I think that Calvin was about sixteen at the time and Hobbes about twelve.  They each received a debit card which could be used for shopping in person and taking money out of an ATM.  Calvin's could also be used online.  It has worked well - no issues.  Neither is allowed to overdraw.

 

Calvin still has the same account, but presumably it has converted to an adult account.

 

Oh: to encourage saving, the account paid very good interest on small savings (up to a few hundred pounds, I think).  It paid less and less on larger amounts, to discourage parents from putting their own savings into the account.

[Guest]

Another reason to have a debit card (and I know this is far from universally applicable)...  When my son went to a private school, he had the opportunity to go on a "Grand Tour" to Rome.  He *had* to have a debit card for that, or one of the prepaid "credit" cards from Visa or MC.  So I was glad we already had it set up.  Some of the kids ran into a little bit of problems having enough money and their parents were able to transfer money to their kids' accounts and it saved a lot of wiring and cabling and sponsors being put on the spot for "loans."  

 

[Butter]

Wow!  I never knew about that before!  Do you or does anyone reading this know if anything other than gas stations do this?

 

Hotels usually hold more than they charge for the room in case you use the room phone or order room service or whatever else you can charge to your room.

[Pen]

I set them up with accounts of their own with a weekly direct debit of pocket money from my account into their accounts.  I think that Calvin was about sixteen at the time and Hobbes about twelve.  They each received a debit card which could be used for shopping in person and taking money out of an ATM.  Calvin's could also be used online.  It has worked well - no issues.  Neither is allowed to overdraw.

 

Calvin still has the same account, but presumably it has converted to an adult account.

 

Oh: to encourage saving, the account paid very good interest on small savings (up to a few hundred pounds, I think).  It paid less and less on larger amounts, to discourage parents from putting their own savings into the account.

 

 

I wonder if this reflects a different time economically or a different place in the world or just a happy situation with your particular bank.  Our bank is paying 0.05% interest.

 

 

When you say that neither is allowed to overdraw, do you mean that you do not permit it as a parent, or do you mean that the way their debit cards are set up it is not possible to do so?

 

 

I am still not sure what would happen if ds tried to purchase something that is more than he has money for in his account.  We did not sign up for overdraft protection, but I do not know if there would then be some problem that would happen with fees if he accidentally tried to purchase something over the amount he can cover, or if "holds" caused a mess up or something like that, or if the machine into which the card were put would indicate that  there were insufficient funds and refuse to complete the attempted transaction.

[HS Mom in NC]

Our older two have had debit cards that are linked to our account since they were about 13 and 15. We give them allowance twice a week to cover spending money, clothing and cosmetics/personal care items.  Any money they earn goes in there too. The debit card is set to not work if there are insufficient funds. For about a year before they got the debt it cards we had them do a cash envelope system for each category so they could practice managing money and spending less in category to spend more in another.  They had no problem with it so we moved them to the debit cards and have done well with a mistake or two here and there but nothing major.

 

They have another debit card linked to our account they can use to buy groceries, (I text them a list if I need them to pick things up for me on their way home) gas, books, tuition and things like that. They only use that one if they've OKed it with us first.

 

Our bank sends a notice 30 days before an account is closed due to inactivity.  To reactive all you have to do is use it, call the number they list, or use their ATM to check the balance on it.  If it's closed because that piece of mail accidentally got put in the junk pile, they hold those funds for at least a month or two until you reactivate it. 

[Laura Corin]

I wonder if this reflects a different time economically or a different place in the world or just a happy situation with your particular bank.  Our bank is paying 0.05% interest.

 

 

When you say that neither is allowed to overdraw, do you mean that you do not permit it as a parent, or do you mean that the way their debit cards are set up it is not possible to do so?

 

 

I am still not sure what would happen if ds tried to purchase something that is more than he has money for in his account.  We did not sign up for overdraft protection, but I do not know if there would then be some problem that would happen with fees if he accidentally tried to purchase something over the amount he can cover, or if "holds" caused a mess up or something like that, or if the machine into which the card were put would indicate that  there were insufficient funds and refuse to complete the attempted transaction.

 

The high initial interest is to entice people to join the bank when they are young: people are loath to change bank, so getting them young is worthwhile.  We have explained this to the children, and offered to help them change bank later if they want to.

 

The children's accounts at that bank have no overdraft facility.  If he doesn't have the money in his account, the transaction will be refused.  The only time when you get 'holds' in the UK that I know of are in a hotel or when renting a car, so neither of those apply to my boys.

[Pen]

YMMV due to different banks and their policies.  My teens have debit cards through USAA.  It's been a great experience.

 

No fees at all.

 

Debit cards can be used at POS or on-line.  It's the same as anyone using a debit card.

 

They're doing really well managing their money on their own.  They keep track of how much they have.  We've been really happy.

 

We went with a local bank we can walk into. Thank you for mentioning USAA though, since I had not thought to contact them for some reason and already have a relationship with them! If the local bank does not work out well, ds can have the experience of dealing with a distance bank, and also maybe closing an account which is probably just as useful as the experience of opening one.

[Pawz4me]

I wonder if this reflects a different time economically or a different place in the world or just a happy situation with your particular bank.  Our bank is paying 0.05% interest.

 

 

When you say that neither is allowed to overdraw, do you mean that you do not permit it as a parent, or do you mean that the way their debit cards are set up it is not possible to do so?

 

 

I am still not sure what would happen if ds tried to purchase something that is more than he has money for in his account.  We did not sign up for overdraft protection, but I do not know if there would then be some problem that would happen with fees if he accidentally tried to purchase something over the amount he can cover, or if "holds" caused a mess up or something like that, or if the machine into which the card were put would indicate that  there were insufficient funds and refuse to complete the attempted transaction.

 

We were told that w/o overdraft protection the card would be declined if a purchase was attempted and there wasn't enough money in the account to cover it.

[Guest]

We used a passport for photo ID, though the first time we went in we didn't have it with us and had to go in again. Also neither of us had his social security number memorized, which was also needed.

Yeah, a passport would have worked for DS, but his is expired at present and I don't want to renew it yet.

 

Also, a school ID would work, but he doesn't have a photo ID for school.

[goldberry]

DD16 has had one for about 6 months.  No overdraft allowed.

 

She doesn't balance it, but I don't balance my regular checking either anymore. (And I'm a bookkeeper.) We taught her how to check online, etc.  She gets money from jobs and allowance in there, plus I have given her $20 she is to keep in there in case she is out with other families or friends and needs to pay for food.  She has on one occasion overspent into the $20. :glare:  I made it very clear that was not to happen again or I she could just use her own money for food.

 

Here's something though... Itunes apparently lets you overspend and then takes it out of your account later when the money is there.  DD mentioned this casually to me and I about blew up!  I asked her if she would walk into Walmart, walk out with a CD, and say, I will pay you later when I have more money. This had clearly never occurred to her that was what she was doing.  That was toward the beginning though and she is being more responsible now.

[Pen]

DD16 has had one for about 6 months.  No overdraft allowed.

 

She doesn't balance it, but I don't balance my regular checking either anymore. (And I'm a bookkeeper.) We taught her how to check online, etc.  She gets money from jobs and allowance in there, plus I have given her $20 she is to keep in there in case she is out with other families or friends and needs to pay for food.  She has on one occasion overspent into the $20. :glare:  I made it very clear that was not to happen again or I she could just use her own money for food.

 

Here's something though... Itunes apparently lets you overspend and then takes it out of your account later when the money is there.  DD mentioned this casually to me and I about blew up!  I asked her if she would walk into Walmart, walk out with a CD, and say, I will pay you later when I have more money. This had clearly never occurred to her that was what she was doing.  That was toward the beginning though and she is being more responsible now.

 

 

I think I need to know more about this!

[Scarlett]

I have never had my debit card put a hold on excess money.

 

Ds15 didn't need a photo ID to get his debit card with me as the custodian.

[Alessandra]

DD16 has had one for about 6 months. No overdraft allowed.

 

She doesn't balance it, but I don't balance my regular checking either anymore. (And I'm a bookkeeper.) We taught her how to check online, etc. She gets money from jobs and allowance in there, plus I have given her $20 she is to keep in there in case she is out with other families or friends and needs to pay for food. She has on one occasion overspent into the $20. :glare: I made it very clear that was not to happen again or I she could just use her own money for food.

 

Here's something though... Itunes apparently lets you overspend and then takes it out of your account later when the money is there. DD mentioned this casually to me and I about blew up! I asked her if she would walk into Walmart, walk out with a CD, and say, I will pay you later when I have more money. This had clearly never occurred to her that was what she was doing. That was toward the beginning though and she is being more responsible now.

Ds has an iTunes account and it does not let him go over. He was trying to download an inexpensive app, but was short by a dollar or two. He had to wait until he got more money. Perhaps it is different because his iTunes account has never been attached to a credit or debit card, only gift cards?

[goldberry]

I think I need to know more about this!

 

She wasn't paying attention to her balance and bought some music.  The next time I deposited money in her account, it took out the amount she was over.  This actually happened twice.

 

I would guess it would only happen with credit or debit.

[Jean in Newcastle]

She wasn't paying attention to her balance and bought some music.  The next time I deposited money in her account, it took out the amount she was over.  This actually happened twice.

 

I would guess it would only happen with credit or debit.

Did ITunes then take the money or did the bank take the money to cover what it had given temporarily to ITunes?  When we set up my ds' accounts on the bank we were specific that we wanted a notification when he got to a certain balance (leaving him a cushion).  And that we wanted all transactions that would overdraw him on his debit card denied so that he could not overdraw his account.  A credit card would not work the same way unless you go over the maximum credit limit.  

[goldberry]

Did ITunes then take the money or did the bank take the money to cover what it had given temporarily to ITunes?  When we set up my ds' accounts on the bank we were specific that we wanted a notification when he got to a certain balance (leaving him a cushion).  And that we wanted all transactions that would overdraw him on his debit card denied so that he could not overdraw his account.  A credit card would not work the same way unless you go over the maximum credit limit.  

 

She is set up also to deny any overdrafts.  No withdrawal showed on her account until more money was deposited.  It's debit, not credit.

[Pen]

Is this the way iTunes works, or an unusual experience with it? Has anyone had iTunes indicate that there is not enough money left  to cover a transaction?