Banking for pre-teens

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I scanned the recent posts but couldn't find any good information on banking for kids. We're looking for accounts for our pre-teens where we can deposit their monthly pocket money (automatic deposit keeps us from forgetting!), they can deposit babysitting and birthday money, and they can access their money (and information about it) easily and cheaply. The following features (roughly in order of importance) would be nice:

* ATM card (with debit card/point of purchase features if possible)
* Low/no minimum balance and no fees
* Easy transfers among accounts and with our accounts at distant banks to deposit pocket money
* Ability to withdraw from many (all) ATMs fee-free (with fee rebate if possible)
* Local branches a bonus, especially if they'll take loose coins from kids without a fee.

USAA seems to have a great program but we're not military so not eligible. Do any of the (many, many) banks and credit unions around have anything suitable? Are there national banks which have good things in this line (ours doesn't)? Googling is not easy since many of the programs are targeted at older teens or have ATM cards which charge fees for withdrawal at local ATMs.

Thanks so much!

Comments

[angerona.livejournal.com]

We've settled on UTMA (Uniform Transer to Minors Act) accounts for our kids. Most (every?) banks have those. They are linked to parents' accounts. They don't necessarily come with ATM cards, but, because of the ease of moving money back and forth, we basically act as ATMs for kids: they give us money to "deposit" and we move money from our account to theirs right away on a cell phone app or online. Same for withdrawing: if they need more cash than we have on hand, we take it out with our ATM cards and move the money from their account to ours using the app.

Not ideal, but it works. It's annoying that those accounts don't come with any interest at all (but no fees, either).

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

My teen has a custodial account at Rockland Trust in Davis Square. Not sure about all of your bullet points, but they do take loose coins, which you drop into a coin-counting machine. It's free. (In fact, I think it's free even if you do not bank there.)

At any rate, I love this bank. The people there are incredibly helpful, and they even give dog treats! It's probably worth talking to the employees there about your needs because they are very helpful, and the bank is not a large, institutional bank, so they work harder, I think, to meet the customers' needs.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

Rockland trust sounds good. Do they get an ATM (or even debit) card to access their own account or do you have to serve as their cash source?

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

There's a special account for people under 18. I think it meets most of the points you listed:
https://www.rocklandtrust.com/personal/savings-and-cds/18/65-savings

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

DCU has checking accounts with ATM cards available for kids age 12 and over: https://www.dcu.org/personal-banking/youth.html They have their own ATMs in all the Rite Aids, plus up to $5/month ATM-fee reimbursement.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

I came here to say this. I use them as my backup account. They are local, have nearby ATMs (branches are out in the suburbs though), and don't charge fees for their free checking account.

When I signed up ~8 years ago, I did have to donate I think $10 to some charity to become eligible to open an account since I didn't meet any of their eligibility requirements. I'm not sure if that is still required, though.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Cambridge Savings Bank has a Simple Savings account (https://www.cambridgesavings.com/personal/savings/simple-savings/) with a $10 minimum that comes with an ATM card and 0.05% interest, and they refund other banks' ATM fees. There's a location in Porter Square.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

The East Cambridge Savings Bank has pretty good accounts for kids, but I don't know if they offer ATM cards.

- Megan

I second East Cambridge Savings Bank!

[tartarylamb.livejournal.com]

Kids with the child's savings account get $10 on their birthday every year until they turn 18 from East Cambridge. The account is free, and they do get a debit card. For adults and kids over 18, East Cambridge has a free checking account with adjoining savings account with a small minimum balance. (My son had about $300 in savings to start. I'm not sure if even that amount was necessary for the account to be free.) There is a fee for boxes of checks after they use their first 10 checks, though.

My husband and I also have had our checking account there for several years and have never had any fees other than paying for checks. This is the only bank I've had money in that has ever called me to invite me to an art show opening in our neighborhood branch.

RE: I second East Cambridge Savings Bank!

[tartarylamb.livejournal.com]

PS On looking back at your list, I realize I should add that ECSB is part of the SUM network of banks, so I think there's no fee when you use an ATM at a SUM bank. I linked my kids' accounts online so I can transfer money easily between my account and theirs. We haven't brought any loose change there, but my kids liked putting coins in coin rollers, so we did that.

[siderea]

I'd like to put a good word in for the East Boston Savings Bank at Rindge and Mass Ave. I don't know if they have a product specifically for kids, but they have free checking and savings accounts ($50 to open, no minimum to stay open), with ATM/debit cards. They're fee-free on the Allpoint network. Allegedly the ATMs in the Davis CVS and Tedeschi are Allpoints, but I haven't tried them. Don't know about transferring funds. The people in the branch are super nice and helpful, and I'd be surprised if they charge a fee for taking loose coins.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. All the local options all seem to give a raw deal to the under-18s (even worse for under 13, although sometimes no worse than their bad deal for adults). In the end, the best seemed to be the MONEY account from Capital One: no age limit, no fees, free debit card with ATMs in CVS and Store 24, etc. the only disadvantage is that deposits and transfers have to be made by the adult, and there's no local branch, but that's not too bad.

Thanks again for the suggestions and I hope this can help someone else in the future.