When I was a teenager, my mom gave me a flat amount of money each week. I was to use it for lunch and extras, and it had to last the entire week.
Fast forward to 2017, when lunch accounts can be managed by parents and only 35 percent of teens held a summer job. So it seems that there are fewer opportunities for youth control their own money.
Yet, fiscal responsibility is one of the lessons that most parents desire for their teens.
A student bank account is one way to encourage financial responsibility and money management. Actually, a study by Money Matters on Campus suggests that young adults should be provided with opportunities to gain financial experience managing a bank account, ideally before college. The same study suggests that the hands-on experience of maintaining a bank account is more effective than financial literacy classes.
That said, here are five national banking chains that offer student accounts. Be sure to check with locally and regionally operated financial institutions, as well as credit unions.
- Debit card: Yes
- Linked to parent account: Yes. Parents can control limits on purchases and withdrawals, as well as check account activity online or on a mobile phone.
- Age Range: 13 to 17
- Minimum Initial Deposit: $25
- Monthly Fee: $3, waived if the customer elects to receive online statements.
- Debit card: Yes
- Linked to parent account: Yes. Parents can view transactions, as well as make transfers to a student account.
- Age Range: 13 to 17 years old at account opening with a parent/guardian who is a co-owner and who has an existing qualifying Chase checking account.
- Minimum Initial Deposit: $25
- Monthly Fee: $6 or $0 with a linked qualifying personal parent/guardian checking account.
- Debit card: Yes
- Linked to parent account: Check with bank
- Age Range: Students under the age of 24 in high school or college
- Minimum Initial Deposit: $25
- Monthly Fee: Students under age 24 are eligible to have this fee waived while enrolled in high school, college, university or a vocational program.
- Debit card: Yes
- Linked to parent account: Yes. Parents can monitor account activity online.
- Age Range: Under 18
- Minimum Initial Deposit: $0
- Monthly Fee: None
- Debit card: Yes
- Linked to parent account: Yes. Parents can monitor account activity online, as well as deposit money to the teen's account.
- Age Range: Minimum age 16
- Minimum Initial Deposit: Check with bank
- Monthly Fee: Check with bank
Full disclosure: The author is a Chase Bank customer. There are no affiliate links or any related compensation received for this article.
