Early Life Investments, LLC
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Early Life Investments
Early Life Investments
A Family Financial Head Start

“The best time to build lifelong money habits is when you are young. The second-best time is today.”

Educational only: The author of Early Life Investments is not a Certified Financial Planner. The content here reflects the author's personal opinions and experience and is for general educational purposes only. Read the full disclaimer.

Kids' Corner — Banking

Can Kids Have Bank Accounts?

Yes — and it might be the best home your money has ever had. Accounts, debit cards, and interest, explained.

The Short AnswerYes — kids of any age can have a savings account (opened with a parent), and around 13 most banks offer teen accounts with a real debit card. Your money is safe there: insured, trackable, and out of your little brother’s reach.

Can a Kid Have a Bank Account?

Any age, with a parent on the account too. You get: interest (the bank pays you a little for keeping money there), an app to watch your balance grow, and government insurance that protects the money even if the bank itself has trouble. Bringing your jar to open your own account is a genuinely great day — ask the teller your questions; explaining accounts to new savers is literally their job and they love kids who ask questions.

Can I Get a Debit Card at 10? At 13?

At 10, usually only through kid-card apps your parents subscribe to (Greenlight and friends). There are some credit unions who will provide kids with a debit card so ask your parents to look for this option specifically if this is what you want.

At 13, real banks and credit unions start offering teen checking with a debit card a parent co-signs. A debit card spends your own money — when the account hits zero, it stops. That’s different from a credit card, which spends borrowed money and is a grown-up tool with grown-up traps.

Here is the part most kids never hear: at 13 there are also two accounts that give you a debit card and let you actually invest — the Fidelity Youth Account and the Schwab Teen Investor Account. Both are free.[3] With Fidelity the account is yours, and a parent watches. With Schwab you and a parent own it together, and you both have to be in on it.[4] Either way you can buy a tiny slice of a company, ETF or Mutual Fund and watch what happens to real money that belongs to you. Ask a parent to read the comparison of teen accounts with you and pick one together.

What to say to your parent“Can we open a savings account for me at your bank or credit union? I want to deposit my own money and watch the interest. And when I’m 13, can we talk about a debit card?”

Which Money Goes Where?

  • Spending money → wallet or debit account.
  • Goal money (saving for something) → savings account, where it’s annoying to reach and quietly earns interest.
  • Long-long-term money → ask about investing — savings accounts are for safety, investing is for growth.
Card rulesNever share your card number or PIN with friends, never type it into sites your parents haven’t okayed, and if money disappears from your account, tell a parent immediately — banks can fix fraud fast when it’s reported fast.

Parents: the account-choosing details are in First Bank Account for Kids and the app comparison. Back to Money Questions for Kids.

References & Resources

  1. FDIC: Consumer Resource Center — How deposit insurance protects money in a bank, and the $250,000 per-depositor limit. Parents can confirm any bank is insured with BankFind.
  2. NCUA: MyCreditUnion.gov — The same protection at credit unions, called share insurance, plus a tool for finding credit unions with youth savings programs.
  3. Fidelity Youth Account — Ages 13–17, owned by the teen, no account fees or minimums, with a debit card. A parent or guardian must have their own Fidelity account to open and monitor it.
  4. Schwab Teen Investor Account — Ages 13–17, opened as a joint account owned by the teen and a parent together, with no subscription, maintenance, or minimum-deposit requirement. Launched March 2026.
  5. CFPB: Money as You Grow — What money skills fit which ages, from a government consumer-protection agency rather than a company selling an account.
  6. SEC Investor.gov: Save and Invest — Why saving and investing are different jobs, explained simply.
  7. Account rules, ages, and fees were checked on 1 August 2026 and can change. Have a parent confirm the current terms before opening anything. Early Life Investments is not paid by, and has no affiliation with, any bank, credit union, or brokerage named here.