The Age Rules, Year by Year
There is no minimum age. You could have had a savings account the week you were born — a lot of kids do, and they have no idea. What changes as you get older is not whether you can have an account. It is which one, and how much of it is yours to run.
Here is the part nobody explains: until you turn 18, a parent has to be on the account with you. That’s not the bank being annoying. It is a law about contracts — until 18 you can back out of almost any agreement you sign, so the bank won’t hand you one on your own. At 18 that rule just switches off.
| Your age | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| Savings account: yes, with a parent · Debit card: not yet, usually | |
| Any age under 10 | You can open one today — there’s no minimum age. Ask to go in person; walking up to the teller with your own money is the good part. |
| 10 to 12 | Most big banks make you wait on the card. Credit unions are the ones most likely to say yes, so ask your parents about a credit union specifically. |
| Savings account: yes · Debit card: yes, with a parent co-signing | |
| 13 | The birthday to circle. Teen checking with a real debit card opens up, and so do two accounts that let you actually invest. |
| 14 to 17 | Same as 13. A parent is still on the account — that doesn’t change until you turn 18. |
| Savings account: yes · Debit card: yes — and no parent needed | |
| 18 | It’s all yours. Any custodial account someone opened for you comes to you around now, too. |
So if you are asking “how old do I have to be?” — the honest answer is you are already old enough for a savings account, and 13 is the birthday to circle for a debit card.
Can a Kid Have a Bank Account?
Yes — and the table above says at what age. What the table does not tell you is what you actually 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 runs into 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). Some credit unions will give a kid a debit card, so ask your parents to look for that specifically if that’s 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.
Which Money Goes Where?
- Spending money → wallet or debit account.
- Goal money (saving for something) → savings account, where it’s harder to reach and quietly earns interest.
- Really-long-term money → ask about investing — savings accounts are for safety, investing is for growth.
Parents: the account-by-account choice, the age table for grown-ups, and what to bring to the bank are all in Bank Accounts for Kids: A Parent’s Guide and the app comparison.
Where to go next: Bank Accounts for Kids: A Parent’s Guide — the grown-up version — show this one to a parent; How to Save for Something You Want — why having an account makes saving easier; Money Words for Kids — interest, deposit and the rest of the bank words; and Is This a Scam? — nobody should ever ask you for your account number.
References & Resources
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- NCUA: MyCreditUnion.gov — The same protection at credit unions, called share insurance, plus a tool for finding credit unions with youth savings programs.
- CFPB: Money as You Grow — What money skills fit which ages, from a government consumer-protection agency rather than a company selling an account.
- SEC Investor.gov: Save and Invest — Why saving and investing are different jobs, explained simply.
- 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.