This article talks about Current, a new startup that’s creating a prepaid Visa debit card for children. The debit card is fillable over a smartphone application, and money is transferred from a parent account to the child’s. The card can be set for reoccurring transfers like an allowance, or for one time transfers. The card is customizable to work at whatever retailers are whitelisted by the parents and even have a virtual savings account that the child can choose to use. One of the ways the article explains this being used is by rounding purchases up to the nearest dollar and putting the extra money into the savings account for later access. The service currently costs $5 per month or $36 dollars per year.
I think this is an awesome idea. I know that when I first got a debit card, I didn’t keep track of my money very well. I would get paid and have no idea how much money was in my account until it was too late. I have spent way too much money on overdraft fees to admit and I think if I was exposed to this type of spending when I was younger, I would have been much better off. It took me years to become better with my money and I have so many financial regrets from back then. If we expose children to what it’s like not to have physical money that you can actually watch disappear, they will be better off. I’m actually kind of surprised that I am so strongly in favor of this idea. I’m usually kind of against having kids access so much technology like cell phones at the age of 5 or tablets for infants. This idea however doesn’t seem to have much of a downside. I’m not sure if children will be able to keep track of the card itself, but even that could be a learning experience for them.
11 Comments
Noemi Cuin
5/10/2017 11:05:23 pm
hi sean,
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Stephen Negron
5/11/2017 05:42:49 pm
Personally, I find this application to be very unnecessary. If my kid wants an allowance, they'll use something more tangible like dollar bills and (if they're still around) coins until they're old enough to understand why money management online is important in this day and age.
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Angela Bomarito
5/11/2017 08:56:44 pm
Hi Sean, I totally agree with you and I think parents and kids could both really benefit from this. This could be an easy solution for if a child is at school or out with friends and they need money quick, or even in the case of an emergency. It was even a couple days ago that my younger sister needed money for something and my dad was 2 hours away, he had to have a friend drop the money off for her. This card could have easily solved that problem.
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Cristina Cachux
5/12/2017 09:59:05 am
Well I think I could be either for or against this technological advancement. I understand the convenience of it for parents and kids to get money fast in case of an emergency. I also agree that this would help children manage money wisely and I too have a difficult time keeping track of money when I just have cash because I have no log of my spending. However, on the other side this may be to accessible for children that they become dependent on easy money.
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Fernando Madrigal
5/12/2017 06:25:37 pm
Hello Sean,
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Akoni
5/13/2017 08:06:56 pm
I'm also torn on this. In one hand, it is beneficial because it can teach kids money management at a young age, and it could come in handy. However, unless the kids are actually working for their money, they could become to dependent on their parents constantly filling up their card, which could teach them the opposite of money management.
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5/14/2017 02:38:02 pm
I think it's a neat idea, but too prone to the pitfalls of children keeping track of their own assets. What if a child loses the card, but doesn't realize it for days? What if someone else gets ahold of it - can they just use it, like any other debit or credit card? I think, if the child it's given to is responsible, it's a good idea. But the most important part would be educating the parents on how to ensure their children get the most out of owning their first ever debit card.
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5/16/2017 07:54:35 pm
This app for money management seems like a good idea because of the automatic savings for the child. However I do not think it will benefit the child in the long run. Now a days, cash management is a huge problem. Swiping a debit card has taken the value away from cash money that is tangible. I think that allowing children to use real cash would be more beneficial because they would see the money and know exactly how much they have in their wallet.
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Alan Garcia
5/18/2017 02:39:06 pm
22
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That is pretty interesting. I would so use that for when my kids become teenagers. You mention how you can only use the card at certain stores, but is the user able to use it to take out cash? If yes, well that that just means it will be easy for the teenager to buy something inappropriate.
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5/21/2017 01:15:01 am
I think its a great idea, teaching kids more responsibility ata young age. I know personally for people whos parents are divorced or separated this would help a lot and money would only the responsibility of the parent they live with but would be more shared.
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