BusyKid
- Best for: Families who pay allowance for chores and want it on a kids’ card for one yearly price
- What Sets It Apart: Chores and pay rates preset by age, with giving and investing included in one yearly price for the whole family
- Investments: Pieces of more than 4,000 stocks and funds; $10 minimum purchase; no commissions; account in the parent’s name
- APY: 0%; no interest on savings or card balances
- Features: Weekly payday a parent approves, or an automatic allowance; Save, Share, and Spend split; Savings Match; up to five Visa prepaid cards; card money eligible for federal deposit insurance through Pathward
- Monthly Fee: $4, billed as $48 a year for the whole family; no refunds
- Cost: $1.50 per ATM withdrawal; 2.9% plus 30 cents to fund from a debit or credit card; $2.50 per foreign purchase, plus 3% in another currency; $5 card replacement
- Eligibility: Built for kids 5 to 17; investing for U.S. citizens only
- Pros: One price for every kid; parent approval of card transfers, donations, and trades; investing included; Savings Match
- Cons: No interest or savings goals; $1.50 per ATM withdrawal; no direct deposit; investment account in the parent’s name
Get BusyKid if you pay your kids for chores and want that money on a prepaid card for one yearly price. The $48 fee covers the whole family, up to five cards, and stock investing. Skip it if you want interest, savings goals, or a place for a teen’s paycheck.
BusyKid is a chore and allowance app for kids 5 to 17, with a prepaid Visa card to spend what they earn. Each Friday a parent approves the week’s pay for finished chores, and the money splits among the app’s Save, Share, and Spend areas by percentages the parent controls.
Key Features
- $48 a year for the whole family, paid up front with no refunds
- BusyKid Visa Prepaid Cards for up to five kids, issued by Pathward, with card money eligible for federal deposit insurance through that bank
- Chores and pay rates preset by age, or an automatic allowance with no chores
- Investing in pieces of more than 4,000 stocks and funds, with a $10 minimum purchase and no commissions
- Adding money free from a checking account, or for 2.9% plus 30 cents each time from a debit or credit card (88 cents on $20)
Pros
- One price covers every kid in the family
- A parent approves each chore payday and each transfer to the card, donation, or stock trade a kid asks for
- Investing at no extra cost
- Savings Match lets a parent add a percentage of what a kid saves each week
- Relatives can send money through a QR code the kid shares, paying $1 plus card fees
Cons
- No interest on savings and no savings goals
- $1.50 per ATM withdrawal, plus any fee the machine’s owner charges
- No direct deposit, so a teen can’t have a paycheck sent there
- The investment account is in the parent’s name, not the child’s
- Money moved back to a parent’s account takes 5 to 7 business days
Families who pay allowance for chores get the chore chart, up to five cards, and investing for $48 a year, though without interest, savings goals, or direct deposit. Parents with Chase checking who mainly want a free kids’ card should open Chase First Banking instead, which handles chores and allowances with no monthly service fee.
Learn more about BusyKid or see how it compares to the best debit cards for kids.
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