It is good to have an idea of what Greenlight debit card will offer to your family as you walk your children down the lane to understudy financial literacy.
As one of the most important skills every kid is encouraged to develop, financial literacy can be acquired through any means.
If they can understand money, it will help them to get ahead of life and easily reach their goals.
One of the tools available to help your children learn more about money is the Greenlight debit card.
Reviewing the Greenlight card for kids will help you to see whether it might work for your family.
In this article, we will look at what Greenlight is all about and how it works as it will guide your decisions regarding getting debit Cards for your Kids.
What is Greenlight?
As the world keeps evolving, many are embracing the digital world and what it offers. Today, many kids no longer save in their piggy banks.
With the modern method of saving money, parents and kids can easily appreciate the emergence of the modern world. This is what Greenlight offers.
Greenlight is a fintech company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and launched in 2014 by co-founders, Tim Sheehan and Johnson Cook.
The company has over 3 million users all over the world. With Greenlight, parents can raise financially smart kids.
It offers the kids a debit card which parents can use to pay allowances to them as they also monitor the way they spend the money.
The company also runs investment programs and other services which enable the kids to learn the nitty-gritty of investment.
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How does Greenlight work?
As simple as its name sounds, Greenlight debit card is a debit card designed to help kids with their financial life.
It has an app where both parents and kids can have access. This, the parents do by loading the debit card using the Greenlight app and permitting the kids to have access to the money.
As a parent, you can choose to make manual transfers for your kids or set up a weekly automatic transfer from your account.
It becomes interesting because you get to set the terms for adding money such as a kid doing the chores, getting good grades, among others.
You could just decide to just load it with money for the kid’s allowance or any other purpose, especially for emergencies. In addition, there is a monthly charge for using the app.
Moreover, Greenlight Company is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corps (FDIC) up to the limit of $250 000.
As an investment company, it is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is also a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
That is enough reason for you and your kids to use the app, as your money is secure.
Read Also: How Do Prepaid Debit Cards Work?
Parental Control
This is one of the best features of Greenlight debit card. The app uses a permission-based spending rules system that allows the parents to set control over their kids’ spending.
Thus, the parents set rules for particular stores and spending categories. As a result, they can place their chosen restrictions on the kid’s spending at a specific store and within a spending category convenient for them.
Not only that, you will be able to get an alert for any store your kid purchases from.
Moreover, if they try to purchase an item you will never approve of, you will get an alert, telling you what they purchased and where they purchased it.
Hey, your kids can make financial mistakes and that is why you are there for them…to guide and assist them. Greenlight is really the perfect card to train your kids to be financially responsible.
How to get started with Greenlight
To get access to the GreenLight app, you will need to provide the following information:
- Email address
- Mobile number
- Identifying information, including your name, birth date, and Social Security number
- Mailing address
- Child(ren)’s name(s)
- Valid debit card or bank account
Once you have gathered the above information, you can click on the ‘Get Started’ button on the Greenlight website. Follow the instructions that accompany it.
Firstly, you will be required to enter your mobile phone number. Once you do it, you will be taken to a page where you will be asked if you are the parent/guardian or the child.
When you confirm that you are a parent, a confirmation code will be sent to your phone. Enter the code to enable you to create an account with Greenlight.
The next step will be to choose the best plan and also download the app. Then, you will be prompted to provide the information of your kids that will have access to the app.
In the beginning, Greenlight will offer you a 30-day trial. You can always change your plan when you wish.
Greenlight Plans
There are three basic plans for Greenlight. Before then, it is important to understand that Greenlight is never going to force you to choose them as your go-to kid’s plan.
However, they offer one month free trial for you and your kids. It is a way of convincing you and offering you the option of choosing their platform. And so, the plans include:
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Greenlight Prepaid Debit Card
This is like a situation where a kid makes a bank account withdrawal and uses the fund to buy goods and services.
The basic Greenlight Plan costs $4.99 per month and includes the Greenlight debit card, available for as many as five kids.
When you get access to the Greenlight app, you will discover the two experiences it offers to you and your kids.
In addition, your kids will be able to see their spending and saving balances. With that, they will be able to set their financial goals right and adjust their spending habit if it is becoming excessive.
For the parents, the app offers them access to parental control. As such, they can choose to add funds to the Greenlight card for the kids and also set spending limits, store-level control and monitor what their kids purchase with their money and how much they spent.
Frankly speaking, the Greenlight basic plan is the most affordable option for parents and their kids.
If you would like to help your kids achieve smart, successful financial literacy, it is a great option for you.
Another perk of having one is that it offers you the option of avoiding insufficient funds fees or overdraft charges because your kids can only spend the amount they have on the Greenlight debit card.
Greenlight + Invest
Aside from all we have explained above, Greenlight has an investment plan which is also healthy for your kids.
With the investment plan, your kids can learn how to invest money with as little as $1. It does not require any trading fee and parents are the ones to approve each trade from their own accounts.
How it works: Greenlight assists the kids to buy fractional shares and offer them the best way to invest in the platform.
This is a good option for every kid that is old enough to learn about investment. However, like the debit card option, the Greenlight investment plan comes with a fee of $7.98 per month.
Greenlight Max
GreenLight also offers additional perks to the ones above. This is called GreenLight Max. It enables you to get priority support for your issues. Then, it offers you other benefits which include:
Identity theft protection:
With Greenlight app, you can set identity monitoring and alerts that can help you stay on top of identity-related threats.
Cell phone protection:
If you bought a cell phone with Greenlight and it gets damaged or lost, it can be protected for up to five kids.
Purchase protection
If you bought any items using Greenlight and they get damaged or stolen, Greenlight, can replace or repair them. However, this option does not come cheap.
With just $9.98 per month, this plan could be the best your family needs and it comes with all-inclusive protection, aside from giving you access to financial resources and tools.
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Final note
Having provided you with all the information you need about Greenlight debit card reviews for your kids, it behooves you to make the best decision concerning it.
Besides, it can be valuable for you to teach your kids money management using the apps.
However, it comes with a price. If you can afford the payment plan, it is a great way to keep your kids on their route to financial success.
References
- https://financebuzz.com/greenlight-review
- https://youngandtheinvested.com/greenlight-debit-card-review/
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