• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Credit Card and banking reviews

AllCards.com

Credit Cards, Banking, and Cash Back

  • Best Credit Cards
    • Best Overall Credit Cards
    • Interest Free Credit Cards
    • Balance Transfer Credit Cards
    • Secured Credit Cards
    • Student Credit Cards
    • Metal Credit Cards
  • Cash Back Cards
    • Credit Card Signup Bonuses
    • Best Business Credit Card Signup Bonuses
    • Groceries
    • Streaming Services
  • Cards by FICO Score
    • 500 – 600
    • 600 – 650
    • 650 – 700
    • 700 to 750
  • Compare Cards
    • Ink Business Cash vs. Ink Business Unlimited
    • Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. The Amex Platinum Card
    • Citi® Double Cash vs. Discover It
    • Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Blue Cash Preferred
    • Citi Double Cash vs. Citi Custom Cash
    • Ink Business Cash vs. Ink Business Premier
    • Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Quicksilver
    • Chase Freedom Unlimited vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred
    • Citi Custom Cash vs. Discover It
    • Citi Custom Cash vs. Blue Cash Everyday
  • Banking
    • Best Interest Rates
    • Savings Accounts
    • Money Market Accounts
    • Free Checking Accounts
    • High Yield Checking Accounts
    • Business Checking Accounts
    • Bank Accounts for Kids & Teens
    • Best Online Banks
    • Best Bank Bonuses
  • Bank CD Rates
    • No-Penalty CD Rates
    • 3-Month CD Rates
    • 6-Month CD Rates
    • 1-Year CD Rates
    • 18-Month CD Rates
    • 2-Year CD Rates
    • 3-Year CD Rates
    • 4-Year CD Rates
    • 5-Year CD Rates
  • Calculators
    • Emergency Fund Calculator
    • CD Interest Calculator
    • Savings Calculator
    • Credit Card Payoff Calculator
    • Debt Payoff Calculator
    • Loan Payment Calculator
You are here: Home / Prepaid Debit Cards / BusyKid Review – An App to Teach Kids How to Manage Money

BusyKid Review – An App to Teach Kids How to Manage Money

May 10, 2022 by Rob Berger

Helping kids learn about money is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. But practice makes perfect. Kids need the experience to understand how it works.

BusyKid provides an app and a prepaid debit card to give kids real-life experience. Can it work for your child? Find out below in our full BusyKid review.

BusyKid Review
Our Full BusyKid Review
 [show]
  • What Is BusyKid?
  • BusyKid Features
    • Mobile App
    • Chores and Allowance
    • Bonuses
    • BusyKid Spend Card
    • BusyPay
    • Provides a Detailed History
    • Charities
  • How Much Does BusyKid Cost?
  • How to Sign Up for BusyKid
  • Is BusyKid Safe?
  • What Others Are Saying About BusyKid
    • TrustPilot Reviews
    • iOS Reviews
    • Google Play Store
  • Pros and Cons
    • Pros
    • Cons
  • Alternatives
  • Final Thoughts – Who Is BusyKid Best For?

What Is BusyKid?

BusyKid is an app to help kids learn how to manage money. Parents can use the app to pay kids for chores or an allowance. Kids use the app to manage the money they earn.

The key is kids can learn to handle money. As they get older, they can have a better grasp of using debit cards and credit cards.

Parents can schedule automatic allowance payments or send payments manually. There’s also an option to set up ‘bonus’ payments for goals or achievements your child reaches.

A percentage of your child’s earnings goes into each of the three categories – save, spend, and share. Parents or kids can transfer funds to spend at any time. Parents also have full access to the funds and can see how their child spends their money.

Each BusyKid account comes with five BusyKid Spend Cards. The Spend Cards are Visa prepaid debit cards kids can use anywhere that accepts Visa.

BusyKid Features

Mobile App

BusyKid app

Many kids today have either a phone or tablet. BusyKid makes it easy and almost natural for them to manage their accounts in the app.

Chores and Allowance

This is the bread and butter of the BusyKid app. You set up the paydays, either weekly, bi-weekly, or a frequency of your choice.

You can set up autopay, so your child receives payment every payday with or without doing chores. Or, you can list chores and have your child check them off as they get them done. When chores are complete, they get paid on the next payday.

If you choose the checklist feature, you’ll need to approve the payment before sending it.

Bonuses

BusyKid makes it easy to give your kids ‘bonus money’ for a job well done. For example, you can reward great grades or when your child does something you asked. You can send bonuses immediately with a note for the reason why.

BusyKid Spend Card

The BusyKid Spend card is how kids learn to manage their money. They have access to the app and can see their balance in save, spend, and share. 

Parents approve transfers to the spend account and can see all transactions. Parents also have the ability to remove funds from the card if a child moves too much money to it.

The card works like a prepaid card. Your child can only spend the amount on the card, which is a great way to learn how to budget.

BusyPay

BusyPay

BusyPay allows others to send money to the account. This is an excellent way for relatives to send birthday presents or holiday gifts to your child. All you have to do is share the QR code for your child’s account.

Provides a Detailed History

Parents or kids can see a history of all BusyKid account transactions in real-time.

This is a good teaching tool to show kids where their money goes. The history report can help them revisit their spending decisions.

Try BusyKid

Charities

Kids can also choose to send money to charities. This is the “share” category of the BusyKid account. There’s an extensive list of charities to choose from.

How Much Does BusyKid Cost?

You can choose a monthly or annual payment option.

If you pay monthly, the cost is $3.99 a month. Or, you can save 20% and pay $38.99 for a year.

Other fees you might incur include:

  • Card replacement: $5
  • Declined purchase: $0.50
  • ATM fee: $1.50 (ATM owners may charge more fees.)

A note on declined purchases: You may want to split a transaction and only charge a certain amount to the BusyKid card. Before paying, you’ll need to inform the merchant to make sure they accept split transactions. Otherwise, the merchant may try to charge the entire transaction on the BusyKid card. That could leave you paying the fee for a declined purchase.

How to Sign Up for BusyKid

To sign up for BusyKid, download the app and click “sign up.” A parent must provide their first and last name, phone number, and zip code.

You’ll choose a PIN and link your funding account (checking account, debit card, or credit card). After confirming your details, you’ll receive the debit card or cards in the mail within 14 days.

Is BusyKid Safe?

Stride Bank, an FDIC member, issues the BusyKid Spend card. Should something happen to the bank, FDIC insurance covers your BusyKid account up to $250,000. 

The debit card that comes with a BusyKid account is also protected the same as a Visa card. This includes $0 liability protection. You also have the ability to turn the card off immediately if it’s lost or stolen.

What Others Are Saying About BusyKid

TrustPilot Reviews

Parents on TrustPilot give BusyKid 3.7 stars out of 5 stars. Most parents agree it’s a great app that teaches kids how to manage money. But some parents complained that the app wasn’t straightforward to use. Or that the debit card took too long to show up, and their kids lost interest.

iOS Reviews

Parents on the Apple Store give BusyKids 3.5 stars out of 5. Many parents say the app gets their kids excited about doing chores.

There were a large number of 1-star reviews on the app, but reviewers didn’t give a reason.

Google Play Store

Parents on the Google Play store give BusyKids 4.3 stars. Some parents state it has made their kids more responsible and that the app is easy to use.

Many parents complained about the difficulty of making deposits. Some also report that customer service is non-existent when they have a problem.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Can be an easy way to teach kids how to handle money
  • Has a 30-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t happy
  • You can save 20% by paying for an annual membership
  • Parents can watch a child’s spending and lock the card if there’s an issue
  • Kids learn a sense of responsibility and how to earn money

Cons

  • No educational content to teach kids more about money
  • It costs money to replace a lost card
  • It can be time-consuming to load the card if you choose not to make automatic deposits

Alternatives

Card NameCostBest For
Greenlight$4.99/monthGreenlight is a prepaid debit card for kids. Parents have complete control over kids' spending including setting spending limits per store. It’s an excellent card for parents that want to keep an eye on where and how their child spends money.
FamZoo$5.99/monthFamZoo is a prepaid card that helps kids learn how to spend, save, and give. Parents have control and can send money in real-time between cards. Kids can also send money requests (which parents can accept or decline).
Go Henry$3.99/monthGo Henry is a prepaid debit card that comes with educational games and content to teach kids about money. The price is per card, though, so this can add up if you have a large family.
Chase First Banking$0Parents with an existing Chase account can open a free Chase First Banking account for kids. The Chase First Banking account features chore lists, savings goals, and spending limits.

Final Thoughts – Who Is BusyKid Best For?

All families can benefit from BusyKid. But this one is especially great for big families. One account gets you five BusyKid prepaid debit cards and access to checklists for each. Kids can learn how to work for their money, save, spend, give, and budget for things they want.

Worksheets and lectures from mom and dad can teach kids about finances. But nothing replaces the real-life experience kids can get using an app like BusyKid.

About Rob Berger

Rob Berger is the founder of allCards.com. He's written about personal finance and investing since 2007 and is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Retire Before Mom and Dad. He is a former litigation attorney in the securities field and the Founding Editor of Forbes Advisor.

Primary Sidebar

Advertiser Disclosure

AllCards has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. AllCards and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Featured High Yield Bank Accounts

12-month CD via SaveBetter
APY: 5.01%

27-month CD via SaveBetter
APY: 5.15%
12-month No Penalty CD via SaveBetter
APY: 4.60%

Preferred Savings
APY: 5.02%

 

Credit Cards by Category

  • Balance Transfer
  • 0% APR Cards
  • Cash Back
  • Travel
  • Miles
  • Business
  • Gas Rewards
  • Supermarket Credit Cards
  • Secured Credit Cards
  • Student Credit Cards
  • Prepaid Debit Cards

Credit Cards by Credit Score

  • 700 – 749
  • 650 – 700
  • 600 – 650
  • Under 600

Banking

  • Best Online Banks
  • Best Online Savings Accounts
  • Best CD Rates
  • Best Checking Accounts

Credit Cards by Issuer

  • American Express
  • Capital One
  • Chase
  • Citibank
  • U.S. Bank
  • Wells Fargo

Rate Disclosure

We work hard to make sure the information on this site is accurate. There is no guarantee, however, that it is. So please confirm rates, terms, and all other information directly with the bank, credit union, credit card issuer, or other financial institution before opening an account or otherwise making a financial decision.

About Allcards.com

Rob Berger founded allcards.com in 2008 to help consumers make data-driven decisions about credit cards and banking. A retired trial attorney, he’s written about credit cards, banking and personal finance since 2007, and is the author of Retire Before Mom and Dad.

  • Best Credit Cards of 2022
  • 0% Credit Cards
  • Best Cash Back Credit Cards
  • Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
  • Credit Cards with Signup Bonuses
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • RSS Feed

© 2022 A.R. Roberts LLC All Rights Reserved

Advertising Disclosure: allCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported blog offering financial product comparisons. We are compensated when users click links to or apply for sponsored financial products including, but not limited to, credit cards or bank/brokerage accounts. Credit card reviews and listings express the opinions of the author alone, and not those of any credit card issuer. The content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card advertisers. This compensation may impact how or where links appear on this site. This site does not include all available financial companies or offers.

Banking Content Disclosure: Content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser(s). Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the bank advertiser(s), and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser(s). This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser(s) Affiliate Program(s).