You might be wondering why payments cards are in the Parental Controls section. Well you are now able to manage your child’s allowances and expenses fully electronically. Let me explain more in detail.
There are banks today that exist only in the Internet. You can’t go to a physical branch and speak with a person. They are purely digital banks. There are several of them but the one I use is called Revolut. It’s present in 35 countries and has already 18M users.
All you need to open a free Revolut account using the app on your phone is an Australian phone number and a couple of proofs of identity (license, passport). Once your account is open, you can choose to order a physical debit card or use only a virtual one on your phone. One of the advantages is that if you have family and friends overseas using Revolut, you can instantly transfer funds in their home currency at very competitive exchange rates. But I digress…
The free standard edition of Revolut in Australia allows you to have ONE junior account linked to your main Revolut account. This account is used by your child. You can order a physical Junior debit card with a PIN, and/or use a virtual card installed on the child’s phone.
In my case, for extra security I have elected to force my son Tom to use his physical card only with a PIN (no contactless payment) and no online transactions. I may allow him contactless payment when he is older so he can use Apple Pay on his phone.
As you can see below, Tom receives a weekly allowance, which is automatically transferred from the main account. If Tom needs more money for a purchase, I can add funds immediately with the Add money option.
You get notified of the transactions made on the Junior account, see past transactions, freeze the card immediately and even set a monthly spending limit.
One very handy use of the Junior card is when Tom gets a gift card with a monetary value, I buy it back from him and credit his Junior account of the same amount. Then I need to remember to use the gift card for myself, which is another story 😂
So if you want to avoid the hassle of managing physical pocket money for your child then this is for you!
