Teaching Children to Manage Money with Revolut | AD

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One of my aims as a parent has always been to help the children to have a good financial education, to understand money and make wise choices with it as they get older. I’ve always felt that it’s never too early for children to be given or even earn pocket money, save and choose what to spend that money on. Learning about money is something that happens gradually over time as children grow.

Now that LP is getting older – she’ll be 9 in the summer – I’ve tried to instil more independence in her where money is concerned. She has a moneybox in her bedroom and a savings account but I was looking for ways to go one step further with her own finances – and that’s where Revolut comes in.

Revolut has been a global digital money app for adults for years. It lets you manage your money from an app with a physical or digital card. You can transfer money painlessly, have access to money whilst travelling and even save all from within the Revolut app.

But now they are going one step further to allow parents and guardians to create Revolut Junior accounts for children through their own Revolut app. We have been given early access to trial Revolut Junior and it will be launched to the public very soon!

You’re able to open one account per child which can all be managed separately. The account opening process is so simple and the card arrives just a few days later in the post.

I’ve created an account for LP that is completely linked to my account – I am responsible for it – yet LP gets her very own Revolut card that she can use online or in shops and I can see exactly where she is spending her money in real time on the app, downloading statements at the touch of a button.

LP was so excited when the card arrived. It made her feel so grown up and a cash card is something she didn’t think she’d have for years. But, it’s now down to us, with the help of Revolut, to teach LP how to use the card and manage her money.

Now, you might be thinking that an eight year old doesn’t need access to money with a card and, you’d be right. They may not need a Revolut card but it’s fantastic for both teaching independence as well as money management.

LP is always keen to take money out and about with her, wanting to know that she can spend it if she sees something she wants. But, I am always nervous that she’ll lose the money or leave her bag somewhere. A card is much less likely to get lost and she can keep it in her pocket or in a purse or she can even give it me to look after if she wants. And when she wants to use it she has a memorable pin number that we set up for her to make the process as easy as possible.

The first time we took LP to the shops to spend her pocket money she was so excited to use her card and feel like a grown up. She knew she had just £10 to spend and could see on my app how much she had left. Revolut has already taught her how to use a chip and pin machine and she’s able to take cash out of the ATM as well.

Children’s accounts can’t go overdrawn and there’s a limit to the number of transactions that can be made by chip and pin, contactless and in the ATM. It also has restrictions in place to stop transactions with some merchants like gambling service.

I can top up LP’s account instantly by transferring from my account and I can add funds using a debit or credit card or transferring from another account. It’s so quick, so easy to use and makes giving pocket money to LP so much easier than finding cash each week. We never have cash on us! Revolut Junior feels like another step towards a cashless life and that is completely welcomed by us – it makes life so much easier!

For now, Junior accounts are available to Premium and Metal users in the UK for free! If you have the standard Revolut account, you can upgrade your standard account to Premium or Metal for £6.99 or 12.99 per month and get access to Revolut Junior.

Depending on the Revolut account you upgrade to this can add benefits like overseas medical insurance, delayed baggage and delayed flight insurance, priority support and Perks Plus discounts and offers or even cashback and a concierge service! Plus, the Revolut packages are continually expanding to offer customers even more benefits.

As LP gets older she’ll be going out by herself with her friends and will be able to go shopping, buy lunch, get the bus and not have to worry about losing money. Plus, every time she spends money I can get a push notification – and these can be tailored to a family’s needs. I’m sure by the time LP is a teenager I won’t be getting notifications every time her card is used and there will be trust there, I’ll know that LP can manage her money with less input from us.

In fact, Revolut are creating an app just for children where they can manage their account themselves and there will be features to help us as a family where I can set up regular payments to the children’s accounts each week or month and set up tasks for them to complete where they can earn extra money too. LP will be able to create savings pockets on her app to put money aside towards something special for herself.

It’s great to know that over the next ten years we can work with LP – and Little Man when he’s a little older – to teach them about money, adding pocket money to their account each week or as they earn it and giving them the tools to spend that money.

We have loved using Revolut and it’s not just a normal part of our life – where LP will take the card with her instead of cash. I don’t think it will ever fully replace LP’s piggy bank at home – she loves counting notes and pound coins out – but it gives her the tools to spend money whilst learning about finances which is a fantastic building block for the future.