FamZoo vs. Greenlight – Who Has the Finest Pay as you go Debit Card for Youngsters?

FamZoo and Greenlight are family-friendly budgeting and monetary training options constructed round pay as you go debit playing cards for teenagers. They’re each designed to set children up for monetary success whereas giving dad and mom the ultimate say in how and the place children spend their cash.

FamZoo and Greenlight have rather a lot in frequent, together with built-in chore and allowance options, spending limits, long-term financial savings objectives, instantaneous parent-to-kid transfers, and extra. However there’s lots to tell apart the 2 apps as effectively. FamZoo’s budgeting and cash administration options are much more complete than Greenlight’s, however Greenlight has FamZoo beat in terms of investing, identification theft safety, and different value-adds.

Which is best for you? Spend a while attending to know these two apps after which determine for your self.

Key Options of FamZoo and Greenlight — Plans and Pricing

FamZoo and Greenlight are each nice at what they do — empowering children to take management of their funds whereas protecting dad and mom within the loop. 

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FamZoo has a single plan that prices between $2.50 and $5.99 per thirty days, relying on fee frequency. Pay month-to-month and cancel anytime for $5.99 per thirty days, or prepay $59.99 for twenty-four months of service to unlock the bottom efficient month-to-month fee. FamZoo presents intermediate prepayment choices as effectively — six and 12 months.

In the meantime, Greenlight has three month-to-month plans with completely different options and capabilities:

• Greenlight: The bottom plan contains Greenlight’s core options, together with a debit card and built-in financial savings account. It’s $4.99 per thirty days.
• Greenlight + Make investments: This plan provides parallel funding platforms for teenagers and oldsters. It’s $7.98 per thirty days.
• Greenlight Max: This plan provides identification theft safety, money again on eligible debit purchases, and another value-added options. It’s $9.98 per thirty days.

FamZoo — Options and Capabilities

FamZoo’s single plan comes with a free, FDIC-insured Mastercard debit card for as much as 4 enrolled children. Including extra playing cards incurs an extra one-time charge of $3 per card. For misplaced or stolen playing cards, the primary two substitute playing cards are free. Then a $3 substitute card charge applies.

FamZoo contains all the next options and capabilities.

Cellular App and Browser Entry

FamZoo works effectively on small and enormous screens. It has separate cell apps for iOS and Android, plus a browser model higher suited to laptops and desktops.

Cash Requests and Reimbursement Requests

Child customers can request funds proper within the FamZoo app, specifying the quantity and motive for the request. The identical interface helps reimbursement requests for bills already paid by the child.

Prompt Dad or mum-to-Child Transfers

FamZoo helps instantaneous transfers from dad and mom’ linked financial institution accounts to children’ debit playing cards. There’s no ready interval for funds to reach, and the switch is safe — FamZoo by no means has your exterior checking account particulars.

Money Reload Choices

If you happen to don’t wish to switch funds electronically, FamZoo helps money reloads of its playing cards at hundreds of taking part Inexperienced Dot and Mastercard rePower places. You’ll discover reload factors at main retailers like Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Ceremony Help, 7-Eleven, and Kmart. Some places could assist paper verify reloads as effectively.

IOU Accounts

IOU accounts monitor funds held outdoors of FamZoo in your children’ behalf. Widespread makes use of for IOU accounts embody:

• Monitoring promised allowance or chore funds you haven’t made but
• Monitoring casual household strains of credit score that your children can draw on
• Monitoring funds held for different functions outdoors of FamZoo, like training financial savings
• Managing funds for youthful children who aren’t prepared for their very own debit playing cards but

If you switch funds from an IOU account to a FamZoo debit card, FamZoo credit your IOU account. That approach, you’ll know the way a lot you continue to owe your child or how a lot you’re nonetheless holding on their behalf.

Direct Deposit for Teenagers

FamZoo has a free direct deposit function. In case your child works outdoors the house, use it to direct their paycheck into their FamZoo debit card account.

Card Exercise Alerts

FamZoo delivers real-time card exercise alerts detailing particular person transactions, their quantities, and the remaining steadiness on the cardboard. Use this function to maintain tabs in your children’ spending and monitor balances.

Detailed Decline Info

When an tried debit card transaction is declined for any motive, FamZoo notifies the child consumer and the dad or mum. This notification contains the rationale for the decline, akin to an inadequate steadiness or incorrect PIN, and presents recommendation on methods to keep away from the identical final result sooner or later. 

Missed Cost Monitoring

If you happen to can’t make a scheduled fee to your child as a result of your funding account has an inadequate steadiness, FamZoo tracks the deficit in an IOU account and settles it when you do have sufficient funds within the account.

This function works in reverse as effectively. In case your child can’t make a scheduled fee to you as a result of they don’t find the money for on their debit card, FamZoo units up an IOU and settles it when the cash’s there.

Card Lock and Unlock

You may lock and unlock your children’ debit playing cards with a couple of faucets within the FamZoo app. You are able to do this for any motive, from a misplaced or stolen card to a monetary time-out introduced on by ill-advised spending.

Customizable Subaccounts

FamZoo’s subaccounts function permits envelope budgeting for each child in your plan. Arrange every subaccount to correspond to a special budgeting class or spending objective and fund them accordingly.

Allowance Options

Automate your children’ common weekly allowance with recurring deposits or break up funds amongst a number of subaccounts.

Chore Options

Use FamZoo’s highly effective chore function to:

• Visualize your whole family’s chore checklist with a single-view chore chart
• Assign chores to particular person children or allow them to declare open chores on a “first dibs” foundation
• Mechanically ship funds for particular chores as soon as they’re marked performed
• Cut up funds for chores amongst a number of accounts
• Levy monetary penalties on children who don’t get their chores performed
• Overview chores to ensure they’re performed earlier than sending funds

Dad or mum-Paid Curiosity

Pay curiosity in your children’ debit card balances utilizing your main funding account because the supply. You may customise the rate of interest — probably paying way more than a daily financial savings account — and likewise cap the steadiness eligible to earn curiosity.

Automated Household Billing

Mechanically debit your children’ card accounts for his or her share of family bills, akin to cellphone payments or streaming providers. This function pulls from the cardboard to your main funding account.

Greenlight Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight’s base plan prices $4.99 per thirty days. It comes with a Mastercard debit card for as much as 5 children and contains all Greenlight’s core monetary instruments. Nevertheless, it doesn’t have all of the value-adds that set Greenlight other than different kid-friendly debit playing cards and private finance apps. 

Right here’s what the bottom plan does embody.

Monetary Training Content material

Greenlight has a ton of age-appropriate monetary literacy content material and instruments, akin to movies and articles produced for a younger viewers. Greenlight additionally has kid-friendly quizzes, video games, contests, and sweepstakes, all designed to advertise good cash administration. 

Funds for Chores and Allowance

Greenlight helps you to specify weekly, biweekly, or month-to-month allowance funds proper within the app. If you want, you possibly can tie these funds to profitable completion on particular chores. You might have three choices:

• A flat-rate allowance that’s in no way associated to chore completion
• A hybrid possibility that solely pays the total allowance quantity in spite of everything assigned chores are full
• A totally chores-based allowance that requires your child to finish each assigned chore earlier than they get a dime

1% Greenlight Financial savings Reward

Eligible Greenlight financial savings balances earn an efficient 1% rate of interest — higher than many high-yield financial savings accounts, and greater than sufficient to reveal the facility of compound curiosity. Funds come every month, no matter account steadiness or exercise.  

Parental Controls

Greenlight’s parental controls embody:

• The power to lock and unlock the cardboard within the app
• Actual-time spending notifications with service provider particulars
• The choice to disable sure transaction sorts or spending classes
• The power to set greenback limits for allowed transaction sorts or classes
• The choice to allow biometric authentication strategies, akin to contact or face ID

Direct Deposit

Greenlight permits paycheck direct deposit for older customers. In case your child works outdoors the house, arrange direct deposit to see in actual time how they’re placing their paycheck to make use of. 

Greenlight Customized Card

Greenlight presents custom-made debit playing cards bearing the consumer’s image. If you wish to add one to your child, it’ll value you a one-time charge of $9.99 — plus $24.99 if you wish to reduce the usual seven- to 10-business-day delivery time down to 2 or three enterprise days.

Greenlight + Make investments Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight + Make investments provides a low-cost investing platform for folks and youngsters. It prices $7.98 per thirty days. For that, you get every part within the Greenlight base plan, plus:

Investing for Youngsters

Greenlight’s kid-friendly funding account options: 

It is a brokerage account within the dad or mum’s title solely, not a custodial funding account that additionally bears the child’s title. You may revoke entry to it at any time. 

Investing for Mother and father

Greenlight helps you to make investments in your children’ behalf within the app as effectively. You employ the identical account to take action and get all the identical advantages, together with fractional share buying and selling on eligible equities and no commissions.

Greenlight Max Plan — Options and Capabilities

Greenlight’s most complete plan is Greenlight Max. It prices $9.98 per thirty days.

On prime of every part within the Greenlight + Make investments plan, it provides money again on eligible debit card purchases, identification theft safety, and different value-adds:

Identification Theft Safety

Youngsters are frequent victims of identification theft as a result of there’s usually nobody checking their credit score commonly. That makes it straightforward for identification thieves to open fraudulent accounts of their title with out being detected. And it’s why Greenlight Max presents built-in identification theft monitoring, notification, and restoration for child customers.

1% Money Again on Eligible Debit Card Purchases

Greenlight Max pays 1% money again on eligible Greenlight debit card purchases. Rewards accrue month-to-month and mechanically drop into children’ financial savings accounts on the finish of every interval. 

2% Greenlight Financial savings Reward

Greenlight Max boosts the efficient rate of interest on financial savings balances to 2%, paid month-to-month. 

Greenlight Black Card

Greenlight Max comes with a particular black debit card at no extra value. It’s extra strong and far cooler-looking than the usual model.

Precedence Buyer Assist

Greenlight Max customers at all times reduce to the entrance of the road once they want help. This precedence buyer assist promise applies to talk and cellphone calls, though Greenlight doesn’t make any representations about precisely how lengthy you’ll want to attend for assist. 

Cellphone Safety for As much as 5 Youngsters

Greenlight Max comes with free complimentary cellphone safety insurance coverage for as much as 5 units. It’s supplied by Virginia Surety Firm and accessible in all states besides New York.

Buy Safety

Sure Greenlight debit card purchases get complimentary buy safety protection that defrays the price of repairs or replacements, topic to coverage limits. Greenlight’s buy safety can be supplied by Virginia Surety Firm and is out there in every single place however New York state.

The Verdict: Ought to You Select FamZoo or Greenlight?

FamZoo and Greenlight each excel at instructing children of all ages about cash and setting them up for monetary success in maturity. The important thing variations lie within the particulars. 

You Ought to Get FamZoo If…

Famzoo is a greater match if:

• Your Youngsters Have Advanced Cash Administration Wants. In relation to family funds, FamZoo can deal with just about any diploma of complexity. In case your children have complicated cash administration wants, maybe as a result of they’re working outdoors the house whereas saving for a number of long-range objectives, FamZoo’s strong options will help.
• You Have Plenty of Family Chores to Assign. FamZoo makes it straightforward to assign chores and pay children for his or her work. Greenlight has a built-in chore function too, but it surely’s not as customizable or strong.
• You’re Keen to Prepay Properly in Advance. FamZoo’s month-to-month charge is as little as $2.50 per thirty days per family once you prepay prematurely. Decide to no less than two years of FamZoo to get one of the best deal.

You Ought to Get Greenlight If…

Greenlight is a greater match if:

• You Need Greenlight to Pay Your Youngsters Curiosity. Greenlight financial savings balances earn as much as 2% curiosity, greater than most high-yield financial savings accounts. FamZoo balances earn curiosity too, however provided that you pay it out of your pocket. 
• You Wish to Train Your Youngsters About Investing. Greenlight + Make investments has a kid-friendly funding account that’s an ideal first brokerage account — and a terrific investor training software — to your tween or teen. 
• You Need Money Again on Eligible Purchases. Improve to Greenlight Max to earn 1% money again on eligible debit card purchases. Though not fairly on par with one of the best cash-back bank cards, that’s a pleasant fee of return for an entry-level card.
• You Need Constructed-in Identification Theft Safety. Greenlight Max additionally comes with complimentary identification theft safety. The package deal contains identification monitoring, notification, and restoration.

Each Are Nice If…

Each FamZoo and Greenlight are wonderful choices if…

• You Have Older Youngsters Working Exterior the Home. Each Greenlight and FamZoo make it straightforward to direct-deposit your children’ paychecks into their debit card accounts. From there, you possibly can fund financial savings objectives, management their spending, or just preserve tabs on how they handle their cash.
• You Wish to Hold Tabs on Your Youngsters’ Spending Exercise. Each apps are constructed round the concept dad and mom ought to know what their children are as much as, financially talking. Both approach, you’ll by no means need to marvel — or fear — about your children’ monetary behaviors.
• You Wish to Set Financial savings Targets for Your Youngsters. Each apps have financial savings objective options. Whether or not your child is saving up for a brand new bike or placing cash away for school, it is a cornerstone of economic empowerment.

Closing Phrase

FamZoo and Greenlight each earn excessive marks for instructing children about primary cash administration ideas. Use both one persistently and your children might be in a stronger monetary place once they’re able to exit into the world.

The FamZoo and Greenlight apps are something however carbon copies, nonetheless. They’ve distinct options and serve completely different audiences, which suggests the proper app for you and your children may not be the proper app to your neighbor and their children. 

FamZoo actually shines in terms of managing chores, allowances, and household funds normally. Greenlight is extra of a catch-all private finance app for teenagers, with built-in financial savings and funding accounts together with a slew of value-added options. 

The perfect selection for your loved ones will depend on your family’s cash administration wants and your monetary objectives to your children. Now that you understand how FamZoo and Greenlight stack up, you’re able to make the decision.