Tired of having to give your kids cash allowance? Want to teach them about fiscal responsibility and goals? Luckily, there are many money-management apps on the market.
Today, we’re comparing some of the most popular ones – Revolut Junior and gohenry.
| Revolut Junior | gohenry |
| No monthly fee | $3.99/£2.99 per month |
| Need to have an adult account | Prepay Visa or Mastercard |
| For ages 6+ | Personalized card |
| Free account without extra features | Easy to sign up and top-up |
| Instant alerts | 30-day free trial |
| Tasks and savings goals | Tasks and savings goals |
| Available in the US, Europe, and Australia | Available in the UK or USA |
About Revolut Junior
Revolut is a well-known challenger bank dating back to 2015 that has taken over many customers from traditional banks but also gained many new clients with its simplicity, budgeting features, travel capabilities, but also investing and savings accounts.
The company has amassed more than 18 million customers around the world. They have recently expanded to the US and Japan in an effort of becoming “the world’s first truly global financial superapp”.
What’s so special about the app? And why should you let your kids use it?
You can use Revolut to make cheap international transfers, invest in crypto, stocks, and commodities (gold and silver), get travel insurance, exchange money with no hidden fees, and much more. It’s such a global player that it supports almost 30 currencies.
Kids obviously won’t have access to all of these features, but they will profit from learning budgeting, saving, and setting goals.
Although Revolut is available in more than 200 countries, apparently the Junior feature is available only in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
About gohenry
Gohenry is even older than Revolut. It was launched more than ten years ago, in 2012, and was named after the first customer – an 11-year-old boy named Henry.
There’s a story about gohenry and how the idea for it was born at the sidelines of a kids’ football pitch when a group of parents daydreamed about an easy fix for their kids’ allowance that doesn’t include scrambling for pocket change or giving them access to their cards.
Fast-forward to now and the company has more than two million customers.
When you open the app, you can see that it was tailored for kids. It wasn’t an add-on like Revolut Junior.
You can easily register for a gohenry account by downloading the app. Once you settle in, you’ll see that you can set up the weekly allowance, set spending limits, order a custom card (from 45+ designs), control where the card can be used and set up tasks that can earn your kids extra money.
Like any good app, there’s a 30-day free trial to test if you like the service or not.
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Features
Tasks
The standout features of both apps must be the tasks or chores. We all know how hard it can be to motivate children to clean up their rooms, tidy up the kitchen, or do things like reading books.
When you put these kinds of chores or activities on paper, or in this case, in the app, it gamifies them and gives visual affirmations.
It’s up to you whether you’re going to monetize them or not. It’s still somewhat of a controversial topic and some parents are for it and others against. Nevertheless, the option is available.
Goals
Another feature that both apps have are savings goals. It’s pretty much self-explanatory. You, or the kids, set up savings targets. You can help them achieve their goals faster by transferring money into these pockets.
Otherwise, the kids fund them by completing tasks or moving money from their account. I simply love this feature as it visualizes the target and makes for a great motivator.
Cost
Revolut Junior
- No monthly maintenance fees
- Need to have a free or paid adult account
- Free debit card
- Can’t load cash
Revolut Junior is extremely handy if you already have an existing Revolut account. In that case, you don’t have to sign up for Revolut and can simply go ahead and add up to five kids under the Junior accounts tab.
The debit card is free and will be delivered within 10 days. The cards can be customized as well and the kids won’t be able to use them with merchants classified as age-restricted.
If you aren’t aware, Revolut has a free account and several paid ones. In the US it’s one free and two paid accounts; the top one includes a metal card and plenty of, more or less needed, features.
In Europe and the UK, there are one free and three paid account types.
You need to know that unless you have a paid account, the Junior app experience is going to be lackluster because some major features such as goals and tasks will be missing.
Gohenry
- $3.99/£2.99 per month
- Custom card $4.99/£4.99
- $1.50 for ATM withdrawals (UK accounts free)
- 50p service charge for loading the Account (US accounts free)
Gohenry is a standalone app and debit card that can be loaded by cash or transfer. The fees are a bit different in the US and in the UK. While ATM withdrawals are free in the UK, they are charged $1.50 in the US.
Kids can spend money without extra costs at home and abroad. The debit Mastercard can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted and there’s no foreign transaction fee.
However, it can’t be used in gambling, or alcohol establishments such as casinos and pubs, as well as on dating websites, pay-at-pump terminals, and, of course, adult entertainment websites, venues, etc.
How to Start
Revolut Junior
Setting up a Junior account is easy and can be done through the excellent Revolut app. You will however have to make an adult account first if you don’t have one already. Here are the easy steps you need to follow:
- Open the Revolut app
- Register for an account if you don’t have one already
- Access the Hub by tapping the 4 blocks icon on the bottom of your app
- Enter the child’s detail (name, date of birth, gender, your relationship)
- Order a Revolut Junior card for them
- Add money to their Revolut Junior card from your account
Gohenry
Signing up for gohenry is a 5-step process that starts by downloading the app from an app store or by going to their website and filling out an online form.
You’ll need to provide your email, first and last name, your phone number, and make a password, as you would with most apps.
Next, you’ll get the access details for the child app and the card PIN. They can see the PIN at any time in the app under “Card”. This is handy if they ever forget it.
The debit card will arrive in around seven days and you will have to activate it before they can use it. The activation is done directly in the app. If they want a personalized card, you’ll have to pay an additional fee.
You also need to add money to your parent app. These funds will be used to make weekly allowances and other payments. You can likewise enable the auto top-up option to replenish the money in the parent app when the funds are low.
After all the setup is complete, add some money to their app and add some tasks and chores to incentivize them. It’s up to you if you will give them money for their completion or not.
READ ALSO: UK Kids and Teen Bank Cards
Traditional Bank Accounts Vs. Digital Bank Accounts For Kids
It never ceases to amaze me just how few money management skills we learn in schools, if any. You’d think that such an important topic would be taught extensively in separate classes, however, it’s almost never the case.
It’s true that the topic of finances and money is boring to kids and teenagers, however, so are math and physics.
Here’s how Revolut Junior and gohenry differ from traditional bank accounts:
- Free debit cards for kids 6 and older (compared to 13 with traditional banks)
- Easy-to-use apps with separate logins for kids and parents
- Kids can use the app but don’t have to
- Full parental controls that include spending limitations and card usage (ATM/in-store/online/all)
- Real-time messages about your child’s spending
- See their balance anytime
- Automated weekly allowance
- Customizable tasks and chores that help them learn while they earn
- Easy savings goals that teach them the value of money
Alternatives
RoosterMoney
RoosterMoney is available in the UK and the US and comes in plans with or without a card.
Apart from chores and savings goals, this children’s money management and allowance app includes a star and reward chart, virtual money tracker, and educational content, as well as ways to give to their charity or cause.
The app is more adapted to the UK market at the moment.
Greenlight
This is a US-only debit card that teaches kids how to earn, save, and invest money. It has basically all the features other similar apps have and much more. For instance, the kids can get up to 2% on their savings goals, earn 1% cash back, and invest in stocks and ETF (with your approval).
It’s a killer app to teach your kids all about money, budgeting, saving, and investing. No other children’s money management card comes even close to these features and benefits.
READ NEXT: Are Digital Banks Safe?
Conclusion
Revolut Junior and gohenry are two very similar financial apps and cards for kids. You really can’t go wrong by choosing either of them. All the control is in your hands because you can set limits, transfer money, and choose where they can spend their allowance.
Some argue these kinds of apps infringe on the kids’ privacy because you can see where kids are spending their funds. However, they do teach them how savings and budgeting work which is a good thing all-around.
