If you’re going to find a bank for your kids, you should also find a smart banking solution for your whole family. After all, no one wants to juggle sending money back and forth or remembering millions of passwords. Then, check out our best banks for families.
This list of banks offers products to help kids build their financial literacy. Additionally, they also offer services that will address your banking needs. Think of the best banks for families as a one-stop shop to help you build a financially brighter future.
Best Banks for Families
These are some of the best banks to bank with if you have kids and teens at home. Read on to learn more!
Capital One
Capital One is an excellent bank for families. It is one of the original online banks that also has in-person locations with both kids and teen accounts.
Benefits for Families
Some of the best Capital One benefits for families include:
- High APY: A lot of banks with physical branches don’t offer competitive interest rates. That’s not the case with Capital One! As of the time of this writing, they are offering a 4% APY with their 360 Performance Savings account.
- Actual Locations: Are you looking for a bank you can visit in person? Capital One has branches in some locations. Plus, Capital One cafes are popping up too!
- Kids Accounts: The kids savings accounts feature higher interest rates than many in-person banks. With no fees and no minimums, all kids can learn to be savers. Kids Savings Accounts with Capital One are offering 2.5% APY as of the time of this writing.
- Teen Accounts: Your teen gets the freedom to manage their money, but there are oversight options for parents to help monitor account activity as well. With their Money Teen Checking account, your teen will get their own debit card with their name on it and an app to review their account balances.
- Options for Parents: Capital One offers a variety of banking options, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs.
- Time-Tested Reputation: Capital One is a well-known online bank. For many people, that established history is important when it comes to entrusting a bank with your money!
- FDIC Protected: Your bank deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
Things to Consider
If physical branches really matter to you, it will be important to check your area. Capital One has an inconsistent footprint, with cafes in some big cities and branches in other places.
Additionally, the APY for the Kids Savings Accounts is lower overall than the competition.
ATM Access
70,000 fee-free ATMS with Allpoint, Money Pass, and Capital One. Find them with this ATM locator.
Costs / Fees
No monthly fees, no minimums, no overdraft fees.
Ally
Ally is a longstanding favorite in the personal finance community! While it may not have dedicated kids' accounts, Ally is still a contender for top family banks.
Benefits for Families
- Well-Known Online Bank: Ally is perhaps the most well-known online bank. That means that you can feel at ease using their robust service offerings.
- FDIC Protected: Your bank deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
- Investment Options. In addition to offering savings and checking accounts, Ally also has investing and retirement products as well.
- Bucket Tools. One of our favorite ways to set up sinking funds is to use the buckets tool in an Ally savings account. No need to manage multiple savings accounts; instead, you can label, categorize, and set goals within a single Ally account.
- High APY. Ally offers one of the most competitive online interest rates on your money. As of the time of this writing, Ally offers 4% APY on all savings accounts.
Things to Consider Before Getting An Account
Ally does not have any physical branches. Additionally, there is not a lot of detail on kids accounts on their site. In fact, they don’t really target family finances specifically. (But we can help you set up an Ally account for your kids!)
If allowing your child to manage their own debit card is important to you, it’s worth noting that debit cards do not have kids’ names on them. Also, they will not have access to their own app experience to check their account balances. Get ready for “Mom! Dad! How much do I have in my account?”
ATM Access
You can access your money using Allpoint, Money Pass, or Ally ATMS. Find an Ally ATM here!
Costs / Fees
No monthly maintenance fees, no minimums (on savings, checking, and CDs), and no overdraft fees.
Crew
Crew knows that debit cards for kids are important teaching tools. That’s why Crew offers a variety of tools including a kids debit card to help you teach your kids about financial literacy.
Benefits for Families
- High APY: Crew savings accounts and checking accounts have some of the highest interest rates around. Currently, they are beating out both Ally and Capital One at 4.2% APY, but that is subject to change.
- Allowance Feature: Do you want to use an allowance with your kids but have a hard time making the cash-to-online bank transfer? Crew has a built-in allowance feature to make it easy to pay your kids every week or every month.
- Pockets Feature: Set up sub-accounts within your savings account to set money aside for certain goals.
- Kids Debit Card: Kids receive a Crew debit card with their name on it and can log-in to view their account balances and transactions.
- FDIC Protection: Your money is FDIC-protected through Bangor Savings Bank.
Things to Consider
Crew is relatively new to the finance scene. As such, families might be hesitant to use them. Though your money is FDIC protected by Bangor Savings Bank, Crew is a fintech company, not an official bank. Additionally, there are no physical locations.
Check out our full Crew review to learn more!
ATM Access
Crew users can access ATMs on the Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus networks and be reimbursed up to 20 times per year.
Costs / Fees
The account is free. No minimum balance or deposit is required. Right now, you can get an extra 0.5% APY for three months by using our affiliate link in the button below.
Chase
Chase offers a variety of products and services for families. The standout option is Chase First Banking, a debit card designed to help kids ages 6-12 learn to manage their money. The card can be used by teens up until they are 17.
Benefits for Families
- In-Person Banking. Chase boasts almost 5,000 branches, so there’s a good chance you can bank in person near you.
- Solid Financial Institute. Chase is one of the best banks for families in the USA and abroad. Its global reputation means you can trust them and access your money from virtually anywhere.
- Established Accounts. Many adults are Chase credit cardholders. As a result, it may be very convenient to pick up more products and services from a bank you already use.
- Chase First Banking. Chase offers a debit card geared toward kids ages 6-12 tied to a bank account owned and managed by a parent or guardian.
Things to Consider
Chase offers a paltry APY. If you want to teach your kids about compounding, Chase savings accounts aren’t going to be much help.
Additionally, the app experience is only OK. It’s not difficult to navigate, but it doesn’t offer helpful features like Ally Buckets or Crew Pockets.
ATM Access
The Chase ATM locator will help you find one of nearly 15,000 ATMs in the US or worldwide.
Costs / Fees
Different Chase accounts have many different fees. To avoid surprises, Chase spells them all out here.
Bank of America
Bank of America makes our list of best banks for families because of its SafeBalance Banking for Family Banking offering. That's because Bank of America understands that not every child is ready to manage money on their own. With a SafeBalance Banking account, children can learn to make money-smart decisions with your help!
Benefits for Families
- Many Branches: There are nearly 4,000 Bank of America branches in the United States. That means there’s a good chance you can bank in person if that matters to you!
- Established Accounts: It’s possible you may already be a Bank of America customer. If you have an established account with them, it’s certainly convenient to use more products and services within one bank.
- Well-Known: Bank of America is a well-known, FDIC-insured bank.
- SafeBalance Banking for Family Banking: This bank account (that comes with a debit card!) is designed to help children under 16 manage their money better. You can use parental controls to guide your child’s spending. It’s also worth noting that there are no monthly fees!
Things to Consider
Bank of America offers a lackluster APY, which means your money isn’t working as hard as it could be. Plus, the app user experience is equally dull.
Perhaps the biggest thing to consider is that Bank of America users say their customer service experience is poor.
ATM Access
You can use the Bank of America ATM locator to access 15,000 ATMs nationwide!
Costs / Fees
Different products and services come with different fees. Use the fee finder to learn more about what you might pay for Bank of America services.
Final Thoughts on Best Banks for Families
When it comes to financial literacy, nothing takes the place of allowing your kids and teens to manage their own money. However, not all banks make it easy to do that.
The banks on this list are some of the best banks to bank with if you are looking for kids savings accounts, checking accounts to manage with your child, or kids debit cards. By allowing kids to manage their money with your help, you can set them up for a successful financial future. At the same time, parents need a great bank too. These options support the needs of the entire family!
Do you have another suggestion for our best banks for families list? Have you ever used one of these banks?
Please let us know in the comments below.
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