---
title: What age should I give my child a debit card? Yish’s Two Cents
description: More businesses and school canteens are going cashless, so, when is the right time to give your kid a debit card? Kit MD, Yish Koh weighs in.
---

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# [What age should I give my child a debit card? Yish’s Two Cents](https://learn.heykit.com.au/learn-it/what-age-should-i-give-my-child-a-debit-card-yishs-two-cents)

 Written by [Yish Koh, Kit MD](https://learn.heykit.com.au/learn-it/author/yish-koh-kit-md) | Sep 10, 2024 1:20:45 AM

While traditional bank accounts start offering debit cards from the age of 9, prepaid debit cards, such as Kit, are now available for children from 5 years of age.  

While 5 years old seems very young, it’s important for children to be given the opportunity to build financial experience by paying for things themselves. The Kit prepaid cards have a variety of parental controls that makes it safe for younger children to use them occasionally, in the same way they may have been given a $10 note to buy milk in the past. These controls include:  

- Not being able to spend more than is put on the card – any money in savings stacks cannot be accessed by tapping the card. 

- Not being able to spend on merchant categories which are for 18+ (e.g. alcohol, gambling) 

- Ability to lock/block the card in real-time – handy in the instance of a lost card 

- Real-time notifications on spending 

- Ability for parents to block specific merchants. 

Parents and carers of children using Kit also find a prepaid debit card for their kids useful to: 

- Pay for online gaming using the Kit card, to prevent overspending on parents’ cards. This puts children in charge of budgeting their own online game spending 

- Allow the child to use the card when spending their pocket money to pay for toys or outings, or to spend money received as a birthday present 

- Paying for lunch at the school canteen if it has gone cashless 

- Paying for lollies/food if going out after school  

The biggest risk with a card is the risk of losing the physical card, although as children start to have their own devices with digital wallets, this becomes less of a risk.  

Kit makes it easy with a prepaid debit card that teaches kids about money management through exciting quests and rewards. 

<https://heykit.app.link/MgwLGQ1gfIb>

Read the T&Cs, FSG, PDS and TMD at [heykit.com.au/legal](http://heykit.com.au/legal) and consider if Kit is right for you. Issued by Hay Limited. Fees and charges may apply. Any advice given is general in nature. 

[View full post](https://learn.heykit.com.au/learn-it/what-age-should-i-give-my-child-a-debit-card-yishs-two-cents)

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