Reloadable, prepaid cards are nothing new. In fact, MasterCard, Visa, and American Express all offer their own versions.
However, Greenlight, a 3-year-old startup out of Atlanta (sorry, Falcons), wants to take on the big boys with a card designed specifically for kids.
How it works
The problem Greenlight is trying to solve is a simple one: How to give your kid money without worrying that they’ll a) lose it or b) spend it all on candy.
That’s why it’s the first card with store and website-level controls, meaning Jimmy’s mom can give Jimmy $25 to spend at, say, Jamba Juice, and his dad can be like, “Alright bud, here’s $50 for Amazon stuff this month.”
Parents can also automate allowances, set up savings accounts, receive alerts any time the card is used, and eventually let their child withdraw a specific amount of money from an ATM.
Why this matters
On average, children are getting their first smartphone at age 10. That’s the world we live in now.
And, while a 5th-grader still can’t drive a car or see the PG-13 rated La La Land (which is a damn shame, it’s a wonderful film), there’s still an undeniable level of independence that comes with that first phone.
Parents aren’t around as much, there’s a lot more “hanging out in town,” and it creates money issues that Greenlight can help sort out.
More importantly…
This card empowers families to raise financially smart kids, which, if you remember, was never really taught in elementary school… or at the bank… or anywhere, quite frankly.
So yeah, Kudos to Greenlight for solving a real problem, something that seems rarer and rarer these days.
