5 Best Teen Checking Accounts

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Your teen might not have any concept of checking accounts, checks or even when to use them. However, just because checks aren’t floating around as much does not make checking accounts obsolete. The best time for your child to open one is as a teen, before college, while you can teach the ins and outs of a checking account and proper money management. 

See: How To Guard Your Wealth From a Potential Banking Crisis With Gold

5 Best Teen Checking Accounts

While many financial institutions offer checking accounts designed for older teens, such as college students, not many have banking products available for younger teens, like high school students. Here are some of the best bank accounts for teens:

1. Capital One Money Teen Checking
2. Navy Federal Credit Union Free Campus Checking
3. Connexus Credit Union Teen Checking Account
4. Axos Bank First Checking
5. Alliant Credit Union Teen Checking

Pros and Cons of the Best Teen Checking Accounts

1. Capital One Money Teen Checking

Capital One’s offering in the teen checking market, the Money account, is open to preteens, too. In fact, any child at least 8 years old is eligible to have a checking account. Here are a few key takeaways about the Capital One Money Teen Checking account:

• No minimum balance requirements, minimum opening deposits or monthly service fees
• Pays APY on any balance
• The account comes with a debit card.
• Parents can get account alerts through the app and lock or unlock the card with parental controls. 
• If parents want to directly deposit money into their teen’s account, they can do it from any account. A Capital One account isn’t required.
• You can open a teen checking account online and conduct transactions and personal finance inquiries entirely online or on the mobile app.

2. Navy Federal Credit Union Free Campus Checking

Teenagers today see so much plastic that they need to learn it’s backed by hard-earned paper. You probably started your children’s journey toward financial literacy very early. Navy Federal Credit Union offers its Free Campus Checking to students ages 14 to 24. Here are some key takeaways:

• The account carries no monthly maintenance fee, and it doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement. It comes with up to $120 a year in rebates of ATM fees.
• Account holders also earn APY and dividends at the same rate. 
• The account comes with a free debit card and has an array of digital banking options. Complete the account application online.
• To qualify for an account, the teen must have ties to the armed forces, Department of Defense or National Guard through a parent, grandparent or guardian.

3. Connexus Credit Union Teen Checking Account

While having $100 in the bank might seem like a big amount to a 13-year-old, take your child on a few errands with you to show just how fast $100 can go in real money from their own account. Members of Connexus Credit Union can sign up their children ages 10 to 17 for a Teen Checking account. Here are some key takeaways:

• When the account holder turns 18, the account will convert to a standard adult account.
• Account holders can earn an APY of on balances of up to $1,000; balances above that amount earn a lower APY. 
• There are no minimum balance requirements.
• Have access to free Visa debit cards at a network of 67,000-plus surcharge-free ATMs across the country.
• Free membership is limited to employees of specific companies or residents of various communities in Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio or Wisconsin, but anyone in the 50 states can pay $5 to join the Connexus Association, which grants membership.

4. Axos Bank First Checking

As your teen learns with cash and not just with a swipe of the card at the register, you can also teach them how to keep their checkbook or account regulated, whether on paper or via their bank’s mobile app. The First Checking account is for teens 13 through 17 (18 in Alabama), and it requires an adult co-owner. Here are some key takeaways:

• Your teen will need $50 to open the account at Axos Bank, which is an online bank.
• While it is called a “checking” account, there are no check-writing privileges. 
• No non-sufficient funds or overdraft fees
• It pays APY interest.
• The account comes with preset limits such as $100 in cash withdrawals or $500 in point-of-sale transactions per day. 
• Up to $12 in domestic ATM fees are reimbursed each month, and there aren’t any maintenance fees.

5. Alliant Credit Union Teen Checking

When each one of your teen’s transactions, debit card purchases or cash withdrawals can be accounted for, either on paper or via a budgeting app, you both know how much money is in the account and can manage the finances accordingly. Alliant Credit Union offers a checking account specifically designed for members ages 13 to 17. Here are some key takeaways:

• The parent who is the joint owner also must be an Alliant member, and the nationwide credit union is easy to join. 
• Once you join and open your account, you won’t face a monthly service fee or minimum balance.
• Teens can manage their money through an app or use their debit card and any of more than 80,000 fee-free ATMs. 
• If teens incur an ATM fee anywhere, they are eligible for up to $20 a month in ATM fee rebates.
• Teens will get their first box of checks for free provided the account meets certain qualifications, such as agreeing to receive electronic statements instead of paper ones and a monthly recurring electronic deposit.

Can I Open a Checking Account for My Teenager?

You will be part of the process when your teenager opens a checking account. That’s because minors can’t open a bank account on their own.

To be eligible to open an account at a U.S. bank, applicants must:

• Be 18 or older
• Have a government-issued identification card
• Have a second form of ID, such as your Social Security card, your birth certificate or a bill bearing your name and address
• Fund the opening deposit

Given those requirements, your child can’t open an account without the help of an adult. So you’ll open the checking account as a joint owner with your teenager, most likely.

Final Take To GO

Talking to your kids about money cliches can help pennies grow into dollars. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned, and you’ll be able to build on that foundation when they open that first checking account under your watchful eye before they head off to college. Schedule a regular financial meeting to go over the register, talk about spending and saving patterns, and discuss upcoming events where your teen might want to pull out their debit card.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of July 7, 2023.

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