Tip for parents: Link your account to your teen's

If you’re a parent you’ve probably heard it multiple times a week, maybe even multiple times a day.

“Mom/Dad, can I have some money?”

They needed lunch money, there was a field trip that required spending money or they were going to the movies with friends. Not to mention the weekly allowances.

It’s why you needed Current. You needed an easy and fast way to give them money when driving to the ATM after dinner after a long day sounded worse than being bugged about the money in the first place.

You’re now easily transferring money from your Current account to their debit card and have a watchful eye on where the money is going - and maybe even where it needs to stop going. Your teen can boost having a card in his or her own name and can swipe away at the envy of other friends still at the mercy of ATM visits and the super-trusting occasional lend of a parent’s credit card.

But what you may not have realized is while you’re enjoying the convenience and supervision your teen is missing out on one of the best lessons the Current account can provide them - learning how to budget and manage money - and it’s because you haven’t linked accounts.

If your teen does not have the teen version of the Current app, he or she is not seeing account balances or learning how to properly budget funds. Your teens are swiping freely until the card declines and is a reason why the questions have turned to ‘How much money is left in my account?’

Truth is, unless they also download the Current app and link accounts to yours, they’re missing the valuable learning of how to budget and a real feeling of having their own checking account. With their version of the app, they can see their account balances and watch where and how they spend and know exactly when their allowance hits - and learn how to maximize it accordingly until the next one.

They can also REQUEST chores (for real - they absolutely do!) in the app that appear in your version and you can pay them for completion. They’re learning the value of being rewarded for hard work and seeing the need to earn their allowance.

And if your teen has a job, he or she can set up direct deposit of paychecks directly into Current. There’s no need to drive them to the bank to deposit that check (you thought you were done with the bank visits for them, right?). They learn early what a direct deposit is, how to set it up and guess what, it’s also more convenient for you.

They even will see an option for charitable giving in their app. Maybe they have a sports team or organization collecting money for holiday donations. Your teen will be one of the lucky ones to be able to do it just in a swipe, instead of yet another money ask to you.

You might be wondering, wait but if we connect accounts does my teen see my account balance? You want that information private to you and it will stay that way. Your account information and balance remains completely private and secure to you and your app only. Your teen only sees the amount of money you transfer and when you’ve sent it.

And the great news doesn’t stop there. It’s super easy to link accounts and in fact, we’ve made a quick video to show you exactly how to do it. A few taps and a text and you’ll be on your way to even more convenience - and teaching your kids more life lessons.

Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC. The Current Visa Debit Card is issued by Choice Financial Group pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.