How old do you have to be to get a bank card?

To begin with, it's important to remember that there really is no age limit for donating money to minors, within the limits set out in the regulations governing gifts, especially when they are direct descendants. 

In France, the limit is €100,000. Suffice it to say that should this limit prove insufficient, this is the type of problem we'd happily put in the "good problem to have" box!

In France, more than 75% of children receive in one way or another the object of all their desires: money. And this is true from the age of 7 or 8. Giving a "coin" to children for various reasons or special events is very common, at the discretion of the donors.

If we consider pocket money in its classic form, we're thinking more in terms of a regular, repetitive endowment, rather than monthly or even weekly money. This allocation falls within the same perimeter as the coin distributed on a one-off basis, and the conditions are more in terms of amount, and consequently in terms of spending capacity and means. In France, nearly one child in 2 benefits from this program. 

For more details and references, we recommend the excellent barometer published by the French Banking Federation.

https://www.fbf.fr/fr/communique_de_presse/resultats-de-letude-sur-leducation-financiere-et-budgetaire-des-enfants-et-lancement-de-la-9e-edition--jinvite-1-banquiere-dans-ma-classe/

So, to answer the question of how old you should be to give money away, it's really up to you and your abilities and the way you see fit. 

‍Theage of pocket money

In France, it's quite traditional for this stage to coincide with the start of secondary school. In middle school, it's quite common for children to start expressing certain needs, even if it's only to buy snacks from the vending machine, to buy their transport tickets, and to slowly start asserting certain aesthetic choices (or not...).

Generally speaking, if we look at the situation in France, around 44% of children aged 8 to 12 receive pocket money, and this rises to 56% for children aged 13 to 14. 

For practical reasons, the allowance is accompanied by the means to spend it. The direction of history is clearly towards an increasingly marked dematerialization of money. The good old "cash" is becoming increasingly rare, and it's now commonplace to be able to pay for all expenses with a bank card or similar. For a long time, small amounts were not welcome by merchants, but this lock is now breaking down, and it is becoming increasingly rare to find minimum card payment limits. 

The other driving force behind these developments is, of course, the Internet. No matter how hard you try to press the screen to force the online site to accept the cash, however determined you are, the success rate is likely to be limited. The alternative is the card, or its derivatives. 

‍From the moment it was agreed in the wisdom of the household that the child would receive pocket money, there was also talk of sport. 

Basically, there are 2 options, and probably 3.

- cash. 

The limits are obvious: cash gets lost, parents are forced to use their cards for online purchases, and then it's fun to play shopkeeper when the child has to reimburse the CB purchase, hoping that the adult has the right change. We're not talking about grandparents' cheques, assets here and there.... In short, Leliquide seems to be more and more a quirk of the past. 

Children's bank cards

A bank card for a child means an uncertain number of guarantees:

• For VISA card solutions, it can be used anywhere in the world.
• The money is safe
• It allows you to track your expenses
• Buy online
• To be safe
• Avoid the risk of overdraft
• Familiarize yourself with the banking tools you'll be using in the future. 

If the solution is accompanied by a bank account, the child or teenager can even receive money for a summer job, a transfer from relatives, and even sell a few things on Vinted, eBay and Co. 

‍In France you need to be at least 16 and have parental permission to open a bank account in your own name - and have most of the associated tools (chequebooks, cards, accounts, passbook etc....)so it's not suitable for younger people. 

For children and young teenagers, a new type of product has arrived in recent years with the explosion of third-party banking services. You'll find products that focus on 2 approaches. 

• Simple card products: the child benefits from a card and a dedicated account. The benefit lies above all in the availability of a product that encourages and facilitates spending.
• Banking products for children that emphasize financial education, parental control and spending guidelines. Even if, at times, this is more marketing packaging than a truly differentiated offer.

In between these 2 approaches are a number of options, with varying degrees of adapted wrapping and innovation. 

‍To return to the original question, aquelle age a bank card.

In fact, it all depends on the bank card you choose and whether it's suitable for your minor! And beyond that, to what extent will the card remain suitable for a child who is growing in autonomy and maturity?

For younger customers, you may want a bank card for minors that restricts purchases to certain merchant categories and amounts per month, or even limits card use to a select few merchants. 

For teenagers, open a few floodgates, while defining safeguards (so that all the money doesn't go into video games or fast fashion).

The card that knows how to save

A worrying, but not necessarily surprising, trend shows that young people are less and less inclined to make savings. Jean-Paul Guisset says: " The money you earn is the money you don't spend. In the FBF study, it was noted that children and teenagers are spending more and more often. Only 45% of them put some money down, compared with 50% the previous year. 

In the context of true financial education, a children's card will probably seek to limit spending rather than encourage it. And that's not necessarily for everyone, since in a consumer society, "thriftiness" isn't always seen in a positive light. (And we're not talking about the potato peeler.) This is how we distinguish between parents who prefer a logistical solution to a formative one. 

The good news is that whatever the age, there's a product to suit every parent's priorities. 

The first question is certainly to determine the desired objective, and then the art and manner of achieving it.
Giving a child money means making him understand the link between what he wants and its value, i.e. a price.

This is a good opportunity to take a look at another article: how much pocket money to give your child and under what conditions. To be found HERE.

Financial education at the heart of Bloon's approach

At Bloon, financial education also takes the form of a strong commitment (such as limiting cashback - commercial partnerships) and even communicating partnerships, promoting collector products and even sponsorship operations. 

Bloon's children's bank account for real parental control.... Control and rules that will serve you for real! Like: no more than €15 per month spent on "Shein". Or limiting the international option to countries of your choice - there's no point taking the risk of a stolen card ending up in an unlikely country. 

Better still, you can make sure that your child doesn't set up a subscription (whether intentionally or not), and even block it if the merchant doesn't play along.

We don't set the rules, you do, and you can change them whenever you like... in real time.

By providing your under-age child with a Bloon card, which will always be suitable for them whatever their age and maturity, you can help them acquire valuable financial skills that will serve them well throughout their lives, as education and support are essential in guiding them towards sound financial management. (No, unfortunately the card is not available to MPs and ministers).

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