Venmo targets young consumers and parents with new teen accounts and debit cards

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Venmo announced today that it is introducing teen accounts, allowing parents and legal guardians to open a Venmo account for their teens so they can send and receive money. The account, which has no monthly fees, also comes with a Venmo Teen debit card. Each teen Venmo account is connected to and managed by a parent’s personal Venmo account, but the teen account has a separate balance from the parent account.

The Venmo teen account allows parents to control transactions, manage privacy settings, and send money to their teens. Teens can track their own spending in the Venmo app and may be eligible to receive direct deposits, allowing funds to be paid directly into the Venmo teen account from an after-school job, for example.

Parents can choose to grant their teens access to the Venmo app. They can view the balance and transaction history of the Venmo Teen account, manage the Teen Debit Card PIN, block and unblock the debit card, check their friends list, and block users from interacting with the account. . Parents can monitor up to five teen Venmo accounts from their personal Venmo account. Although parents can’t block their teen’s payments, they are automatically alerted.

It’s worth noting that teens can’t access some of the features that come with a standard Venmo account, like crypto. Venmo says that it currently doesn’t plan to add any additional functionality for teen accounts, such as savings accounts or budgeting tools.

“Venmo is a natural place for teens to learn how to manage money responsibly, especially considering that 86% of Gen Z are interested in using an app to learn about personal finance,” said Erika Sanchez, vice president and general manager. of Venmo, in a statement. “For parents or legal guardians, the Venmo Teen Account allows them to provide some financial flexibility to their teens, while also giving them parental controls and visibility into their teens’ spending habits.”

Image Credits: Venmo

The company says research shows that more than 45% of Gen Z prefer to have a conversation with an adult to learn about personal finance, and more than 50% of parents are interested in using an app to help their children. to learn about money management. Venmo says the Venmo Teen Debit Card and Teen Account can help parents and their teens build money management skills together.

To get started, parents need to sign up for a Venmo teen account on behalf of their teen. They can do this by navigating to the “Me” screen in the Venmo app, tapping on their name in the top left corner, and then selecting “Create a teen account” from the dropdown menu. Parents can select a teen debit card color and enter information about their teen, such as their teen’s name, date of birth, and address.

It’s worth noting that Venmo seems to have been planning this release for quite some time. In 2020, Venmo was spotted prototype of a new feature that would allow adult users to open a debit card for their teenage children that was connected to their account.

By delving into teen banking, the company can establish a new reason for adults to sign up for Venmo. The service is already a popular way for young people to split the bill for things like Uber rides or dinner, so it makes sense for the company to bring social banking to a teen demographic. However, Venmo is a latecomer to the teen debit card market. startups like Green light and Passed Let parents manage teen spending on dedicated debit cards.

Venmo’s teen account will roll out to select customers next month and will be widely available in the coming weeks.