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Chase First Banking℠ can help your child learn the basics of managing money and also start receiving payments from family and friends. This kid-friendly account can offer free banking access for minors. In this review, we can help you consider if this service can help your family access money easily.
What is Chase First Banking?
Chase First Banking℠ offers free banking accounts specifically for children between ages 6 and 12 years old, although parents and legal guardians can open an account for minors as old as 17 years. This account doesn’t support direct deposit or transfers and may not be the ideal option for teens with part-time jobs.
Children receive a debit card for purchases and ATM withdrawals. They can also manage their account using the Chase Mobile® app. Adults will appreciate the flexibility of parental controls and the ability to schedule chores along with allowance payments.
There are no monthly service fees, and you can open an account for each eligible child to have digital and local banking access. One small restriction is that the adult account owner must be an existing Chase checking customer.
Is Chase First Banking Worth It? Best Chase First Banking Benefits
Here are the best reasons to open this account for your young children.
No Monthly Service Fees
This account won’t incur monthly service fees, making it easy to open a custodial bank account with flexible features.
Your child can have this account through age 17, and the bank may recommend another option when they turn 18 with more relevant banking features as they prepare to head off to college or enter the workforce. For instance, one option is a Chase High School CheckingSM account.
Kids Debit Card
Your child receives a free debit card for online or local purchases. It can also make ATM withdrawals when physical cash is necessary. Children and parents can access their funds at over 15,000 Chase ATMs and 4,700 local branches.
Savings Goals
With your help, children can build and track savings goals within the mobile banking app. One can allocate deposits towards the goal, and parents can earmark transfers for specific purposes.
Your deposits won’t earn interest although being able to plan for multiple short-term and long-term goals at once is beneficial. This interactive feature makes it easier for children to understand how money works and to prepare for the future.
Allowance Payments
Parents can schedule recurring chores within the Chase Mobile® app and automate allowance payments. It’s also possible to initiate allowance transfers without assigning chores if this is your parenting style.
Parental Controls
It’s easy for parents to attain peace of mind with the First Banking parental control features.
Some of the possibilities include:
- Debit card spending limits
- Restrict online and local merchants by category
- ATM withdrawal limits
- Real-time account alerts
Children can send requests to parents when they need to receive additional funds. It’s also possible to authorize transactions on a case-by-case basis. Parents are free to reject requests.
Is Chase First Banking Worth It? Pros and Cons
Below is a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of this account option.
Pros
- No monthly service fees
- For children between ages 6-17
- Kids have a debit card for most purchases
- Create multiple savings goals
- Local branch and ATM access
- Customizable parental controls
- Schedule chores and allowance transfers
- Real-time account alerts
Cons
- For existing Chase personal checking customers only
- No direct deposit or peer-to-peer transactions (i.e., Zelle, Venmo, Cash App)
- Deposits won’t earn interest
- Limited banking features for teens
Chase Total Checking ($300 Bonus)
New Chase checking customers enjoy a $300 bonus when they open a Chase Total Checking® account and make direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days of coupon enrollment.
Other benefits of this account include access to Chase Overdraft Assist℠ and fraud protection, including Zero Liability Protection, fraud monitoring, and the ability to lock your card. The Chase Mobile banking app and access to many banks and ATMs are convenient benefits.
There is no minimum balance needed to open the account. However, there is a $12 monthly service fee. But, it can be waived to $0 with one of the following, each monthly statement period:
- Electronic deposits made into this account totaling $500 or more, such as payments from payroll providers or government benefit providers, by using (i) the ACH network, (ii) the Real Time Payment or FedNow℠ network, (iii) third party services that facilitate payments to your debit card using the Visa® or Mastercard® network
- OR a balance at the beginning of each day of $1,500 or more in this account
- OR an average beginning day balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of this account and linked qualifying Chase checking, savings, and other balances.
Summary
Is Chase First Banking worth it? Consider a Chase First Banking℠ when your child is starting their financial journey so they can start learning the importance of saving up money for planned expenses and occasional purchases. Being able to access the Chase branch network and having hands-on parental controls without a monthly service fee also makes this an appealing option.
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