Too true. People will always find ways.
Fine way to get caught though.
A discussion on that could be a thread of its own!
So itās not really a bank account then, to fill the gap in the market highlighted by the OP? But just the same as Starling Kite/Rooster?
Really disappointing and misses the mark if thatās the case. Makes the marketing misleading too, because you really made it sound like this was an actual account, bringing together the best of both worlds of a childrenās bank account and the prepaid debit card solutions.
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When I turned 12 I got a ReadyCash account at the Clydesdale Bank. It was completely independent and you got an ATM card, account number, sort code etc. I can understand the need for having these linked to parents accounts, if you want, but it really wasnāt a problem to learn about having an independent back account on my own. I think some of these products are guilty of being designed by committee and are way overprotective.
I donāt think so. Theyāre about to provide something similar to what weāve been using variously at goHenry, HyperJar, Starling and more recently Revolut.
Weād have preferred Monzo, and now my youngest will have Monzo just like his older siblings. And me 
Monzo is still a cool brand in our house.
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Because no one ever sends a child a cheque?
Have to agree with others. This sounds more and more like a sub MVP āannouncement to the press releaseāā¦
Itās not just the processes and the systems that are important here though.
The crucial input is the education around using the account so that the child/teenager/young adult is savvy enough to not let that happen.
Itās becoming clearer and clearer that impressionable young people are being targetted to act as money mules by various levels of organised crime gangs.
Itās tricky getting the balance right between parental control on an account and giving the child gradual independence as he/she grows older. Itās just as tricky making them fully aware of āStranger Dangerā without leaving them anxiety-ridden.
Any built-in protection that their banking provider can offer is to be welcomed.
I really do wish Monzo well with this new project
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@Sarahm, Would you and the team consider enabling an account number and sort code for the account once a child reaches a certain age.
Letās say at 14 for example, giving the child more responsibility over time and getting them used to a more full featured account for once they reach 16? Many teenagers begin to have part-time jobs that pay via BACs or Faster Payments around this age.
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Sure, but thatās a downgrade over how it was presented in the OP, where they actually criticise the shortcomings of those products.
Itās fine if itās just gohenry in a Monzo wrapper (which is what you want), but itās not how theyāve positioned it at all:
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Ok, I see that now
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Doesnāt Revolut require a āparentā to approve people for P2P transfers? Like a friends list that parents manage
If only there was a physical way for the āguy in the vanā to give them Ā£5 that couldnāt be traced and didnāt record his identity on a ledger forever
Oh waitā¦
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Iāve a very insensitive sense of humour so wonāt add any more context to any man and van jokes.
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There is no way Iād want my soon to be 6 year old daughter to have full unrestricted access to all of their birthday money etc sent by relatives.
When theyāre a bit older it would be nice to lift these restrictions though.
Dare I say toggle / config for this kinda thing? 
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I donāt intend of having kids myself, but I do have family members who have Monzo accounts and would like a kids account for their children. When I read the announcement post, I thought this was going to be a great thing for them but after seeing the updates and clarifications, now iām not sure sure. Seems similar to the old āPre-paid Mondoā days but with some slight tweaks to make it more restrictive, and letās a 2nd person oversee the account.
Yes, itās a free alternative to the likes of GoHenry, but at what costs? For me, this is another basic āletās push it out of the door and enhance it laterā endevour.
The perfect solution for me would be:
- Kids account has itās own Account Number and Sort Code
- Parent authorisation required for first time payment from unknown accounts
- Meaning family can send money, and once authorised, there is no friction
- But maybe add customisable limits
- Not all kids have a smartphone, so a kid friendly app that works on iPad and kid versions of Android tablets (like Fire tablets)
- Customisable spend limits, but allow parental override by authorisation.
- Example: Have Ā£100 in the account but can only spend Ā£10 max in a week, unless parent enables override.
- Multiple āparentsā but secondary parents donāt require a personal Monzo account
- Having the main admin be a Monzo user make sense to me, especially as a free product
- Having different levels of access for parents too. So Mum has full access, Dad can adjust spend limits and authorise transactions, but grandma is only allowed to authorise transactions.
- Apple Pay support for 13 years old and over
- T&Cs for Apple Pay states 13 years old. Google Wallet is 16 years old so wouldnāt be applicable to this unfortunately.
- Easily convert account to 16-18, or full Monzo when at the right age, which keeps all transaction history and money, but decouples it from the main parent.
- If main admin has Extra/Perks/Max, then allow some of the extras to benefit the child account, like boosted interest and custom categories.
There is probably more.
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Did somebody say toggle? No thank you. No toggles. Death to the toggles.
A transition of control could happen automatically at a certain age. 11 seems to be the age requirement for a proper childrenās bank account. So letās make it 11. We donāt need a toggle.
I reckon a toggle for the parents to choose whether the child can see the account number and sort code of the account would be useful.
Meaning very young children wonāt be able to share their account details but parents can decide who gets them and in turn has the ability to send the child money.
Then once the child has grown a little, learned a few good habits and is becoming more knowledgeable about their money in general the parents can allow them to see the account details.
Thatās how I would like it to eventually work for my daughter. Right now sheās only 6months old though so has no need for any of this 
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Itās certainly not a case of having too many toggles, but it does need some controls. Since children develop at different rates, trying to standardise that would be a mistake, in my opinion.
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I agree. But the rest of society doesnāt and thatās how everything else works. Standardisation has benefits too though. Not all parents care enough to parent and so contrary to the Disney villain, donāt know best. Putting things behind a toggle would be to the detriment of the child in that case. Itās hard enough to convince some parents to even get going with one of these apps or a childās bank account at all.
But ignore me. I just hate toggles.