Media releases
Helping Kids to Save and Spend Safely
24 July 2024
Westpac has released new features to help kids and their parents and guardians to manage their money safely and support good spending and saving habits with a debit card backed by parental controls and digital Pocket Money function.
The changes come as Westpac’s Youth Money Report* finds Australian parents1 want to empower their children to be financially literate and independent, while spending safely.
The findings showed three quarters (75%) of parents are already teaching their children some form of financial digital literacy, and more than half (53%) want their children to have a debit card to teach them about money.
Almost three quarters (72%) of parents are happy for their child to have a transaction account and three out of five (61%) are happy for them to have a debit card.
However, parents are concerned about online safety and spending, with close to two in five parents noting one of the biggest challenges is not having controls in place to stop online threats (37%) or oversight on what their child is spending money on (37%).
Chris Brell, Acting Managing Director Cash & Transactional Banking, says lowering Westpac’s debit card age limit to eight for Westpac Choice Youth account holders and introducing the new controls give parents oversight of their child’s account and spending habits while providing financial freedom within boundaries right for their child’s age and ability.
"Talking about money early and enabling your child to put saving and spending into practice helps develop important financial literacy skills,” said Mr Brell.
“Our parental controls and safety features will help parents teach their kids about the value of a digital dollar, while keeping them and their money safer.
“How to keep money secure and spend responsibly is a crucial lesson for children – and parents know how important it is. Our robust parental controls and safety features, including spending limits, push notifications on account activity and blocks on certain high-risk transactions, will enable parents to empower their children to spend and save safely, and give them peace of mind.”
The features available to parents and children banking with Westpac include:
1) Parental controls and safety features
Parental controls and safety features help keep children and their money safer on the Westpac Choice Youth account and debit card. Controls and features include:
Daily payment and weekly spending limits: For customers under-14, default Daily Payment Limit of $50 on selected online payments on the account and default Weekly Spend Limit of $50 on debit card. Children under-14 are unable to update their limits, with parents able to change Weekly Spend Limit in the Westpac app based on their child’s age and ability. Customers 14 and over can manage their own Daily Payment and Weekly Spend Limits.
Notifications to parent on account activity: Push notifications to parents of under-14 customers on certain transaction and savings accounts activity including when a child reaches their Weekly Spend Limit, or a transaction is blocked when limits are reached. Debit and credit push notifications are available to parents on Bump and Choice Youth accounts.
Card controls: Parent can temporarily lock and unlock a card or report lost or stolen.
Mandatory signatories for under-14 account holders: Children under-14 cannot remove their parent as a signatory and prevent them from accessing account controls and viewing account activity. Notifications are sent to the parent if they are removed when child is between 14 and 18.
Online payment blocks: BPAY® and International Money Transfers blocked online for children under-14.
Blocking of certain high-risk transactions on Westpac Debit Card: An automatic block is present for under-18 customers on bars, nightclubs, alcohol and tobacco.
2) Debit card age limit
Westpac has lowered its debit card age limit from 14 to 8-years-old for cards linked to Westpac Choice Youth to help parents teach their kids about financial responsibility from an early age.
For children under-14 with a debit card, there is a default Weekly Spend Limit of $50 on debit card transactions. Debit and credit push notifications are available to parents on Bump and Choice Youth accounts.
Parents will also be notified if their child removes them from the account when they are 14 and above.
3) Pocket Money
Three in five (59%) parents still pay pocket money in cash, however, nine in 10 (90%) parents who give cash would pay it digitally if their child had their own bank account*.
To help, Westpac has introduced a Pocket Money feature within the Westpac app Family Hub that enables parents to transfer money from their Westpac account to their child's Youth Choice or Bump account as a one-off funds transfer or recurring payment. Westpac Youth Choice and Bump accounts have no account keeping fees, so every dollar put into the account will help savings grow.
"Successful saving starts at home. It is nice for the tooth fairy to still pay in cash, but learning the value of the digital dollar is key to setting up kids to be savvy savers. Giving kids the freedom to access their money in cash or digitally from an early age, with oversight from their parents, enables them to practice good habits," concluded Mr Brell.
ENDS
Westpac’s top tips for teaching kids about money:
Talk about safety online – Having an open and ongoing conversation with young children about how to stay safer online will open lines of communication with them to keep track of what they are viewing and doing online.
Give them the foundations – Starting young children with an understanding of what money is, where it comes from and why we need it will arm them with the basics of money and its value.
Include them in family financial conversations – Hearing the family talk about budgeting and bills can teach children by example and help remove any potential fear of talking about money to a parent or a caregiver in the future.
Activate controls and set boundaries – Set up relevant parental controls on devices and their bank account and debit card. Discuss how safety features and spending boundaries help keep them and their money safe, and their savings growing.
Use pocket money as a teaching tool – Parents can use chores and pocket money to demonstrate how to save, spend, manage, and store it. Help them set up a budget to keep track of their money and how they want to use it.
Discuss needs versus wants – Understanding the difference between needs and wants can be difficult for young children, but it is essential for managing money and spending.
Set goals – Money can be fun. Setting up savings goals with your child that are both age-appropriate and exciting can instil good savings habits and teach them discipline.
For top tips on how to talk about and manage money with young children, visit the Westpac website.
*ABOUT WESTPAC 2024 YOUTH MONEY REPORT
The research was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. Lonergan Research surveyed 1,000 Australian parents aged 20+ with children between the ages of 8-17. Surveys distributed throughout Australia including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel, between 16 March 2024 and 2 of April 2024. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
1 Australian parents aged 20+ with children between the ages of 8-17.
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