[superuser2]

If you give teenagers cash, they can't spend it online. Thanks to KYC rules and bank policies, you have to be 18 to get anything that looks like a credit card.

Best plan for teenagers is a joint checking account (dedicated to the child's use) at your bank, with a debit card they can use for day-to-day spending. You can do allowance, etc with transfers, and most bankd will play ball as long as one person on the account (the parent) is 18.

[finnn]

I had a debit card linked to a bank account well before I was 18, which I used to buy all sorts of things from the internet. Prior to that, when I purchased my first domain and paid shared web hosting in early high school, I remember buying a prepaid gift card which I used to make the purchase.

[w1ntermute]

> If you give teenagers cash, they can't spend it online. Thanks to KYC rules and bank policies, you have to be 18 to get anything that looks like a credit card.

What about those prepaid cards you can buy for cash at B&M stores? I'm pretty sure you can use those online.

[superuser2]

Activation requires you to (pretend to) be 18, AFAIK. Also they have quite hefty fees; a checking accout is free as long as you don't overdraft.

[derefr]

Are people also not technically allowed to use a prepaid credit card registered in someone else's name? A parent could activate the card and then give it to the child.

[superuser2]

You could, but then you're still paying fees designed to exploit the unbanked. If the parent is financially secure, they can use that fact to get a free checking account for their child.

[smnrchrds]

Checking account are free? Well, chequing accounts are not :(

Among the downsides of being in Canada is paying higher prices for anything that is not health care.

[jacalata]

In the US most bank checking accounts have a monthly fee which is waived if you meet certain conditions, like maintain a minimum balance (I think mine was $1000) or get an automatic direct deposit at least 2 times per month of $250 or more - these would be hard to meet for a childs account. Credit unions are usually free though.

[superuser2]

There is usually a "relationship waiver" that eliminates the fees on all the accounts you're party to as long as you have enough total wealth parked with that bank.

[Navarr]

Sucks to be you. My checking account even gives me interest!

[patmcc]

Look at your local credit union - many (not all, sadly) offer a free chequing account.

[mafuyu]

That's what I used in high school, but they're not very good value. You'd often need to pay a few bucks in fees just to use a $20 prepaid Visa card.

[gotrecruit]

sometimes those cards don't work for some online stores because there is no address associated with the card, so card verification systems may fail.

[derefr]

Every time I've bought one of those cards, it has me go to a website to register/activate it (set a PIN, associate it with my email address+password, and most importantly, assign it an address and phone number) before it'll work.

[pki]

many online stores i've seen/used actively block those cards due to fraud/chargeback/etc reasons

[benjiweber]

Why can't you use the debit card online? I had a debit card at 14 that I could use online (UK)

[gambiting]

In EU you can have a visa debit/mastercard debit card when you are 13 upwards.

[mynameisjohn]

Wells Fargo gave me an account incl. debit card at 16.