These days, the easiest way to pay for anything at practically any shop — save for Walmart, I suppose — is through the digital wallet stored on your phone or smartwatch. Of course, that makes it difficult for kids and teens to ever actually pay for anything on their own, especially if they don’t have their own bank account and your household is primarily cashless. With its latest update, that’s the exact problem Google Wallet is trying to fix.
Starting today, parents in the US can rely on Google Wallet to set up a ‘secure balance’ for kids or teens under the age of 18, without requiring a fresh bank account. It’s essentially a digital allowance, with your child’s spending limits, account activity, and transactions all viewable from within your account. And while it doesn’t come with its own physical card — again, this isn’t a bank account — kids and teens can use their balance at any store that accepts Google Pay through tap to pay.
In addition to the above safeguards, Google also supports optional notifications for purchases made by your child via Family Link, and allows for remote balance locks. That’s not just useful for whenever you need to put a stop to certain spending habits, but also ensures that a stolen or lost device (something that’s not particularly uncommon with younger users) doesn’t lead to losing out on cash as well. Google says it’s a “digital-first way” for kids to learn their earliest financial lessons without signing up for something like Greenlight or Acorns Early.
This is just the latest way Google has tried to make managing finances easier for your children. Last year, Wallet began rolling out access for kids through Family Link, with access having first started on the kid-centric Fitbit Ace LTE. This change makes digital allowances that much easier, though the traditional experience should stick around as well. No word yet on if or when this will expand to parents outside the US.
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