Prepaid Credit Cards for Kids

There comes an age in the lives of all kids and teenagers, when they want to hang out more often with their friends. They prefer shopping with their friends, eating out with friends, and having a good time. In such an age, you will notice that your kid is spending much more money than you had anticipated.

A prepaid credit card is also known as a store value credit card. The working of such cards is different from that of normal credit cards, which are credit facilities extended to their customers for a small amount of fee. When you use or let's say, swipe your credit card, the credit card company bears the expenditure for the purchase that you have just made.

At the end of the month, the credit card company sends you a bill that totals up all your expenditures for the month. The company also charges you with a small fee for extending the credit, which is a known as a service charge. The fee can be a fixed amount for every month or can be calculated in proportion to your expenditure.

Prepaid credit cards meant for kids work differently. In reality, it is not even a credit card, but is a very effective service given by credit card companies. When you need to use the prepaid card, fill out a check in the name of the company, or visit the nearest branch of the company. The company then fills in the amount into prepaid credit card.

The user of the prepaid credit card can use only the amount that has been loaded in the card. Thus, your teenager will not be able to spend more than you want him to spend. Student credit cards have a working similar to these.

There are a number of advantages of giving your kid a prepaid credit card.

• One of the first advantages is that a prepaid credit card enables you to curb expenditure.
• Many such cards have a facility where you can curtail daily or weekly expenditure. It means that the user of the card can spend only a specified amount in a day or week.

• The credit card company would mail you a customized bill every month. With the help of this bill you would be able to know where your child spent the money.
• Some cards also deny cash withdrawal, which further proves to be helpful in tracking your kids expenditure.

• Last, but not the least, these cards help you in preserving your own credit rating and credit scores. It also does not have a negative impact on your child's credit history when he or she becomes an adult.

The best way to avail the services of such cards is to approach your credit card company. The service charges of such cards are negligible, and you will also have good access to customized bills and daily spending limits.