Stockpile and Green Dot Partner on Debit Cards for Minors

FinTech Green Dot and investing platform Stockpile have partnered to make investing and personal finance more accessible to consumers of all ages. 

The collaboration will introduce innovative products, tools and features to empower individuals, the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 3) press release.

As part of this effort, Stockpile plans to embed parental spending controls and debit card functionality for minors in its retail investing product suite, powered by Green Dot’s banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, according to the release. 

Stockpile and Green Dot aim to create a platform where parents can support their children in learning and applying responsible financial habits together, the release said. This will help bridge the gap between teens who rely on their parents for financial education, and parents who rarely discuss household finances with their kids.

The initial feature to be added to Stockpile’s investing suite is a debit card with parental spending controls, per the release. This will allow parents to set up debit cards quickly and easily for qualified minors, providing appropriate access, oversight and controls. Stockpile also plans to introduce additional tools and functionality to its product suite in the future. 

Victor Wang, CEO of Stockpile, said in the release that partnering with Green Dot adds a new dimension to Stockpile’s hands-on financial learning and access. Simran Singh, head of enterprise business development and embedded finance at Green Dot, added that the partnership will deliver powerful financial tools and experiences that fuel engagement and value for their customers.

Surveys have shown there is a need for greater financial literacy. For example, it was reported in November that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found that the average person who responded to its financial literacy survey could answer 2.6 out of five questions correctly. Just 4% of respondents could answer all five questions correctly.

In another recently announced effort to address this need, Intuit said in September that it has launched an educational program aimed at teaching high school students skills needed to run a business. Only 25% of high school students are currently required to enroll in personal finance courses, with even lower rates in low-income areas, the company said when introducing this new offering.