BusyKid - BusyKid is a Predatory Scam
My wife and I recently opened a BusyKid checking account for my 8-Year Old son. We fell for the advertising for kids bank accounts online. BusyKid (BusyKid.com) advertises that they are a smart way to teach kids banking. For an annual fee of $48 (obviously high for a checking account), they have an app that allows parents to manage the child's money, set amounts they can earn for doing certain chores, etc. Kids even have the ability to send money to charity or invest in stocks. The app is fairly user friendly as well. The app i thought justified the high annual fee....
My son used the ATM for the first time yesterday. I had to show him step by step how to use it. The first question the ATM asks is if you'd like to see your balance. I encouraged him to select yes, so that he can view his balance before withdrawal. Today, we were reviewing his transaction and realized that BusyKid charges $1.00 for a balance inquiry and $1.50 for a withdrawal (on top of the ATM fee). To say that this shocked me is an understatement. I mean this company advertises that is protective of child spending. A fee for balance inquiry? My 8-year old does not have a phone. How else is he to check his balance? For whatever reason, I glossed over these fees when opening the account so thats a shame on me. But still, this seems predatory. For a company that is aimed toward minors, unneccessary fees like that is infuriating.
Anyway, that account is closing today and I am going to do everything I can to alert people of this fraud of a company.
TLDR: BusyKid charges fees for Balance Inquiries and ATM withdrawals to minors who dont know any better.
UPDATE: I want to make clear that I take full responsibility for opening the account, and I wasnt duped into signing up. The fee's aren't hidden, quite the contrary, they are right out in the open as we were emailed a notification of the charges.
It is only a $2.50 mistake, and also a little life lesson to myself and son to read everything before signing. Hopefully BK gets rid of those fees because everything else is really attractive for managing a younger kid's money.
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