When children temporarily leave the nest: financial tips for parents

There are so many opportunities for children to travel without their parents, from school trips to lan-guage exchanges. However, parents are left with financial questions. How much money should their children have access to? What types of cards are child-friendly, allowing them to withdraw cash and make payments? And above all, how can parents keep an eye on the budget?

Before your children temporarily leave the nest, you should talk to them about what expenses they might encounter on their travels, such as meals, admission fees or the cost of small souvenirs. Agree on a set budget with your child; this will provide a guideline and help them make intentional decisions.

The optimal travel wallet includes both cash and a card

It’s not a good idea to rely on cash only while travelling, particularly since cash is easily lost. But at the same time, cashless payments are not always available. So it makes sense to send your child with some cash, but also ensure they have access to a card. Your child then has a clearly defined amount of cash to spend for smaller expenses and a debit or credit card with no overdraft for larger or spontaneous payments.

Debit or credit card for your child’s account

A debit or credit card grants your child greater financial freedom. Most banks will allow you to open a bank account for minors, commonly known as a children’s bank account. These accounts only allow access to the actual money in the account. They also usually include a debit card, such as a girocard. Children’s accounts are not allowed to go into overdraft. That means your child can only spend as much money as they actually have in the account.

Of course, your child cannot open the account on their own. You are their legal guardian, and they need your permission. Protecting minors is a top priority. As such, the account can only be used by the child based on specific rules laid out by legal provisions and the child’s legal guardians. As a parent, you can transfer your child’s pocket money as well as an extra amount for any upcoming travel into the account.

Prepaid credit cards: an easily controlled solution

Prepaid credit cards are another option for ensuring your child can make payments while travelling. When making a payment, they work just like any other credit card, but there is an important difference: they do not actually provide access to any credit. The card holder - your child - can only spend money that has been added to the card. If there is no more money left on the card, there is no way to make payments. This means there is no risk that your child will spend more money than they are supposed to have access to.

These cards are now also available as virtual cards, specially designed for digital payments. There’s no need to carry an actual physical card, and so they are particularly useful for online purchases or pay-ments on the go.

Emergency spending: access money quickly

The situation can change quickly while travelling. If your child is faced with unexpected costs, you can make an instant transfer to their account or prepaid credit card.

It is also important to talk to your child in advance about what to do if their card, or the phone their digital card is on, is lost. Talking about how to handle a lost card will help keep you and your child calm if worst comes to worst. Make sure you have both written down the numbers you need to freeze the card and have access to digital copies of important documents.

How to keep an eye on things

As a parent, you want to keep an eye on what payments your child is making. The best way to do this is to turn on push notifications in your online banking app. This will allow you to view all the payments your child makes without having to ask for every little detail.