The accounts and apps a Canadian kid can actually have

What exists, how each one works, and what to ask before you sign your kid up. Product details come from each provider's own pages.

Accounts and apps About a 5-minute read 7 sections

Start here

A card teaches nothing by itself. What teaches is what it makes visible — a balance going up, money running out on a Tuesday. So: what do I want my kid to see?

Why no rates or bonuses. They move — we found one still advertised past its own end date. Read the live number on the provider's page. We print structure: ownership, controls, what happens at 18.

Ages 8–12 · seeing the balance go up

Spending is not the lesson yet. A savings account with no card does better.

What to look for:

  1. No monthly fee. Four dollars a month against a forty-dollar balance is 10%. Youth accounts generally have none.
  2. Visible to your kid, on your phone, with you.
  3. Not instantly spendable.
  4. A real statement in their name.

Every major bank runs one.

Account Worth knowing
Tangerine Children's Savings Unlimited transactions. No debit card — visible, not tappable
RBC Leo's Young Savers 12 and under, no monthly fee, a few free debit transactions
Your credit union Youth terms are often good and rarely in comparison articles

Pair it with a jar (Saplings Level 2) — it takes the Save jar's overflow.

Ages 13–15 · the first card

Two prepaid-card apps. Detail the comparison does not carry:

Mydoh — read from mydoh.ca

  • Built and backed by RBC; funds held at RBC.
  • Prepaid "Smart Cash Card" — in store and online, Apple Pay for teens.
  • No monthly fee — the $2.99/month it charged was removed in spring 2024.
  • Parents fund it from any bank account, no fees or minimums.
  • Tasks and allowance assignable in-app; Savings Goals let the kid name a target.

Our 13–15 pick — the chore-to-Pay-Day loop shows a kid that income is produced.

Wealthsimple Kids & Teens — launched September 2026

New — check their pages, not this one.

  • Parent needs an active Wealthsimple chequing account. Age of majority is 18 or 19 by province.
  • Works at ATMs and in mobile wallets. No minimum balance, no ATM fees, no FX fee.
  • Controls: per-transaction, daily, weekly and monthly limits; category blocks; notifications; an optional co-manager.
  • The child cannot change settings, exceed a limit, or unlock a locked card.
  • Parent-paid interest tops up automatically: you pay the difference above the base rate.
  • T5 slips issue in the parent's name in trust; attribution rules decide who reports the interest.
  • Multiple kid accounts run from one parent profile.

The Saplings Level 4 match in an account — try our compound interest calculator.

What "bare trust" means

  • The money is legally the child's. You administer it as trustee and cannot take it back.
  • At the age of majority it is fully theirs — the account converts, every restriction stops applying, on a date you can look up now (Makers Level 4).
  • Tax follows attribution rules, not the name on the card. Ask a tax professional if the amounts matter.

Ages 16–18 · the transition out

Goal: arrive at the age of majority with the paperwork done.

  1. A youth chequing account that survives 18 — what it converts to, and the fee after. A no-fee account can start charging on a birthday.
  2. Their own online banking, on their own email and phone — not an extension of yours (Makers Level 2).
  3. Savings separate from spending, auto-transfer on payday.
  4. The bare-trust handover date, if you used a kids account.
  5. The registered accounts — TFSA, FHSA, RRSP (Makers Level 4).

The comparison

Bank youth savings Mydoh Wealthsimple Kids & Teens
Ages Often 12 and under, or under 19 6–17 Under your province's age of majority
Card Usually none Prepaid Visa Physical and virtual
Who owns the money Depends how it is opened — ask Parent-funded, parent-controlled Child is beneficial owner; parent is trustee
Monthly fee Generally none — confirm None None
Chores / allowance No Weekly Pay Day (Saturday) Parent-scheduled transfers
Spending controls n/a Yes Granular, incl. category blocks
Interest Yes Not a feature Base rate + optional parent-paid top-up
Where Nationwide Nationwide Not in Quebec at launch
At 18 Often converts — ask to what Ages out at 17 Converts to a standard adult account
Best at Watching a balance grow Earning money for work done Controlled spending + a savings mechanic

What to ask before you sign your kid up

Ask the provider, not an article.

  1. Who legally owns the money? And what that means at majority, or if the relationship breaks down.
  2. Total cost in a year of normal use? Ask for the fee schedule.
  3. What happens on the 18th or 19th birthday? Convert, close or reprice — get the date.
  4. What can the child do without my approval? Settings can change in a release.
  5. Protected by which insurer? CDIC for a bank, provincial for a credit union; for prepaid, where the float sits.
  6. Is any of the interest promotional, and when does it expire?
  7. How do I close it and get the money out?
  8. How is interest taxed, and who reports it? Especially under a trust.

What this page is not

A description, not a recommendation. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any provider named here. Names and logos identify each provider's own product. Confirm terms, fees and eligibility with the provider. Our standing affiliate disclosure covers the site.

Educational information only, not financial advice. Product details change without notice.

This page is financial education, not financial advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation of a product, a provider or an investment. Where a figure is a statutory amount it is stated as one. Rates, fees, sign-up bonuses and annually indexed income thresholds change, so they are either described without a number or labelled with the tax or benefit year they apply to. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the issuing body or the provider directly.