Reviews

Gohenry Review – Is This Kids Debit Card Worth Using?

Teaching your child about money management is one of the best life skills you are can set them up with. If you teach children early on about managing money, they’ll be more likely to spend responsibly and save money.

A bank account for your child will enable them to learn these good money habits. You can set up a bank account at a financial institution such as your local bank. However, these bank accounts are usually not tailored to the specific needs of a child who is learning to manage money for the first time. Digital banking and banking apps have helped to fill this void luckily.

One of the options for setting up your child to start learning to manage money is opening up a Gohenry account. In this Gohenry review, we’ll cover all the basics of how it works, features, and more. You’ll be able to decide by the end, whether opening up a Gohenry account for your child is the option that makes the most sense. Now, let’s get started!

Child Money Management

About Gohenry

Launched in 2012 by a group of friends and parents,  the goal of Gohenry was to help teach their children how much works in these times. They also wanted a better way to manage their child’s allowance and create a positive experience in their household.

The problem that this group faced was that they were using their own debit cards to fund things such as their child’s iTunes account. They would end up with extra fees here to fund other activities and also have to figure out funding their child’s weekly allowance.

What they wanted was a simple solution – Something that made it easy for parents and was practical for kids. It had to be something that was designed for families specifically.

However, as they looked at bank account options out there, they found that there was really nothing that solved this.

So, they came up with their own solution: A debit card that can be managed with an app that has special parental controls. Gohenry was built to make it easy for parents to manage allowance and provided kids with a safe spending solution that had budgeting features to teach them money management.

Gohenry For Child Money Management

Today, there are more than 1.5 million Gohenry members between the UK and America. The company raised $5.6 million on Crowdcube in 2016 and $8.1 million in 2018, many funds originating from its own customers.

What is Gohenry?

Gohenry is a financial service tool for children between the ages of 6 to 18 to help them learn and handle money. Through its app, parents can have full control over their child’s finances and start investing for their child’s future.

Parents can control, monitor, and transfer money into their children’s accounts. The prepaid Mastercard debit card is integrated into the Gohenry app so parents can help teach their children about saving for the future, investing, spending responsibly, and can also allow parents to set up automatic payments for things like completing chores.

Gohenry Logo

Gohenry Features

Gohenry’s app and debit card work together to help teach kids by enabling several features. Below are the key features and their benefits that help make a Gohenry debit card an attractive offer:

Parental Controls

The big difference between going with a bank down the street and Gohenry is the parent control features. They offer the following:

Spending Limits

To ensure that your child doesn’t go over a set amount each week, you can set up spending limits. Once they reach their spending limit, they will no longer be able to make purchases with their debit card.

Control where their Child can Spend

Going beyond a spending limit, a parent can also restrict where their child can use their Gohenry card.

Real-Time Notifications

When a transaction occurs, your child’s card automatically sends you a notification. These notifications are sent through the mobile app to your phone. It’s another way to keep a handle on your child’s spending.

Age Restriction

The Gohenry card for kids automatically blocks spending activities like betting shops, age-restricted websites, and bar purchases. You won’t have to worry about your child using their own account to make age-restricted purchases.

Custom Card

Each child account with Gohenry allows you to create a special custom card to make it feel more personalized. The kid’s debit card will have their name on the front of the card.

There is a range of colors and designs (i.e. sports and animals) that they can also choose from.

Gohenry Debit Card

Rewards & Chores

One of the best features that the Gohenry card offers is the ability to set up household chores for your child to do. Once they have completed a task, they can be rewarded by earning money. Both you and your child benefit from this feature which helps them learn about the value of work and getting chores around the home done.

The Gohenry website and app allow parents to set up a chore plan which can consist of both unpaid and paid tasks. You can:

  • Set up chores to repeat weekly or even several times a week
  • Manage and track recurring chores
  • Transfer money automatically
  • Set up one-time chores; i.e. babysitting, cleaning out the garage, shoveling snow, etc.
Gohenry - Rewards and Chores

If their weekly allowance is determined by how many chores that they complete, you can set up the app to transfer money for each task they complete. Alternatively, you can set it up to pay once a week.

Savings Goals

One of the fundamental skills that a person will need throughout their life is saving money. The mobile app allows you to set up savings goals, as well as have as many goals as you wish.

It could be something as simple as saving up for a new video game that they want or saving for college. They can add money until they reach the goal, then decide whether to keep the money there or release it into a spending account where they can access it on their prepaid debit card.

Instant Money Transfers

For parents, the ability to send money instantly is a great benefit. You can give them a little pocket money for a field trip they’re taking at school or to buy ice cream on the way back from the playground.

Since you can add money instantly, there’s no need for them to wait before the money is available to use. All you have to do is click on the “Add Money” on the app or homepage of the Gohenry website.

There is no need to make a trip to the bank or scrounge around the house to find cash anymore.

Giftlinks

On special occasions, your child may receive money from friends and family members. The Giftlinks feature allows your child to receive these funds without having to pay a fee.

This simple and secure process works like this: The parent provides the Giftlink to people who may want to gift the child some funds. The gifter will be directed to a secure web page where they can send money to the child’s Gohenry card.

The sender can do all of this without the need to download the actual app. A credit or debit card that’s registered to a valid US address can be used in the transaction. The use of prepaid debit cards is prohibited.

How does Gohenry Work?

Gohenry is a prepaid card that is geared towards families that wish to have a simple way to manage their child’s finances. The bank account is available by signing up on their website or downloading their app.

Parents have full control of their child’s finances so their children can responsibly learn about money. Your child’s card is all controlled and monitored through the app.

There are two versions of the mobile app – The parent account and the child’s account.

Parent account

The parent version serves as the primary account for the Gohenry debit card.

The parent version allows you to manage up to 4 child accounts. This is great for households that have more than one child.

Gohenry - Parent Account

The Gohenry parent account allows you to see how much money each child has in their checking account, your checking account balance, when they will be paid their next allowance, and allows you to load money if you wish. This is all available on the home screen.

The next screen on the parent account is the card screen. This is where you can retrieve PIN numbers, set spending limits, block, or order a custom Gohenry card.  A detailed breakdown of your child’s account and spending is also found here.

On the earning screen, you can see what allowance is set. Parents can edit it accordingly if they wish to add one-off tasks or chores that will allow their child to earn money.

This is also where you can add tasks to the checklist and mark the completed chores. If there isn’t a checkmark on the task before 10 pm the day before payday, your child won’t get their pocket money for that task. If you’re not sure how much you should give your child as an allowance, the app has suggestions based on your child’s age.

In the saving screen, you can view the total amount they have saved, how much they’re saving each week, and their savings goals (savings accounts and current progress on each savings goal).

Completed goals can be ended in this section too. You can also add new ones.

The final section of the parent account is the more tab. This is where you have the following three options: Spending, Giftlinks, and Offers.

What are parents able to do?

  • Use the app to manage up to four child’s accounts
  • Set up regular or make one-off payments
  • Assign tasks
  • Put limits on spending
  • Invite relatives to contribute
  • Control where the card can be used
  • Unblock and block cards
  • Receive spending notifications

Child Account

Your child’s card app will look much different from yours. On the child’s account, they can open their home screen to see their set limits for the week, how much they’ve spent so far this week, and what they have left.

In addition to easily being able to see how much pocket money is left on their Gohenry debit card, they can also view their savings account total.

Gohenry - The Child Account

This basic account will also show them when they’re to be sent their next allowance and the tasks that are on their to-do list.

On the card screen, your child can see their spending limits, spending transactions, and PIN number. Their view is identical to the primary account in the earning and savings screens section.

What can Children do?

  • Spend their funds (within the allotted limits)
  • Put money towards their savings goals
  • Ask relatives to contribute
  • Earn money for completing tasks
  • Budget their allowance
  • Receive notifications about why a transaction was declined

Opening a Gohenry Account

Your child can start managing their own money when you sign up for a Gohenry prepaid debit card. Follow these five easy steps to get started:

  • Go to the Gohenry website and sign up
  • Enter your contact and personal information
  • Create a password for the account
  • Add your child’s information; You will need to do this per child if you have more than one child you want to set up.
  • To complete the form, you’ll need to enter your Social Security, date of birth, and address. After that, you can go and order cards.
Gohenry - Sign Up for Account

Eligibility

The primary account holder must meet the requirements below to be eligible for prepaid debit cards through Gohenry:

  • 18 years old or older
  • A U.S. citizen or legal resident
  • Per child, each subaccount must be for a child who’s between 6 and 18 years old

Required Information

Make sure that you have the following information handy when you are setting up a prepaid card with Gohenry:

  • Your first and last name
  • Your email address
  • Your cell phone number
  • Your date of birth and Social Security number
  • Each child’s first and last name and date of birth

Funding Options

You must have an attached debit card to your primary account to fund it. This card is used to transfer money to each card for kids on the account.

Depending on what you choose, money can be transferred automatically or you can make one-off transfers.

When does the Gohenry Debit Card Arrive?

You’ll be able to load funds with your own money immediately. The Gohenry card uses the funds that are transferred from your debit card to fund the account.

It takes about seven business days for your child’s card to arrive in the mail.

How much does a Gohenry Account Cost?

There is a monthly fee of $3.99 per child, per month for using Gohenry. If you have a couple or an only child, this is a pretty affordable way to teach your child about money.

Currently, you get a month free trial to try ou the Gohenry card and see if it works for your family. The free trial is long enough to help you decide whether using debit cards through Gohenry is right for your family.

After the month free trial or at any point, you can cancel your account. You’ll need to call or email them to let them know about your intentions.

Gohenry - Pricing

Is Gohenry Safe?

There are several things that help make the Gohenry prepaid debit card safe for your kids including:

  • FDIC insured up to $250,000
  • 256-bit encryption (this is the same as what banks use)
  • No risk of overspending or overdraft fees
  • Real-time spending notifications
  • State of the art chip security
  • PIN-protected transactions
  • Ability to block and unblock cards instantly
Gohenry - Safety

Gohenry Pros

Free Trial

You can try out what Gohenry has to offer, risk-free with their month free trial. That gives you ample time to decide if the Gohenry prepaid cards are a good fit for your family’s lifestyle.

At the beginning of your second month, you will be charged a membership fee of $3.99 for each child. This is withdrawn from the debit card that’s attached to the parent’s version.

Gohenry - One Month Free Trial

Spend Controls on the Bank Account

You have control over how much and where your child can spend their money.

Ability to Set up Tasks

You can assign your child weekly or one-off chores to complete. Each task can have an amount allocated as a payout for completing. Either you or your child can mark tasks as complete.

No Overdrafts

You get the peace of mind of knowing that your child can’t accidentally overdraft on their account and assess fees. If they try to make a purchase and they don’t have enough money in their account, the transaction will simply automatically decline.

Reward System

You get to decide what tasks your child will get paid on and which they won’t. There are some parents who believe completing tasks like keeping their room clean and doing homework are expected and they don’t wish to pay them for.

Other tasks like vacuuming the house, cleaning the kitchen, etc. might be things that a parent may want to reward their child for completing. It’s all up to you.

Parental Controls

The instant notifications when your child makes a purchase, the ability to restrict where they can make transactions, and other features give you full control.

You can rest easy that your child is using their money responsibly.

Can be Easily used for Paying Out Allowances

There is no need to remember to give your child their allowance each week or you can use it as a pocket money account to give them funds for certain one-time activities.

Gohenry Cons

Monthly Fee can Get Expensive

The monthly membership fee is $3.99 for each child. This can get expensive if you are paying for several membership fees.

If you have several kids, you may need to consider these costs. One idea is that you can minimize your monthly fees by setting up an account for the kids who are older that potentially need more access to funds.

Funds can only be loaded through a Debit Card

The connected debit card is the only account that can fund Gohenry prepaid cards.

Gohenry - Two Debit Cards

Limitations on Child Accounts

For bigger families, you might have to open more than one main account. You can only have up to four subaccounts for each parent account.

That can be a hassle to manage all your child’s accounts when you can’t do it from one place.

Loads are Limited

You can make up to three loads per day. If your child needs more than one top-off on a given day, you may want to plan ahead.

Maximum Daily Loads

You can only load up to $500 to fund all your subaccounts. So if you have some big payouts planned, particularly across multiple cards, you’ll need to do some planning.

No Interest Payments

Even for the funds held in the savings goals, you won’t accrue any interest on the balance.

Final Thoughts: Gohenry Review

Mobile App

First up in this Gohenry review is the app. As a fully digital experience, you must deliver an exceptional app experience.

Gohenry delivers in this category. The app is easy to use and looks appealing to both parents and kids. That makes it more fun to learn about money.

Kids can easily see what tasks they need to finish to earn money, mark them off, and set up their own savings goals. How much they have spent and where are all easy to access.

For parents, loading money with their card, setting tasks, and limits are also easy to accomplish.

Costs and Fees

With a monthly fee of $3.99, parents with few children will likely view this service as affordable. But if you have a large family, the monthly fee per child can quickly get expensive.

Gohenry offers the first month for free which is important because it gives you the time to decide if Gohenry is a benefit for your family.

Other than the monthly fee, here is a look at the other costs that may apply:

  • ATM withdrawals (in-network and out-of-network): $1.50
  • International ATM: $1.50
  • Replacement cards: $0
  • Order a different card replacement: $4.99
  • Custom card fee (optional): $4.99

Safety and Security

The Gohenry app employs the industry standards and best practices outlined by the U.S. when it comes to safety. That means you have the peace of mind of knowing there are protections in place for your child and family’s money.

Here are some of the notable protections in place:

  • EMV chip cards with a parent-controlled PIN
  • FDIC-insurance for up $250,000 per individual through Gohenry’s partner bank
  • Use of industry-best encryption practices, firewalls, and VPNs

Customer Service

To get a hold of Gohenry’s customer service, you can reach out to them quickly by going to the Help section on the app.

The company’s website has a chat feature that you can use to directly speak to a customer service agent. They can also be reached by phone at 1-877-372-6466 every day from 9 am to 5 pm EST.

Questions, reporting a lost or stolen card, etc. can be handled by their customer service team.

Gohenry is not a business that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

The Bottom Line: Gohenry

You can rest assured that Gohenry will keep your child’s finances safe. The app is easy to use for both the child and parent. The only potential downside is that the monthly fee could get expensive for big families.

Gohenry Keep Child's Finances

In the end, Gohenry is worth giving a try, especially because your first month is free. It gives you the right amount of control to manage and access your child’s finances and help them learn good fiscal habits.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Anjana Paul

Anjana Paul is a financial writer with extensive education and experience in the financial industry. She received a Marketing and Management degree from Kansas State University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Baker University. Anjana also holds a Business Analytics Certificate from the Wharton School. Throughout her career, Anjana has worked in multiple roles within the financial industry. She has worked in banking, finance, student loans, consumer credit cards, and tech. Anjana's experience and education allow her to bring a credible, well-informed perspective to the content she writes at Wealth Pursuits, where her primary areas of focus include investing, credit, and personal finance.