GoHenry Card Review: Is It a Good Debit Card Option for Kids?

In this review we will go look at GoHenry which is a money app for kids with a debit card. We will go over what it is, how much it costs, and the pros as well as cons.

Read on to find out if GoHenry would be a good fit for your family. 

What is GoHenry?

GoHenry is a fintech company that was created in 2012 and now has over 1.5 million members strong and is helping kids everywhere to learn about money.  

GoHenry features a debit card for kids that can be used in a variety of fashions. The GoHenry app is available for Android, iPhone, iPod, and iPad touch products. 

On the GoHenry website, the company says that 92% of parents surveyed said that GoHenry has helped their kids be more confident with money. 

Who is GoHenry For?

GoHenry is for anyone who has kids ages 6 to 18 that they want to teach how to earn and manage money. 

There are a number of features with GoHenry that can help your kids understand that money doesn’t grow on trees. 

And GoHenry’s system is set up to help parents use a number of helpmeets to teach kids the ins and outs of money management.   

How Does GoHenry Work?

GoHenry is fairly easy to set up and manage. And once you get it set up, you can use the features in any combination that works for you. 

Here’s how the app works. 

Open an Account

You’ll start by opening a GoHenry account in your name. This parental account is the main hub for all other accounts. 

From there, you’ll open up GoHenry accounts for each of your children. Note that there is a limit of four child accounts that can be tied to a parent account.

If you want more than four children to use the system, a second parent or guardian will have to open an adult account to be the hub for the other child account(s).

Set a Weekly Allowance 

GoHenry gives you an option to set a weekly allowance for each child. The allowance can be tied to completed tasks or simply given without having to complete tasks. 

This allowance amount will get transferred from your GoHenry account to your child’s GoHenry account on the day of the week you specify. 

There are other options for funding your child’s account as well. We’ll talk more about those later on. 

Related Article: 10 Best Allowance and Chore Apps for Kids

Set Spending Limits

GoHenry is set up so that you as the parent can set spending limits for each of your child accounts. 

These limits can be defined in a number of ways:

• Daily limits
• Per transaction limits
• Where they can use the card (ATM, in-store, online)
• Weekly limits

And more. In addition, if a child tries to spend more money than what is in their GoHenry account, the transaction will be declined. 

That means they can’t go into debt and they can’t overdraw their account. 

Help Your Kids Manage Their Money

The wide variety of features GoHenry has are designed to help your child(ren) learn to manage money well. 

GoHenry can help your kids understand the “work equals money” concept through paid task lists.

Also, GoHenry has a savings feature that can help your child save money. Finally, the app has a feature that allows your children to give a portion of their money to charity. 

All of these features work together with you so you can help your children know how to manage money once they enter adulthood. 

Next, let’s talk in depth about GoHenry’s features. 

GoHenry Features

Your GoHenry account has a number of customizable features that can help you teach your child to manage money in the way that works best for you. 

Parent Account

As mentioned earlier, you will need to open a GoHenry parent account to be the center hub for all child accounts. 

Note that you’ll need to link a debit card from your bank to your GoHenry account.  

Funds transferred from your debit card to your parent account are transferred immediately. And there’s no fee to transfer money from your debit card to your parent account. 

If you need a bank account, check out our article on the best bank accounts for kids.

Parental Controls

There are a host of parental controls included with your GoHenry membership. First, you have the ability to choose how your child gets money put into their account. 

Add Money

As mentioned earlier,you can set up a weekly allowance for your child in order to fund their GoHenry account. 

Another option is to require them to earn money for their account via completed tasks. When they complete their tasks, money is transferred into their GoHenry account.  

GoHenry also has a Quick Transfer button you can use to transfer money to a child’s account at any given time. 

Note that you cannot add money to your child’s account from a PayPal account.

Also, your child cannot set up a Direct Deposit to a GoHenry account. 

So if your teen makes money online or has another type of job, you’ll have to put the money into your bank account or their own bank account and then transfer to the GoHenry account. 

Spend Notifications

GoHenry’s Spend Notifications feature enables you to get an instant text notification when your child uses their debit card. 

The card also has an instant block/unblock feature you can use to help stop usage of the card if need be.

This feature can be helpful in cases where your child’s card is lost or stolen, or if they are attempting to make an unapproved purchase. 

Child Account

GoHenry’s child account helps your child to have the freedom to earn and manage their money while still being under the helpful eye of a parent or guardian. 

Earn

Although it’s not required, you can set up tasks to have your child earn the money they’ll be managing. 

Parents create task lists through their GoHenry parent account. Children can mark the tasks as done when they are completed.

Parents also have the option to set a control that only allows parents to mark tasks as completed. 

When tasks are completed, the earned cash is transferred to the child account on a weekly basis along with any allowance amount you’ve set up to give. 

In other words, your child will only get paid for work they have completed, and the money is transferred automatically at the end of each week, making it ultra-easy for parents. 

Save

GoHenry has a “save” feature that allows kids to set up an unlimited number of savings goals. When they use this feature, they’ll get a savings “pod” for each goal.

When your child views their GoHenry account, they’ll be able to see how much money they have saved for each goal. 

Spend

Your child will get a free debit card with their GoHenry account. They can use their debit card at an ATM, for online purchases, or in-store.

However, you as the parent can modify where your child uses their debit card. The debit card will only work within the parameters you set for your child.

And they can only spend up to the dollar amount that’s available in the account. 

Note that your child will have the ability to transfer money from one of their savings pods into their spend account. 

Give

GoHenry partners with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to help your child learn to give. 

Your child can give small amounts of money as they wish to this charity whenever they wish. 

Using the Give feature can help them understand the importance of giving to those less fortunate. 

Money Missions

Money Missions is the newest GoHenry feature.

Using the app, your child can complete Money Missions lessons that are designed to build confidence, literacy and curiosity in your kids.

Money Missions lessons help your kids to learn more about earning money, saving, investing, responsible spending, credit management and more.

When your child watches the animated videos or plays a game, they earn XP (points) and badges while learning about responsible money management.

The videos and lessons are targeted toward your child’s age, meaning that there is something for every kid whether they’re 6, 18 or anywhere in between.

How Much Does GoHenry Cost?

GoHenry’s Family plans are set at $9.98 per family (for up to 4 children), and the individual child is priced at $4.99.  Families with 3 or 4 children can pay one low rate for everyone.  

Your monthly membership fees are taken directly from your GoHenry account. 

If there aren’t enough funds in that account to cover your membership fees, GoHenry will take the money from the debit card that’s tied to the account.

Note that GoHenry also charges a fee for ATM use; $1.50 for domestic ATM use and $2.00 for international ATM use.

This fee is in addition to any fees the ATM owner might charge when your child uses an ATM to get access to their money.  

Other fees for GoHenry include a $4.99 fee for an option custom debit card for your child. The standard debit cards that come with the child account are free. 

Referral Program

GoHenry does have a referral program. If you refer a friend who signs up with your referral link, you and the friend will each get $10 deposited to your parent account.

Referring friends to sign up could be a good way to offset some of the monthly cost of GoHenry.

Next, let’s go over some frequently asked questions regarding GoHenry. 

FAQs

When it comes to debit cards for kids, there are lots of questions that come to mind. Here are a few common questions asked.

GoHenry Reviews

GoHenry’s Trustpilot ranking  is 4.2 out of 5 stars with over 2.2K ratings. GoHenry has a rating of B- from the Better Business Bureau

Here are some snippets of reviews about GoHenry on Trustpilot.

Overall, most reviews regarding GoHenry were positive. The chief complaints on both the BBB and on Trustpilot revolved around three issues:

• Not receiving the debit cards in a timely manner
• The limits as to which banks you can transfer money from
• General usage of the debit cards

Some users were frustrated that the child debit card doesn’t always work at places where alcohol is sold.

For instance, the card might not work at a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are available. 

Also, the debit card can be used to buy gas for a car, however, it can’t be used at the pump. Instead, your child will have to use the ‘Pay inside’ feature at the gas station.

Many complaints revolved around not receiving debit cards in a timely manner, or not receiving them at all. 

Note that on Trustpilot, GoHenry did take the time to respond to 99% of the negative complaints. To me, this shows a commitment to resolve customer issues. 

Related: GoHenry Vs Greenlight: Which Is Better?

Summary

GoHenry can be a useful tool for teaching your kids how to earn and manage money. You might find the monthly fee a bit much to swallow–especially if you have multiple kids.

There are other apps out there that charge one monthly fee no matter how many kids you have. 

But overall, the concept is great and GoHenry has a variety of features that make it a great product. 

Have you ever used GoHenry? We’d love to hear about your experience. Feel free to share in the comments section.

For our readers in the UK, Go Henry UK is offering a 2 months free promotional offer.