A children's bank card: from what age, what limits and how to protect your child from fraud

Most Ukrainian banks issue a children's card from age 6: until 14 it is a card linked to a parent's account and issued with the parent's consent, and from 14 a teenager can by law open their own account and manage it. Parents set limits in the bank's app on purchases, online payments and cash withdrawals. What protects a child from fraudsters is not only the settings but a few rules they know by heart: card details and SMS codes go to no one, the card is never lent or rented out, and when in doubt they ask their parents.

Oleksandr Suhak November 1, 2026 11 min read

From what age and on whose account

The phrase "children's card" covers two different products, and the difference matters for control.

A card linked to a parent's account. The money sits in your account, and the child gets a separate card with their own name. The National Bank allows a payment card to be issued to a person who is not the account holder, with the holder's consent (point 32 of the Regulation on issuing payment instruments). This is how children's cards for younger schoolchildren work: most banks issue them from age 6. You see every transaction and set limits, and only the account holder can block or reissue such a card.

A teenager's own account. The Civil Code allows a child from age 14 to open a bank account in their own name and manage it, as well as their own earnings, stipend and other income (Article 32). This requires an ID card and a taxpayer registration number. Money that other people, such as parents or a grandmother, put into the teenager's account can be spent only with the consent of the parents and the guardianship authority.

Age	Type of card	Who applies	Child's documents
6-13	Card linked to a parent's account	Parents, often together with the child at a branch or in the app	Birth certificate, taxpayer registration number
14-17	Children's card on a parent's account or own account	The teenager alone or with parents	ID card, taxpayer registration number
18 and over	Regular card	The holder	Passport, taxpayer registration number

For a teenager aged 14-17, a children's card on your account and their own account do not exclude each other. Pocket money can stay on the children's card under your control, while earnings from a part-time job or a stipend can go to the teenager's own account: by law that money is theirs.

How a children's card differs from a regular one

Own money only. There is no credit limit or instalments: the child spends only what you or they put on the card.
Parental control. Alerts for every transaction, a statement in the parent's app, limits on purchases and cash withdrawals. The set of controls differs between banks, and this is the first thing to compare.
A separate app or mode for the child. The child sees the balance and their spending but has no access to your account or your cards.
Children's perks. Cashback, savings goals, tasks with rewards. Nice to have, but secondary to control and security.

How to choose a bank: what to look at

Terms of children's cards change more often than rankings are updated, so instead of a list of "the best" ones, answer a few questions for yourself. It is easiest to get a children's card at a bank where you already have an account and the app: then you manage it from the same phone.

What limits can you set? At a minimum, a daily or monthly limit on purchases and a separate one on cash withdrawals. It is good if you can limit or switch off online payments separately.
Who gets the alerts? Best of all, alerts about every transaction go to both the child and you.
Can you block the card from your phone in seconds? If the child has lost the card or given its details to a fraudster, every minute counts.
What it costs. The plastic card, maintenance, cash withdrawal fees and top-ups from other banks' cards.
Is there a virtual card and Apple Pay or Google Pay? Paying by phone is convenient and safer than carrying plastic, but it needs the child's phone set up with a screen lock.

What limits to set by age

A limit is not a punishment. Its purpose is to make sure a mistake or a fraudster cannot take more than the child spends in a week. A sensible guide: a daily purchase limit at the level of the child's daily spending, and no more than a week's or a month's pocket money on the card. How to work out the pocket money itself is explained in the article on pocket money.

Age	Purchases in shops	Online payments	Cash
6-9	A small daily limit, a week's money on the card	Switched off	Not needed or a minimal limit
10-13	Daily and monthly limits, one or two weeks' pocket money on the card	Only by agreement, for a specific purchase	A small limit
14-17	A monthly limit, a month's pocket money on the card	On, with a limit; games and subscriptions paid from pocket money	A monthly limit

An important point about online payments: if they are needed for games or apps, do not link your main card to the child's account. It is better to top up the children's card with a specific amount. Then even if the account is hacked, fraudsters get access only to that card.

Security settings in 10 minutes

Do this on the day the child gets the card, and do it together: that way they understand why each restriction is there.

Alerts. Turn on notifications about every transaction on your phone.
Limits. Set limits on purchases, online payments and cash according to the table above.
The child's phone. A screen lock code, and the banking app behind a code or fingerprint. Confirmation codes by SMS go to the number linked to the card, so the child's phone becomes the key to their money.
PIN. Never written on the card, in the phone's notes or on a slip of paper in the wallet. Help a child under 10 choose a code they will remember, but not their date of birth.
App stores. Turn on family sharing and parental approval of purchases in Google Play or the App Store.
A plan in case of loss. Show how to block the card in the app, and save the bank's number and yours in the child's contacts.

Fraud schemes aimed at children

Fraudsters who target children bet on trust, excitement and the fear of being told off by parents. Almost all schemes end the same way: the child enters card details, their own or a parent's, on a fake website, shares an SMS code or sends the money themselves.

"Free" skins, in-game currency and top-ups

In a game chat, TikTok or Telegram a child is offered free skins or in-game currency. The link leads to a site that looks like the game's page, where to "get the gift" you have to enter card details and an SMS code. This is classic phishing: the money is taken and there is no gift. The rule is simple: a real game gives nothing away through third-party sites and never asks for an SMS code.

"Take a photo of your mum's card"

A new "friend" in a game promises a rare item or help with an account and asks the child to photograph a parent's card on both sides "for verification". With a photo of a card, fraudsters can pay for online purchases, especially where no confirmation code is required. Explain to the child: the details of any card in the family are as secret as their own.

Giveaways and "you have won"

A message supposedly from a blogger or a shop: the child has won a phone or headphones and only needs to pay for delivery or "confirm the card". A real giveaway does not ask you to pay for the prize. If the prize is "waiting" only after a payment, it is fraud.

Buying and selling game accounts and items

Teenagers buy and sell game accounts and items among themselves, and fraudsters use the same schemes as on adult marketplaces: they take a prepayment and disappear, or send a fake "safe deal" link. How to recognise such links is covered in detail in the article on marketplace scams: the mechanics are the same.

A friend's hacked account

A friend or relative writes in a messenger: "lend me some money until tomorrow", "vote for me, it needs your phone number and a code". In fact the account has already been hacked, and the SMS code is needed to hack the child's account too. Check such requests by calling the person.

Calls "from the bank" or "from the police"

Someone calls the child, supposedly from a bank or the police, scares them that something has happened to the parents' account and asks for card details or a transfer to a "safe account". A child who is worried about their parents is especially vulnerable. The rule: any conversation about money with strangers ends with "I will pass this on to my parents". More on this scheme in the article on calls from the "bank security service".

Money mules: a separate danger for teenagers

A teenager aged 14-17 with their own card interests fraudsters not only as a victim but as a tool. They are offered "easy side income": receive a transfer to their card and pass it on, "rent out" the card, or sell access to the banking app. Through such cards, known as mule cards, fraudsters move and cash out stolen money.

The consequences for a teenager are serious. The bank blocks accounts that fraudsters' money has passed through and may refuse to serve the person in future. Criminal liability in Ukraine generally starts at 16 (Article 22 of the Criminal Code). On 28 October 2026 parliament passed law No. 16013, which introduces separate criminal liability for handing over one's own cards and accounts for fraud schemes and for buying or selling other people's. At the time of publication the law has not yet taken effect: it still needs the President's signature.

Five rules your child should know by heart

No settings will protect a child who enters card details on a fake site. So the most important part of security is a conversation. Talk these rules through before the first card and come back to them every few months, for example by going over schemes you have heard about from people you know.

1Card details are only for meI never share or photograph the number, expiry date or the three digits on the back, not even to "verify an account".
2SMS codes go to no oneA real bank, shop or game never asks you to read out a code. Whoever asks is a fraudster.
3No gifts in exchange for card detailsFree skins, in-game currency, a phone for a repost: if you have to enter a card, it is a trap.
4I do not lend or rent out my card"Easy money" for a card or a "receive and pass on" transfer can cost you the account and make you part of a crime.
5In doubt, I ask my parentsI enter nothing and send nothing until I have talked to mum or dad. I will not be told off.

Five rules to talk through with your child before the first card and repeat every few months.

The last rule matters most. Children who fear punishment hide their mistakes, and parents find out about a charge when nothing can be recovered. A child who knows they will not be told off comes to you straight away.

If money has already been taken

Block the card in the bank's app straight away, even if you are not sure it is fraud. Reissuing a card is easier than getting money back.
Call the bank on the number on the back of the card or on the official website and report an unauthorised transaction. The sooner you do, the better the chance of stopping the payment.
Keep the evidence: screenshots of the chat, the website link, the phone number, the date and amount of the transaction.
Report it to the cyber police and change the passwords of the accounts the child used.

A step by step plan with deadlines and how the bank handles such claims is in a separate article on what to do if fraudsters took money from your card.

In short

Until 14 a child gets a card on a parent's account, from age 6 at most banks. From 14 a teenager can open their own account with an ID card.
Compare banks first of all by parental control: limits, alerts, switching off online payments, fast blocking.
Keep no more than a week's or a month's pocket money on the card, and switch off online payments for younger children.
Do not link your main card to your child's game accounts.
Card details and SMS codes go to no one, the card is never lent or rented out, and when in doubt the child asks their parents. And do not tell off a child who comes to you with a mistake.

Sources

This article is for information only. Age, documents, fees and parental control features depend on the bank and may change: check the terms on the specific bank's website or app before applying.

Spotted a mistake or an outdated figure? Let us know and we will check it against the primary source and fix it.