Subordinate accounts

I have a Revolut account and I have two cards.

I wanted to give one to my wife or children so they can go around and use it, and deduct from my account. Right now they would not be able to see their spending, and most likely they will not even be able to use it unless I turn off the location-based security.

Would it be possible to have “subordinate accounts or cards” where a master account provides an “allowance” in a specific currency, and these accounts can see their activity but not the others, and they can have their own location-based security, and all without having to open an account and transfer money and such?

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That would indeed be a good option.

I see two hurdles to overcome: wouldn’t the scenario you’re describing not be in alignment with card scheme rules? By now, it seems that still all cards have “only valid with signature” printed on the back. And if merchants aren’t sure if a card holder is the account owner, they are supposed to check the identity. While you can hand over a card to your partner on occasion, a merchant can deny to accept it, I believe. That might not be a problem in real life for the user at all, but it might be a problem if a card issuer want’s to offer a product that is designed specifically for this use case.

Secondly, I am not aware of any “challenger bank” with a mobile first approach and a streamlined account opening procedure with photo or video ID verification that has managed to set up this process for kids that aren’t of legal age. For opening a bank account, they need their parent’s consent. and it’s not just for services that are offered by Revolut, it’s also about services that are tied into Revolut’s product but offered by partners. All come with their own T&Cs that need to be aligned. And some of the additional offers that are embedded like travel health and device insurance can’t be offered that effortlessly to underage kids. Not to forget the fiat trading capabilities and crypto. I can see that all this adds so much complexity that all challenger banks decided to only offer their services to people of legal age by now.

When thinking about this, I can imagine a very limited version of an app that only allows to check transactions, to categorize and maybe to add a photo and block the card for security reasons. This app would run on a kids device, therefore location bases security would work. The kid’s account and card would be ordered from a parent’s fully fledged app, where parents handle the verification process, set a limit and transfer funds to their kid’s cards.

(Did you know that the founders of N26 wanted to set up a product exactly like this? A Mastercard Debit for kids, with an app where parents configure everything about their kid’s allowance. They eventually changed and became N26 instead.)

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Indeed I would not want my kids to open their own accounts, that would be against several laws as you point out. I was more leaning towards your last comment: I am a master holder of an account over legal age and all. Then I “subordinate” my kids phone numbers to mine, and they can download the app and they will only have the spending options (see transactions, analytics… all this fancy stuff). Subordinate means always that I am accountable for anything they do with it, and therefore their account is no good for anything that I disprove.

Regarding “Name on card” in order to identify holder’s signature policies, Revolut is issuing nameless cards in events (of which I hold several) so really they would be breaking the rules themselves :slight_smile: Nevertheless, As you mention, they can’t simply order one, I can order cards and replacements from my master account, and provide names for these. I believe this you can do today with several banks and card companies.

Basically, no need for cryptos, insurances (although that is another silly thing: if I travel with my family, I can get my own insurance on Revolut but I still have to get my family’s insurance outside anyways, so I save a little money by doubling on bureaucracy)… I just want to give freedom to my kids but still be able to reprimand them if they spend too much on silly things :slight_smile:

BTW I did not know about the N26 story. I guess it’s too complicated if people that starts on this track switches gears? :smiley:

If you look at how old school banks handle it, it’s usually like this: you can order a second card for a partner or family member. The card will be attached to your account, but it would have your partner’s name on it. You would be still fully responsible for all financial transactions that would be done with that card. I believe the general term would be partner card or additional card for supplementary card members.

I think it would be a clever idea to have a very limited app for such partner cards. Revolut light. It would help with money education and could be very useful when kids become older and go on school trips and stuff.

→ LeuPay Wallet
→ Bunq

Probably some others if one were to look for them.

Right. I was’t aware of how Bunq has implemented this. Thanks for sharing.
I like how Bunq has implemented this.

(A difference: with Bunq, users aren’t exposed to more risky financial services like trading currencies and insurance products. Both Bunq and LeyPay Wallet do not follow a “financial services marketplace” approach where an initial verification makes it possible to offer and sell all kinds of services that, on their own, have specific regulatory limitations. If all your customers are of legal age, you’ve got this problem out of the way.)