Venmo now lets parents open a connected account for kids ages 13 to 17, complete with a personalized Mastercard debit card. It’s a way to give teens some financial independence while keeping a parent in the loop on every dollar. This guide walks through exactly how to set one up, what it costs, the fees to watch for at the ATM, and the parental controls you actually get.
What Is a Venmo Teen Account?
A Venmo Teen Account is a Venmo account for a 13-to-17-year-old that is legally owned and controlled by a parent or guardian. It lives inside the adult’s existing Venmo app as a connected account. The teen gets their own login and a Venmo Teen Debit Card, but the parent stays the account owner — which means you can see activity, lock the card, and manage the money at any time.
The card is a Mastercard debit card, so it works anywhere Mastercard is accepted, both online and in stores. There is no separate bank behind it that the teen manages; spending simply draws down the Teen Account balance you fund.
Requirements: What You Need Before You Start
- You (the parent/guardian) must have a personal Venmo account in good standing. Business accounts can’t open a teen account.
- Your identity should be verified on Venmo. If you haven’t confirmed your identity yet, Venmo will prompt you during setup.
- The teen must be 13–17 years old. At 18, the account is no longer eligible as a teen account and the teen can transition to a standard adult Venmo account.
- The teen’s basic information — legal name and date of birth — to create their profile.
How to Set Up the Venmo Teen Account (Step by Step)
- Open your Venmo app and tap the Me tab, then the settings gear.
- Look for Teen Account (Venmo also surfaces this under account/family settings) and tap to get started.
- Confirm your own identity if prompted, then enter your teen’s legal name and date of birth.
- Review and accept the teen account terms as the responsible parent or guardian.
- Choose a debit card color and order the card. Your teen sets up their own login credentials.
- Add money to the Teen Account balance so the card is ready to use, and hand the physical card to your teen once it arrives.
Direct deposit is also available on the Teen Account — a teen with a part-time job can have a paycheck routed straight to the card, and paychecks can arrive up to two days early. Note that government payments are not eligible for the teen direct deposit.
Fees and Limits at a Glance
| Item | Cost / Limit |
|---|---|
| Monthly account fee | $0 |
| Minimum balance | None |
| Card / application fee | $0 |
| ATM withdrawal at a MoneyPass ATM | Free |
| ATM withdrawal at a non-MoneyPass or non-U.S. ATM | $2.50 (Venmo fee) |
| ATM daily withdrawal limit | $400 per day |
| Debit card purchases | $3,000 per day / $7,000 per week |
| Person-to-person Venmo payments | $2,000 per week |
Keep in mind the $2.50 charge is Venmo’s own fee. The ATM operator may add a separate surcharge on top of it, so an out-of-network withdrawal can cost noticeably more than $2.50 in total.
Worked Example: The Real Cost of an ATM Trip
Say your teen needs $60 in cash. At a MoneyPass ATM, they withdraw $60 and pay $0 in Venmo fees. At a random gas-station ATM that isn’t in the MoneyPass network, they’d pay Venmo’s $2.50 fee — and if that machine also charges its own $3.00 surcharge, the same $60 withdrawal effectively costs $5.50. On a $60 pull, that’s roughly a 9% penalty for not finding an in-network machine. The habit to teach: use the ATM locator to find a free MoneyPass ATM first.
Worked Example: Staying Inside the Limits
Imagine your teen buys a $180 pair of sneakers and $40 of groceries in one day — that’s $220, well under the $3,000 daily purchase cap. But if they tried to withdraw $500 in cash for a trip, the ATM would decline the amount above $400, because that’s the daily cash ceiling. They’d need to split it across two days.
Parental Controls: What You Can and Can’t Do
The Teen Account is designed around visibility and quick intervention rather than granular budgeting. Here’s what parents get:
- See every transaction — payments sent and received, plus all debit card purchases — right inside your own Venmo app.
- Lock and unlock the debit card instantly if it’s lost or you want to pause spending.
- Monitor the balance and control funding, since you decide how much money goes into the account.
- Get activity notifications so you’re alerted to spending in real time.
- Manage privacy — all of a teen’s Venmo transactions default to private, which is the safest setting.
What you can’t do: set your own custom per-category or lower spending limits. The daily and weekly caps in the table above are preset by Venmo and can’t be tightened. If you want tighter control over spending, the practical lever is how much you load into the balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Venmo Teen Account have a monthly fee?
No. There’s no monthly fee, no minimum balance, and no cost to open the account or order the debit card. The main fee to watch is the $2.50 charge for withdrawing cash at ATMs outside the MoneyPass network (and at non-U.S. ATMs).
Where can my teen use the debit card without paying an ATM fee?
At any MoneyPass ATM, withdrawals are free of Venmo’s fee. MoneyPass has a large U.S. network, and Venmo offers an in-app locator to find nearby machines. Any ATM outside that network triggers the $2.50 Venmo fee, plus whatever the machine’s owner charges.
Can parents see who their teen sends money to?
Yes. As the account owner, you can view all of your teen’s activity — including who they pay and who pays them, along with every card purchase — directly in your Venmo app. Teen transactions are also private by default.
What happens to the account when my teen turns 18?
The teen account is only eligible for ages 13–17. Once your teen turns 18, they’re no longer eligible for a teen account and can move to a standard adult Venmo account under their own ownership. Plan for that transition around their 18th birthday.
The Bottom Line
The Venmo Teen Account is a low-cost way to hand a 13-to-17-year-old a real Mastercard debit card while keeping a parent firmly in control. There’s no monthly fee, the limits are generous for everyday spending, and the parental tools cover the essentials — full transaction visibility, an instant card lock, and control over funding. The one recurring cost to coach your teen around is the $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee: teach them to find a MoneyPass machine and it disappears entirely.
WalletWisp is an informational resource, not financial advice. Fees, limits, and features can change — always confirm current details with Venmo before you decide.
