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Money Smart
Great money habits start with Money Smart, our bank account and savings account for 11 to 15 year olds.
They get Money Smart. You see their confidence grow. Win win.
With Money Smart, kids get their own bank account and savings account.It's designed to give 11 to 15 year olds the space to grow their independence and get money confident. After all, the best way to learn is to put their money in their hands, with you overseeing.
Can I open this account?To open Money Smart with your child you must be 18 or over. Your child must be between 11 and 15 years old. You'll need to have an existing Ultimate Reward Current Account or Reward Current Account and an existing Kids' Saver or Kids' Monthly Saver account for the child. You'll need to be registered for Online Banking, live in the UK and both be living at the same UK address.Can I open this account?To open Money Smart with your child you must be 18 or over. Your child must be between 11 and 15 years old. You'll need to have an existing Ultimate Reward Current Account or Reward Current Account and an existing Kids' Saver or Kids' Monthly Saver account for the child. You'll need to be registered for Online Banking, live in the UK and both be living at the same UK address.
Am I eligible?To open Money Smart with your child, you must be 18 or over and your child be between 11 and 15 years old, have an existing Ultimate Reward Current Account or Reward Current Account and hold an existing Kids' Saver or Kids' Monthly Saver account for the child, be registered for Online Banking and both be living at the same UK address. If you or the child live outside the UK, you won’t be able to open an account for them.
How it works
In one application, we’ll open two accounts for your child:
- Smart Spending Account – a bank account to receive their pocket money and pay for things in shops and online.
- Smart Savings Account – to encourage early savings habits and put money aside for what they want.
Both accounts will be in your child’s name. Once your child is set up for Online Banking, they can manage their accounts online via our Mobile Banking app, on a computer or tablet. And, you can keep an eye on their account activity through our Mobile Banking app or Online Banking.
Summary box for the Smart Savings Account
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3.40% AER/3.35% gross variable on balances from £1-£1,000.
1.45% AER/1.44% gross variable on any money above £1,000.
Interest is paid monthly.
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Yes. As this account pays a variable rate of interest it can change over time. We’ll always let you know of any planned changes to the rate. Our terms and conditions (PDF, 174KB) explain when and how we do this. For example, we might review the interest rate if it costs us more to run this account for you.
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For example, if you put in £1,000.00 when you open the account, the balance after 12 months will be £1034.01.
If you put in £2,000.00 when you open the account, the balance after 12 months will be £2048.21.
This assumes that:
- you don’t take any money or interest out of the account
- the interest rate stays the same
- you put money in the day you open the account and don't add more money after that.
If you have more than £1,000 in your account, you’ll get two different interest rates on your balance, the higher rate applies to everything up to £1,000 and the lower rate to everything over £1,000.
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This account can only be opened online between the parent or legal guardian and a young adult, as part of applying for Money Smart. This means a Smart Spending Account and a Smart Savings Account will be opened at the same time.
When the accounts are open, the parent or legal guardian will be able to see them in Online Banking and on our app, to help the young adult manage their money and transact on the accounts in an emergency. When the young adult is over 13 and decides it's the right time to remove this support they can do so in branch. If they're under 13, they can also do this, but will need the consent of their parent or legal guardian in branch.
The accounts can also be managed online, on our app and in branch.
Bear in mind,
- To open this account the parent or legal guardian must be 18 or over, resident in the UK and be registered for Online Banking. The young adult must be aged 11-15.
- The parent or legal guardian must have one of our qualifying current accounts listed below:
- Halifax Reward Current Account; or
- Halifax Ultimate Reward Current Account.
- The parent or legal guardian must have an existing Kids' Saver or Kids' Monthly Saver for the child or their proof of identity.
- The young adult must be living at the same address as the parent or legal guardian.
- The young adult can only hold one Smart Spending Account and one Smart Savings Account.
- We'll remove the parent or legal guardian's ability to view and transact on the account after the young adult's 18th birthday, unless it's already been done.
- The Smart Savings Account will mature to an Instant Saver account and the Smart Spending Account will mature to a Current Account before the young adult's 19th birthday. To make sure this happens, the young adult must provide us with additional identification such as a current UK or EU/EEA passport, photo driving licence or identity card.
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Young adult:
- Yes. So long as there is money in the account, you can withdraw it anytime.
Parent/legal guardian:
- Only on behalf of the young adult where you believe the circumstances are an emergency.
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Gross rate means we won't deduct tax from the interest we pay on money in your account. You need to pay any tax you may owe to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate. Whenever you see an advert for a savings account which shows an interest rate, you will see the AER. This means you can use the AER to compare accounts. It shows what the interest rate would be in your interest was paid and compounded once each year.
For more definitions, view our savings glossary.
Your questions about Money Smart
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To open Money Smart with your child you must:
- be 18 or over and your child be between 11 and 15 years old
- have an existing Ultimate Reward Current Account or Reward Current Account
- have an existing Kids' Saver or Kids' Monthly Saver for the child or their proof of identity
- be registered for Online Banking
- both be living at the same UK address. If you or the child live outside the UK, you won’t be able to open an account for them.
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There's no arranged overdraft with this account. Your child can only spend what’s in the account. If there isn't enough money in the account, any transactions shouldn't go through, as this account is designed to make sure they can't spend money they don’t have. If something goes wrong and their account goes overdrawn by mistake, we won’t charge them - we’ll work with them to make sure their account is put right.
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No, the account is free to use and doesn’t come with any monthly fees. For more information see our Fee Information Document (PDF, 209KB).
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Yes. Your child will only be able to spend the money that's in their Smart Spending Account. To make it easy, we've set daily spending limits so they can't overspend.
Daily spending limits
Ways to manage your money
Aged 11-15
Aged 16-17
Aged 18
Ways to manage your money
Using your debit card to pay online and in shops.
Aged 11-15
£200
Aged 16-17
£1,000
Aged 18
The money you have in your account.
Ways to manage your money
Using Online Banking to transfer money.
Aged 11-15
£500. This limit also applies to your Smart Savings Account.
Aged 16-17
£500. This limit also applies to your Smart Savings Account.
Aged 18
£500. This limit also applies to your Smart Savings Account.
Ways to manage your money
Using one of our branches with a counter to take money out.
Aged 11-15
£1,000
Aged 16-17
£1,000
Aged 18
£5,000
Ways to manage your money
Using your debit card to take money out of a cash machine.
Aged 11-15
£100
Aged 16-17
£100
Aged 18
£500
Ways to manage your money
Using the Post Office to take money out.
Aged 11-15
£100
Aged 16-17
£100
Aged 18
£300
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Young adult:
- Yes. So long as there is money in the account you can withdraw it anytime.
Parent/ legal guardian:
- Only on behalf of the young adult where you believe the circumstances are an emergency.
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Protecting your child’s personal information online matters to us. This is why we want you and your child to understand how we’ll use their information and what rights they have. Find out about how we use your child's data (PDF, 37KB).
Tips to help your child save, spend and earn
Already got a Money Smart account? Discover more hints and tips to help your child spend, save, earn and learn.
Halifax Money Smart® is a registered trademark of Bank of Scotland plc.
Google Pay is a trademark of Google LLC. Apple Pay is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
*For children under the age of 13, a parent or legal guardian will need to use ‘Family Sharing’ for Apple devices or ‘Family Link’ for Android devices, to approve the app download.
For more information about the fees associated for Payment Services with this account please see the Fee Information Document (PDF, 62KB).
Your money is protected
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects your money.
