Copper Review

The Copper Banking app makes money management for both parents and kids more straightforward than ever. But how does it work, and is Copper Banking the right choice for your family’s finances?

Take a look at this review and learn everything you need to know about the app and how it can benefit your child’s financial future.

What is Copper Banking?

Copper Banking is similar to any checking account you might open for your child, but with unique benefits and perks to enjoy.

Copper Banking’s focus is on promoting financial education for kids and parents. A Copper Banking account gives kids the opportunity to have a free debit card. The Copper debit card is connected to a mobile account.

On the mobile app, kids have access to features that teach them about financial literacy, money management, and many features that they might enjoy with any other debit card. Parents also have access to a linked account for helping to guide their children’s decisions and monitor activity.

How Copper Banking Works

A Copper account works much as any other personal checking account would. With a Copper Banking account, teens can deposit funds and spend those funds through an app like Cash App or a debit card transaction.

The difference here is that a teen’s Copper account will have critical insights and educational tools to help guide their savings and spending decisions.

It’s also connected to a parent account. This way, parents can quickly deposit funds, monitor activity, and learn where their child’s financial education lacks and improve it.

Who is the Copper Banking App for?

A Copper Banking debit card is designed to help manage a teen’s account. This app is a game-changer for parents who aren’t sure how to teach their children how to manage money or determine savings goals.

The Copper Banking app is also ideal for parents who are still learning about personal finance themselves. With Cheat Codes from Copper Banking, parents have access to videos going over key points that everyone should understand about finances.

Lastly, Copper Banking is perfect for kids who need easier access to funds. This could be teens working who would benefit from the direct deposit feature or those who get an allowance from their parents. Now, it’s simple to give kids access to their funds.

Copper Banking Review of Features

Copper Banking goes well beyond the standard checking account and free debit cards. But what exactly does it offer teens and parents? Check out its top features here.

Savings Goals

When teens open a Copper account, the primary goal isn’t just to get debit cards in their hands. They should be learning about personal finance and how to save money, not just spend it.

Rather than blindly dropping coins in a piggy bank or saving until they feel like spending, Copper Banking helps kids set up their savings goals. This way, they have a solid number to work toward and feel a greater sense of accomplishment when it’s reached.

This debit card for teens teaches the importance of saving over spending everything.

Transaction Alerts for Parents

Parents can easily set up alerts and receive a notification whenever their teen spends money.

This is critical not only for parents concerned about their teen’s spending but also for parents who want to have meaningful and timely conversations about spending.

After all, a discussion about a purchase that arrives weeks later on a statement won’t have the same effect as discussing a purchase from that day.

For parents concerned about funds getting low, alerts also help notify when a teen might need a deposit soon. Parents can quickly send funds from their linked checking account, so their child is ready for the next purchase.

Recurring Transfers

If your kid is doing chores around the house, it can be inconvenient to always have a twenty-dollar bill on hand for allowances. But when a teen has a Copper bank account, parents can quickly transfer money through their linked checking account.

This makes debit card funding fast and straightforward. Wire transfers from a parent’s account to a child’s don’t have fees. This makes paying allowances much more manageable than keeping cash around. And that allowance can be spent or go directly to their savings goals, and you’ll see it all.

Educational Materials for Teens and Adults

Perhaps the worst fear is giving a teen a debit card and watching them blow through their funds faster than you’d think possible. But Copper Banking isn’t just another debit card. It follows through on its commitment to teaching financial literacy to kids and adults alike.

Going far beyond a traditional bank account, Copper Banking highlights the best strategies and methods for saving rather than spending. It also provides video and educational materials to parents to keep everyone on the same page about finances.

This way, the app opens the door to meaningful conversations about finances between parents and their children that can often be hard and confusing to have.

Send and Request Money

Copper Banking makes it simple to transfer money. For example, parents can make a deposit in seconds from their linked checking account. But kids aren’t limited to what they can do on the app.

A child can still do everything they’d need to with their debit card. This includes sending and requesting money on apps like Venmo or Cash App. This means they can quickly help split the bill amongst friends rather than owing their friends money.

Debit Card Included

Kids don’t just get a place to keep their money. When you open a Copper account, you’ll immediately be equipped with a debit card.

Parents can make debit card payments so that their child always has the funds they need. This way, children have a real opportunity to manage money and see what spending vs. saving does for his account.

In addition to using a debit card to make payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay, it can also withdraw cash from an ATM.

Use of ATMs

With Copper Banking sign-up comes a free debit card. Like any other debit card, this can then be used to withdraw cash from an ATM.

This is essential for teens who may find themselves in tricky situations where having cash is a must. This way, parents don’t need to worry about giving them enough cash before they leave the house but leave it to their teens to get what they need when they’re low.

Direct Deposit

If a teen is working, it doesn’t make sense to go through the mess of getting a check, giving it to a parent, and having them cash it out.

Not only does that take away from a teen’s sense of accomplishment, but that cash is also likely to disappear quickly without remembering what exactly happened to each dollar.

But with Copper, teens can set up their own direct deposit. This way, they immediately get paid by their boss, they know exactly how much they have, and they’ll watch as it goes away, prompting, hopefully, more commitment to savings.

Mobile Payment Compatible

In the digital age, no one has only a debit card. A debit card is a way of having access to all sorts of payments. We’ve mentioned that apps like Venmo and Cash App are options. But this form of personal finance goes much further.

Once signed up, teens can use the debit card to make purchases with their phone on tools such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. And as these methods of payment become more popular, your teen will be ready with their debit card.

Instant Money Transfers

Your child calls you. They’re out of gas and don’t have money. How will you help get them what they need to get home safely?

This is just one situation in which being able to instantly transfer funds is more than a convenience — it’s a necessity.

When you connect your checking account to the mobile app, you have easily accessible and fast Copper debit card funding. With a few taps on a screen, you can get funds to your child’s checking fund without causing further stress or incurring exorbitant fees.

Mastercard Zero Liability Protection

Don’t let your teen’s financial journey hit an immediate snag when someone discovers how to hack into their checking fund. With Mastercard’s zero liability protection, your child’s money is safe from unfriendly characters.

If any fraud occurs on their card, any unauthorized transactions are refunded, as if nothing ever happened. This is crucial to kids who may have their entire life savings in the app and need the surety from their bank that their money will be there for them.

No Minimum Balance Requirements

Copper Banking has no minimum deposit or balance to better learn about finances. Kids and parents can make the best decisions for their finances rather than worrying about meeting the bank’s minimums.

With this critical feature, MasterCard debit card usage is true to the family’s needs rather than the needs of a bank. Need to let the checking fund sit untouched for a while? There’s no problem.

Spending Limits

There’s a reason Copper Banking’s mission is to spread the virtues of understanding personal finance and best practices.

In an age where buying is just a touch away with Apple Pay and Google Pay, having self-control is more challenging than ever. And teens aren’t known for having the best self-control.

To help keep MasterCard debit card usage at the rate it should be, there’s a $2,000 daily spending limit. This way, children can never spend more than $2,000 in 24 hours, no matter how much is in their account.

For teens struggling with impulse control, this feature might just teach them what’s suitable for purchasing each day and inform their financial decisions later.

Cash Deposits through the Green Dot Network

In addition to direct deposit and fund transfers, families also have access to cash deposits for replenishing teens’ checking funds.

The Green Dot Network is a service that allows retailers to provide cash depositing options. Because there are no banks for Copper where teens can go to deposit any cash they have, they can go do the same thing at a retailer.

However, keep in mind that while Copper Banking is fee-free, retailers may charge fees for using Green Dot for depositing funds. The fees aren’t typically large, but they can add up.

In that case, it’s best to plan ahead about when cash might need to be deposited and do it in one transaction as much as possible. But for teens working for cash, this deposit option allows them to quickly put it into a checking fund where they then track what they do with their money.

Copper Banking Prices and Fees

Before you sign up, you’ll want to know about the Copper checking account cost. Good news — there isn’t any Copper Banking cost.

When you sign up with the app for free, your teen will get a free debit card. No monthly fees, no overdraft fees, and no maintenance fees. This means that if you think this app might be interesting to you, it might be worth a shot.

The only fee that you might regularly incur from the app is on foreign transactions. Teens don’t often do a lot of foreign traveling. However, if your child is often out of. the country, it might be best to opt for a foreign transaction-friendly card.

Overall, this is a completely free service for customers to use and enjoy to strengthen their child’s understanding of financial matters while saving money.

Signing up for a Copper Account

It’s simple to open a Copper account — probably a more relaxed experience than the last time you walked into a bank. Because there’s no minimum deposit, you can just set up your’s and your child’s profile easily and quickly.

You’ll need your tax identification number or social security number on hand. You’ll need to answer some questions, and then connect this app to your existing checking account. This ensures that you can deposit funds when needed.

The app often has referral deals, so see if your friend has a referral code for you before you sign up completely.

Security

It’s understandable to worry about your personal information in the online world. But thankfully, Copper offers a high level of security to its customers.

The financial institution is partnered with Evolve Bank & Trust. This means that all funds are protected by FDIC insurance. Their system also ensures that direct deposits and transfers are completed safely.

The app itself is completely encrypted. That means even if someone were able to hack into the system online, they wouldn’t be able to read your information. With this layer of protection, you should be able to feel comfortable sharing basic details like your linked bank account and tax identification number or social security number to sign up.

Mobile Copper Banking and Accessibility

To manage your Copper account, you’ll want to have the Copper Banking mobile app. Here on the Copper app, you can transfer funds, monitor activity for checking accounts, and access educational materials.

The mobile app is user-friendly, making it easy to monitor and manage teen accounts and effectively use the Copper virtual debit card.

Copper Banking and Customer Support

There are two primary means of communication with the customer service team: email and the support tab in the Copper app. The options are fairly limited, which can be frustrating if you’re having an issue with your Copper account.

Thankfully, Copper has a robust FAQ section where you can find answers to most questions. Other than that, you’ll likely have to wait for an email reply.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Easy to Open an Account and Use the App

Checking accounts can be confusing to open. Going into a bank and signing up can be an intimidating first step in personal finance, especially for a teen.

But with Copper’s virtual debit card for teens that can all be accessed in the Copper app, it’s never seemed so simple to take control of your finances. Sign up is easy, the mobile app is user-friendly, and the app has loads of information to explore.

With Copper, teens can actually get comfortable with the idea of managing their money responsibly.

Few to No Fees

When you look for teen accounts with a traditional financial institution, you’ll normally run into all sorts of fees for debit cards: overdraft fees, monthly fees, or at least a balance minimum.

With Copper, you won’t pay any regular fees. You only pay for fees on foreign transactions. Other than that, you might pay a fee to an ATM or Green Dot retailer, but never Copper itself.

This is a debit card that’s truly free.

Making Financial Education Simple

Even if financial literacy is taught in your child’s school, it likely won’t make the impression it needs to for making a positive difference in how they handle finances. The best way to learn is frequent, hands-on experiences.

By logging into the mobile app, parents have access to Cheat Codes, videos on important finance topics. Between this information and manage checking accounts with spending limits and savings goals, they’ll quickly learn what it means to manage money.

Automated Allowances/Salaries

Never forget your give your child their allowance ever again. With automated, recurring payments, you’ll transfer their allowance without fail through the mobile app.

This way, teen accounts always have what they’re expecting and they can meet their savings goals based on their home “salaries” or allowances.

Parent Account Monitors Activity

To be impactful in educating your child on financial literacy, you need to know where they stand.

With Copper accounts, you can regularly monitor exactly how your child is spending money. This way, you know how best to approach their financial education.

Cons

Low-Interest Rates

Most bank accounts offer a significantly higher interest rate than what Copper offers (0.01% APY). So if your teen is looking to focus on savings and a higher interest yield, this may not be the right choice.

Limits on Spending and Funding

While spending limits might be ideal for some, there are limits on both spending and receiving funds. This means that, as a parent, you can only deposit so much from your linked bank account per day. While this is not often a problem, it may become a source of frustration if you’re regularly trying to make deposits in your child’s account.

Limited Customer Support

If you’re having trouble with your Copper account, you want help right away. Unfortunately, Copper has limited options for customer support without a phone number or live chat readily available to everyone.

If you need to contact Copper Banking with an urgent matter, you may be frustrated when you don’t find your answer in the FAQ section and need to wait for an email response.

No Control on Activity

While you can monitor closely as a parent, you can’t customize controls on your child’s spending or saving. For example, a Copper account is limited to $2,000 daily spending. But. a parent account can’t increase or decrease that spending limit.

For those looking to have tight control on their children’s financial activity, this might not be what you’re looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Copper a Good Banking App?

Based on the features and lack of account maintenance fees or monthly fees, we can highly recommend Copper Banking as a good app.

The app’s mission is to spread financial literacy far and wide while starting younger.

A child’s financial future doesn’t start when they turn 18 after all. Learning the dos and don’ts as early as possible could greatly improve their finances.

The app also makes cash deposits simple, allowing kids to have access to their funds without much hassle. And the Cheat Codes videos provide valuable insight on finances so that kids and parents can have important discussions about money and how (and how not) to treat it.

Is the Copper App Legit?

This app isn’t just a fly-by-night wonder that’s here to take your money. It is partnered up with a well-trusted and highly regarded institution — Evolve Bank & Trust.

The app is well designed and allows kids to manage their checking accounts with ease with also providing financial education to them and their parents. The app works well without any significant complaints, and the advice on personal finance is sound and trustworthy.

Overall, this app is a great choice for any family. And without any fees, it’s easy to try with nothing to lose.

Is Copper Bank FDIC Insured?

When banking services are FDIC insured, this means that your money is safe in the event that anything happens to the bank holding onto your cash. So, for example, if a bank closed, then the FDIC would cover the funds of a holder up to $250,000.

This is an important form of insurance to have on bank accounts. This guarantees that your money is safe while you’re saving.

Thankfully, Copper Banking is partnered with Evolve Bank & Trust. This means that all funds to the app are covered by FDIC insurance.

How Does Copper Bank Make Money?

A Copper Banking account doesn’t include any fees that come directly from the app to be paid for by the account holder. But without overdraft fees, minimum balances, or monthly maintenance fees, how does Copper stay in business?

The company does earn revenue, but not from its customers directly. Instead, there are fees on every transaction that might be paid by the vendor or another bank. These fees are paid to Copper. So while customers aren’t paying fees, by using the card, they’re essentially earning fees that are sent to the company.

Alternatives to the Copper Bank App

After reading through this Copper Banking review, you may have realized that this app isn’t right for your family. Thankfully, Copper isn’t the only option for banking for teens.

For example, you may want easier cash deposits and no spending limit. If you’re alright with sacrificing some monitoring and the financial education that comes with the app for a more standard checking account, you may want to consider a typical bank account.

While there are drawbacks to opting for traditional banking services, speak with your bank and see if there are any services you’re unaware of for monitoring your child’s spending while helping them learn more about financial literacy.

The problem here is that kids may accrue overdraft fees without the hard spending limit.

Bottom Line

For those looking to open a checking account for their children, it’s time to open a Copper Banking account. In many ways, it’s more convenient than the typical bank account and comes with financial education guidance that can help kids and adults alike.

Since signing up is free, you can sign up for yourself and your child and see for yourself whether Copper is the future of banking for teens.