Greenlight review

It’s never too early to start managing your personal finances, which is why Greenlight is such a good idea. This is a banking app and bank account combination that is designed to help younger users master the management of their money.

Unlike some personal finance software and budgeting apps, which are dedicated to helping adults take control of their spending, Greenlight adds a lighter touch to proceedings, which makes getting to grips of money more of a fun experience.

Along with giving children and teens a great grounding in managing their personal finances, Greenlight also features the option to have and use debit cards. Allowing kids to take control of their spending habits, while still enabling parents to keep a keen eye on their progress, has been hugely popular. The Greenlight app frequently gets a thumbs-up from users, while the user base is said to be over 6.5 million.

• Want to try Greenlight? Check out the website here

While older fans of personal finance apps such as Quicken or Simplifi are already well catered for, having Greenlight at the disposal of kids and teens is an excellent way to boost education about money matters. The added benefit, alongside the ability to maintain strong parental control, is that Greenlight has so far managed to keep costs low, making it a very affordable option for most families.

Greenlight: Pricing

The best personal finance software caters extensively for the adult end of the market, whereas Greenlight is perfectly tailored towards kids and teenagers, much like the high-profile GoHenry product. Another bonus in that respect is Greenlight keeps things simple, with a straightforward selection of products built around an app and card combination. A free trial can be used to sample the service first too.

From there, Greenlight offers Greenlight Core, which currently costs $4.99 per month, followed by Greenlight Max at $9.98 per month and this is topped off by Greenlight Infinity. This costs $14.98 per month at the time of writing.

And, because these products come with supporting bank accounts, there is interest to be had as well. Currently, the rates sit at 2 percent, 3 percent and 5 percent accordingly. It should be noted, though, that these rates can (and probably will) change depending on market conditions.

Greenlight: Features

As is the case with most personal finance software, more features and functions come with the pricier packages. Central to the appeal and a mainstay of all products is the debit card that comes with each account for up to five children or teenagers. There’s also a credit card option open to adult users of the Greenlight service.

The Greenlight Core package comes with the debit card, a ‘Chores, jobs and allowance’ feature and financial literacy game, designed to encourage kids to get involved with their finances. The Greenlight Max product builds on that and adds in investing for kids, 1 percent cashback on purchases plus phone, purchase and identity theft protection. It’s worth reading the small print relating to these features, however, to ensure they work for you and your circumstances.

Rounding it out on the features front are driving reports, alerts and crash detection options plus family location sharing and SOS alerts offered with the Greenlight Infinity product. Again though, the Greenlight website does have some asterisks attached to these features, so it’s important to check on any exclusions or limitations based on what you expect from the product.

Greenlight: Performance

Greenlight works very effectively and that’s largely down to the neat tools on offer within the app itself. There are options to set spending limits and, better still, create chores for the kids to do. These can be used in their default modes or customised to suit more unique scenarios. It’s all very well engineered and thought out, which means using the app is a doddle for both parents and kids alike.

The great thing about all this is the way the graphically-driven software delivers the information. It’s all very simple, logically laid out and the power tools, such as teens having their paychecks deposited and visible within the app, makes the Greenlight performance level very high indeed.

A more advanced feature, like the investing aspect of the service impresses too, with the reassuring line that nothing can be done without parents or guardians being involved.

Greenlight: Ease of use

Greenlight is excellent at providing features and functionality for any parent wanting to keep an eye on things, especially when it comes to the kids' spending. From the off, Greenlight encourages kids and teens to learn about managing their money and using games and other fun features with the app and website. Equally, though, parental controls are at the forefront of all three product variants, so control is never far away if you’re the parent or guardian.

The same goes for the debit card side of things because the Community Federal Savings Bank offering supplied with the Greenlight products can be fully supervised by an adult. There’s even the benefit of cashback too, so younger users can quickly learn to see the benefit of being savvy with their spending. This is a great way to do things and works in a simple but effective fashion. Greenlight does also offer a credit card option for parents if they feel the need for more plastic.

Greenlight: Support

Greenlight works well but anyone who does encounter issues or who has a question to ask will find the help portal very beneficial. There are lots of FAQs here, but there is also the option to ask a question via SMS, while the chat tools could prove useful too. 

At the foot of the help hub page, Greenlight also offers more ways to seek assistance with a text number, email button and phone number all being at customer’s disposal. Help is apparently offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with some holiday hours variations.

Greenlight: Final verdict

Alongside a product like GoHenry, the options presented by Greenlight are very appealing and, perhaps, slightly more substantial. The company offers options that sit right up there next to the best personal finance software apps, but the focus on kids and teens is a masterstroke. The product options are also very practical, offering useful guidance on how to manage money while also allowing parents to keep a close eye on spending habits.

With three product variants that are affordable too, Greenlight has done a great job at making money management interesting and fun. At the same time though, it gives kids and teens the ability to take control of their own finances, with plenty of options for parents to ensure that things never get out of control.

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