The Visabuxx card from
Visa bills itself as a
credit card for children and teens. In reality, it's a
debit card that runs through Visa's credit servers. Parents can add
money from their cards, and review
balance and detailed statements on the internet.
The Visabuxx card isn't given directly to parents, or even to children, but to a set of financial institutions who are themselves licensed to give it to the parents (and eventually to children).
There are some smarts behind the Visabuxx card, as evidenced by their business model. Don't bug us, we won't charge you. Talking to an operator costs a dollar. No matter what. Finding your balance via phone costs one dollar, despite the fact that it's just an automated voicebox. If your card (somehow) manages to drop below zero, there's a ten dollar fee. The truly appealing facet of this card are the allowances that parents can set up for children. Weekly, daily, monthly, or even every n months. Allowances are incredibly attractive to parents, and even to teens, because it means that we get our allowances on time, and they don't have to worry about remembering to pay us. Of course, multiple can be set up (for instance, I get a weekly gas allowance (for driving to school) and a monthly discretionary spending allowance.) as parents need them.