ING DIRECT USA, the nation's largest direct bank, today unveiled MONEY - a teen checking account designed to empower teens to spend their money in a responsible way.
The interest-bearing account has no fees, no minimums, offers access to over 35,000 free ATMs and gives parents and teens real-time account updates via email or text message. MONEY features a Debit MasterCard® card which provides teens with the independence to access their own cash without having to visit the Bank of Mom and Dad.
"Learning to manage your finances shouldn't be any different than learning to drive a car," said Arkadi Kuhlmann, president and CEO of ING DIRECT USA. "Teens should feel empowered to take the wheel, but confident that their parents are there to steer them in the right direction. That same freedom with oversight is built into MONEY; it's like a learner's permit for personal finance."
MONEY enables parents to work closely with their teens to teach them to prioritize spending and manage their personal finances. To help parents guide their teens, the MONEY Debit MasterCard has a $500 per day transaction limit for card purchases or ATM withdrawals and does not allow teens to overdraw their account.
The new debit card marks ING DIRECT's first implementation of MasterCard® PayPass™ - a feature unique to the MONEY account that allows customers to "Tap & Go™." PayPass saves customers' time in checkout lines by allowing them to simply tap their card on a PayPass terminal in order to pay for a purchase and eliminates the need for customers to swipe their card.
Another first for ING DIRECT is the introduction of real-time text message updates available to teens and parents on the MONEY account. Both account holders have the ability to opt-in to receive text message alerts for card transaction confirmations, deposit notifications, and low balance alerts. The MONEY account can be set up by existing ING DIRECT customers in a matter of minutes and can be funded for as little as $1. Once the account is established, parents can make deposits into the teen's account, or the teen can have their wages directly deposited by their employer.
MONEY iis designed to be a transition between ING DIRECT's Kids Savings Account and the Electric Orange Checking account. The bank's newest product offering is the next step in their commitment to helping better educate America's youth on the importance of personal finance.