While kids observe us using cash less and less, and using contactless payments for most transactions, the value of money can become lost. Giving your kids their pocket money in cash becomes harder. There are only so many last minute scrabbles around the bottom of your bag or ‘IOUs’ that you can give your kid. With that in mind, NatWest Rooster Money was created to help kids understand the value of money.
NatWest Rooster Money combines a kids debit card with a pocket money app. It is designed to help teach children how to manage their money from a young age, and build positive financial habits for the future. Let’s dive into this NatWest Rooster Money review and see if this pocket money app could be the right option for yourself and your family…
NatWest Rooster Money Review
NatWest Rooster Money have over 800,000 happy customers who are using their service to help kids manage their own money and learn more about saving and spending. At the heart of their business model is the idea that the world would be a better place if people started talking and learning about money from an earlier age.
How Does NatWest Rooster Money Work?
You can get started on NatWest Rooster Money by downloading their app and filling in your details. There is no need to go into a branch, or meet anyone in person to sign up. If you have more than one child, you can link all of them to your parent account. Each child then gets a separate log in, but you can view everything through your parental tracker.
Once you have selected which NatWest Rooster Money account is best for your child depending on their age (Rooster Money, Rooster Plus or Rooster Card), you can set up an automatic weekly allowance to get transferred into their account on a day of your choosing. Rather than having to remember to head to an ATM, you can simply automate the payments. You’ll never be hunting around the house for loose change again! This is what makes NatWest Rooster Money such a brilliant pocket money app.
From there you can access and utilise all the different functionalities that RoosterMoney offers. From saving, spending and giving pots, to linking pocket money to chores. There is a lot packed into this service. Let’s take a further look at the features of NatWest Rooster Money…
Can NatWest Rooster Money Teach Kids About Money?
Did you know that children can start to create money habits from the age of 7 years old? NatWest Rooster Money aims to open up conversations about money, and teach good financial habits to children through the use of their service.
Children can learn about saving, spending, giving and earning whilst using NatWest Rooster Money. This could help them learn money management skills that will serve them well in their late teens and into adulthood.
NatWest Rooster Money has a ‘save pot’ function where your child can save up their pocket money for a goal or simply for a ‘rainy day.’ You can encourage your child to send a percentage of their pocket money into their savings pot each month to help familiarise them with saving a portion of their ‘earnings.’
You can also set savings goals within the app (alongside a photo of the goal!) which is a very visual way of saving money. Your child can see their progress towards the goal. This can be really motivating and helps children to understand the idea of saving up for a larger item that they really want.
NatWest Rooster Money is partnered with JustGiving. Within the app there is the ability for your child to save and make donations to this charity using the ‘give pot’ function. This teaches the value of money and encourages giving to others.
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What are the NatWest Rooster Money Fees?
You can use one of the basic features of NatWest Rooster Money for free. Their ‘star chart’ reward chart system aimed at little children allows you to set goals for your child. Your child can then trade in their hard earned stars for a reward- from a trip out to a new toy. It’s a great way to incentivise good habits from a young age. Especially perhaps when your child isn’t old enough yet for a pocket money allowance.
Rooster Plus is the next step up from the free version of NatWest Rooster Money. Rooster Plus is £14.99 per year, per child and is the middle ground for when your child is a little too old for star charts, but still a little too young for their own debit card. It allows you to set chores for your child to do to unlock their allowance. You can also set an ‘interest rate’ on their savings to encourage your child to save their money and understand what ‘interest’ means. You can also add additional family members to the account so they can contribute money to the account themselves.
The next set up from Rooster Plus is the Rooster Card which has an annual fee of £19.99. This is geared towards older children who are in a position to manage their own spending using a pre-paid debit card.
NatWest Rooster Money Parental Controls
NatWest Rooster Money allows parents to set spending limits within the app. For example if you would like your child to spend a maximum of £10 a day, you can set this limit on their account and they will not be able to spend more than £10 a day. This gives you the control over their spending, but still gives the child a sense of autonomy and independence over how they choose to manage their money.
If you feel that your child is not old enough to have the Rooster Card account yet, you can track their spending using ‘boosts’ and ‘removes.’ For example, if your child wants to buy a new toy, you can check the app together to see if they have enough money in their account to buy it, and set up a ‘remove’ once you have paid for the item yourself. Similarly, you can add more money to their account by adding a ‘boost.’
You can also customise the dashboard on the app. For example, you can hide other pots of money within the app and just have the ‘spend pot’ showing their pocket money allowance if you wish.
When your child is ready for the Rooster Card, you can decide where the card is used (online? In stores? ATMs?) and get instant spending alerts on your phone to see when your child has made a transaction.
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Can You Use NatWest Rooster Money Abroad?
Another bonus of NatWest Rooster Money is that you can use the card abroad, and use your holiday as an opportunity to help your child learn about foreign currency exchange.
Rooster Money Card allows you to make both chip and pin, and contactless payment transactions. You can also withdraw money from an ATM in another country at no extra charge from NatWest Rooster Money. However, look out for any charges from the ATM provider to avoid any fees.
With the Rooster Card you can spend up to £50 in foreign currencies per month without incurring any additional fees. If you spend over £50 in a month, RoosterMoney will charge you 3% of the transaction amount.
Does NatWest Rooster Money Have Age Limits?
NatWest Rooster Money is aimed at kids aged 4 to 14 years old. Brilliantly, it has various features to help your kids learn about money at every milestone age. In the younger years age group, you can use a star chat as a reward system, and there is also the payment card which can be introduced when your child is a little older.
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Is NatWest Rooster Money Safe?
NatWest Rooster Money is not a bank and therefore not FCSC regulated. However they are regulated by the FCA, and your money is held securely in a NatWest bank account. Because of the fact that NatWest Rooster Money is not a regular bank account, your child cannot go overdrawn on their account and therefore cannot incur any overdraft fees.
It is also easy to freeze and unfreeze the card at any time from within the app if the card gets misplaced or stolen.
NatWest Rooster Money Review- Final Thoughts On NatWest Rooster Money
Pocket money apps like NatWest Rooster Money certainly seem to be the way forward when it comes to financially educating your child. Not only will your child pick up money management skills, but they will pick up on good financial habits such as saving for a goal, giving to charity, and tracking their spending. NatWest Rooster Money can help you to ensure that your child will enter adulthood with some money management techniques already under their belt.
Pros of NatWest Rooster Money
–Learning opportunities. Managing pocket money through an app like NatWest Rooster Money not only creates learning opportunities, but also creates fun learning opportunities. With tracking graphs, reward charts and more, learning about money has never been more interesting and fun.
–No need for ATMs. No more running to the ATM on a Saturday morning and then trying to break a £10 note. The allowance is deposited electronically so you won’t need to remember to physically hand over their allowance.
–Independence for your child. NatWest Rooster Money allows a child independence (with parental supervision) on the choices that they make for their money and how they manage it. When a kid can learn healthy money habits, they will most certainly use them in adulthood.
–Affordable service. Rooster Card is only £19.99 a year which works out at less than £2 a month for the service.
–Parental control. With features such as spending limits, instant transaction notifications, and a parental account, you can be assured that you can monitor how your child is using their money at any time.
Cons of NatWest Rooster Money
–No interest payments. Because NatWest Rooster Money is not a bank, your child cannot earn interest (in a traditional sense, anyway) on their savings. Although this might not be a worry unless your child has a lot of money in their account, it’s worth noting all the same.
–No ability to load physical cash into the account. If your child receives some cash for any reason, there is no ability to physically deposit this into their account. As the parent, you would need to swap the cash for a deposit and make a transfer into their account instead.
–Only available until the age of 14. Unlike other pocket money apps which allow children up to the age of 18 to use their services, NatWest Rooster Money is currently only available to children up to the age of 14.
Hopefully this NatWest Rooster Money review has helped you to decide whether this service is right for you and your family! If you have any questions, be sure to drop me an email or a DM via social media!