LHV lowers the age limit for bank cards. 6-year-old clients can now also get a card

19.07.2021

LHV Pank customers aged six can now pay in shops with their very own bank card, as LHV has lowered the age limit for card clients from seven to six.

The possibility to order a bank card for a six-year-old also offers parents the opportunity to already practice and teach their child how to use a bank card before the child starts school.

According to Moonika Maaring, Head of Retail Banking at LHV, the decision to lower the age limit for ordering the card was primarily based on feedback from clients. ‘Understanding how to manage money starts at an early age. The need to teach a six-year-old pre-schooler about money often stems from the child’s own interest as well as from everyday life. Parents want to teach children the basics of money: how to pay with a bank card, what to spend money on and what not to spend it on, and what to do when money runs out. If a parent can go through the first practical steps together with the child, for example explaining why the child must not tell anyone the PIN code of the card, the child will have already acquired this wisdom by the time they go to school,’ said Moonika Maaring.

By using the new option and ordering a bank card for a six-year-old child, parents promise to take full responsibility for the origin of their money and their transactions. Specifically – under Estonian law, a child can only make transactions before the age of seven if they have received money from their parents or with the consent of a guardian. Although it is possible to conveniently open a bank account in LHV Pank, even for a newborn child, until now it was only possible to order a debit card for the child after they had reached the age of seven. However, children will continue to only have access to other banking channels, such as the mobile app, after reaching the age of 7.

In line with the needs and opportunities of children and young people, LHV also changed the daily and monthly limits for the bank cards of minors – the new default limits are EUR 30 per day and EUR 300 per month. Parents can conveniently increase or decrease the card limits in the online bank and the mobile app.

Start early with financial wisdom

According to Moonika Maaring, card payments are as common for children today as buying ice-cream from a shop with coins was twenty years ago. ‘Children want to try things for themselves. When children see other people paying with a card in a shop, they want to pay with a card too,’ said Maaring. ‘LHV debit cards are contactless and it is actually really easy for children to learn how to use a bank card.’

In addition to other bank cards, LHV Youth Card is also available for young clients aged 6 and up, which comes with prize draws and discounts. It is also an opportunity to already start investing at a young age. If a child has a Growth Account with LHV Pank, it is possible to activate the micro-investment option on the child’s bank card – with each card payment, a small amount is transferred from the account to investments.

‘We can see that although there is still too little attention paid to financial education in kindergartens and schools, today’s parents are much more active in teaching their children how to handle money. It is also possible to explain to six-year-olds that instead of just wasting money, it is worth thinking carefully about what you buy, and that alongside spending, it is important to save. The LHV bank card is a practical tool for acquiring financial wisdom,’ said Maaring.

For more information on how to open an account for your child and how to order a card, please visit: https://www.lhv.ee/et/lapsekonto.

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