BusyKid has several features that parents must turn on from the "Settings" area of the app. These features - BusyPay, Auto-Allowance and Savings Match - are designed to provide parents with more control and children extra motivation. To find these, sign into your account and press "Settings" at the bottom of the dashboard.
BusyKid now offers two subscription options - monthly and annual. Both plans will give your family complete access to the award-winning app, nearly 50 charities and up to five BusyKid Visa Spend Cards (one per child). The cost options are $3.99 a month or $38.99 annually, which is a 20% savings over the monthly total. We also offer our 30-day subscription back guarantee (more details in FAQs).
This information is listed in the welcome email, but just in case, please follow these steps when you are near other family members:
Yes! BusyKid will seek approval from parents through notifications for allowances, bonuses, loading spend cards with money, donations, and buying stock. If you don't agree to accept notifications from BusyKid upon enrollment, go into your device and turn them on. If you didn't accept notifications upon set up, you can go into settings inside the app and do it from there.
For the system to work properly, a checking account, debit or credit card must be used as a funding source. The system is designed to pay real allowance and will only work with a linked funding source. We recommend linking a checking account since there will be no transaction fee associated. Use a credit or debit card and a fee will be charged by your bank or credit card company.
We can not accept PayPal, Chime, Venmo or other money apps as a funding source.
The heart of our app is chores for allowance, but the fastest way to add money into a child account is by giving a bonus. Matter of fact, this should be the first thing you do after establishing the account and ordering a card. We recommend doing a small bonus to see how money flows in the system. Do this by:
Our financial network covers more than 90% of all US banks and credit unions. However, there is a chance that you can't find or connect the one you use. If you don't see the bank/credit union listed and it doesn't come up in the search space, you can manually connect your bank by following these steps once inside your account
Micro-deposits will show up in your bank account (generally within two banking days). Once they do, sign into your account and:
Please contact our support team for additional assistance.
The app is designed to stay signed in, so there is no need to ever exit. When you are done using the app, simply close it or switch to another app. BusyKid will remain signed in on the "Select Profile" page. This is where someone would need to enter a specific PIN to enter an account. As a reminder, never share your PIN.
If you explicitly sign out, the main parent will receive an email with instructions to sign in again.
Parents and children can follow everything done inside the BusyKid system - chores, allowance, money transfers, donations, stock purchased and where a BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Card is used - from the activity feed in the app. From the bottom of the parent or child dashboard, press "Activity".
Press the "Stack" icon to review all financial transactions. Press the "$" to see all completed chores and review the most recent payday.
If you see a credit to your account (On the parent dashboard), these are funds that BusyKid has returned to you for one reason or another. These funds can be used for paydays and bonuses whenever you'd like.
Yes, if you can use a US-based cell phone, zip code, and bank or credit card to link as a funding source. BusyKid Spend Cards can not be shipped outside the US. At this time, the only currency showing in the system is the US dollar. We hope to expand outside the US in the near future.
At this time, just contact our support team and it will cancel the BusyKid account. When you cancel, any money inside the system will be returned directly to either the funding source directly, through PayPal or bank check. Our support team will notify you of which. Any money on the BusyKid Spend Card will remain active as long as funds are on the card. You will need to close the card separately. Please see the Spend Card section for more card details.
A "Payday" is allowance that comes from completing chores. This money will always be split between the Save, Share and Spend areas based upon the allocation settings.
A "Bonus" is money provided by a parent at any time and for any reason. Bonus money can either go into the Save, Share and Spend areas, or be loaded directly onto a BusyKid Spend Card. Contact our support team if there are any issues.
Each preloaded chore or activity already has an allowance based upon the age of your child. However, you can change the amount you want to pay by editing the amount as you set it up.
The standard Payday is each Friday. Chores marked "Done" by a child since the previous Friday will be included. Around 8:30 am (local time) the primary parent will receive an email notification, as well as, an in-app notification that Payday needs to be approved. The email must be responded to on a mobile device. Once the notification is approved, the allowance will move to the Save, Share and Spend areas and divided based upon the allocation percentages.
It's bound to happen, you missed approving a payday. Don't worry because you can still approve it anytime by following these steps:
1. From the parent dashboard tap "Activity" at the bottom of the page.
2. Tap "$"
3. Tap "Review Payday"
4. Approve the payday
You can follow these same steps to pay allowance anytime.
With "Auto-Allowance", a child can be paid every Friday or twice a month (1st & 15th) with no chores required. Just set it, forget it and we'll transfer allowance into the child account (divided into save, share and spend). The "Auto-Allowance" feature can be accessed by tapping "Settings" at the bottom of the parent dashboard, then selecting this feature.
Any chores that are completed in the week will be paid on Friday.
A parent can send a bonus anytime and it will register in the child account immediately. To send a bonus:
Think of this as an IOU between the child and parent. Pressing the "Get Cash" button will move funds from the child account back to the parent funding source, but funds could take a few days to register in the parents funding source. This feature should not be used for weekly payday since it’s difficult to predict when funds will be available.
With BusyPay, anyone can add money into a child account for a birthday, holiday present, selling lemonade, mowing grass, babysitting or more. Your child would just share a QR code and money can be added quickly to the Save, Share and Spend areas. There is a $1 fee to use BusyPay plus any credit card or bank transaction cost.
It’s up to you. We have preset the percentage allocated to each area based on the age of the child, but you can easily change from inside the child profile. To change:
While on this page, you can also lock any money movement between areas by checking the box below the slider.
Yes and No. A child can press the “Transfer” button and move funds between Save, Share and Spend areas. There are no parent approvals necessary for these transfers. If the “Money Lock” feature is engaged through enrollment or from inside the child profile, a child will not see the "Transfer" button.
When Money Lock is engaged, a child can still donate, invest, "Get Cash" or load cards as normal.
Simply engage the "Money Lock" feature and your child won't be able to transfer money between the Save, Share and Spend areas. To engage, go to "Settings" at the bottom of parent dashboard and select "Manage Profiles". Tap the image of the child you want and scroll down the screen until you see the "Lock Money Transfers" box. Click the box and save.
Though a parent will need to move money between areas now, money can still be used for spending, donations or investing. The parent will just need to approve the transaction.
"Savings Match" is just as the name states - an opportunity to match a percentage of the money saved by a child each week. To do this:
1. Tab on"Settings" from the parent dashboard;
2. Select "Savings Match" from the menu;
3. Pick the child and the percentage to match each week, or add a monthly maximum to be paid. The amount will be divided equally each week.
The resulting match will be displayed in the activity feed for the child
No. When your child wants to make a donation, a message will be sent to the primary account holder for approval. Once approved, the money to be donated will move back to the funding source. The primary parent makes the donation so that the parent/family gets the donation letter.
If you didn't order a spend card during enrollment, you can do so by pressing the card image from the parent dashboard. When ordering a card, be sure to only check the box for the kid(s) you wish to get cards. Remember, each family subscription comes with one card.
When ordering a card you'll be able to select from different designs and the colors of black or white. Very soon, we'll be offering more colors.
Normally cards are created and delivered in about 14 business days (though mail delays are possible due to local weather). Due to COVID-related shortages, delivery times have increased some. We are hopeful that this will be resolved very soon. If you’ve waited more than 14 business days and the card hasn’t arrived, please contact us immediately so we can take next steps.
The card balance will update automatically when loaded and used, but we recommend pressing "Update" before using to ensure funds available.
Checking a card balance is easy and can be completed two ways - 1) From a dashboard, scroll down to the card image and press the green "update" refresh button or 2) Go to "Settings" in the parent dashboard and "Spend Card" from the menu. Press the three dots in the upper right corner of the card image and select "Get Balance". If you have additional questions, email us.
To activate a new card, the primary parent can either do so in the app or call the card provider.
In the App:
* Enter the parent dashboard and select the child
* On the card image touch the "Lock" to open up the next screen and enter the last 4 digits of the card # then DONE, then UNLOCK.
Calling the Card Provider:
* Call the number on the sticker - 833-920-2554. This will require the primary parent to enter the last 4 digits of their SSN and the last 4 numbers on the front of the card to unlock it.
Parent Loading a Card (from parent dashboard):
1. Select a child and press blue "Load Card" button;
2. Select the area to load from (Save, Share or Spend) and enter the amount. Press "Load Card";
3. Money will move immediately to the card but press the green "update" button to ensure load is complete.
Child Loading a Card (from child dashboard):
1. Press the blue "Load Card" button
2. Select the area to load from (Save, Share or Spend) and enter the amount. Press "Load Card";
3. The child will see a "Success" message that indicates a parent is approving the request. The primary parent will immediately get an email notification that must be responded to on a mobile device. Once approved, the money will move instantly.
We recommend that the child become aware of this process since they may need to load money while at a store.
Also, the loading process can only use money from the Save, Share and Spend areas, so please make sure they are funded before attempting this procedure.
BusyKid Spend Cards come in 11 different designs. Press the link to see an image of the card. If you're a current BusyKid member and would like to upgrade to a new card design, please see the FAQ on "How to update card design". All cards come with the child and parent names printed on the back except for the "Legacy Card" where the names are embossed on the front. There is a $7.99 cost to changing a design.
Yes, more than 55,000 ATMs in the Allpoint network. Allpoint ATMs are in most popular retail stores — places you already know, love and shop every day. Target, CVS, Kroger, Walgreens, Safeway, Circle K and others. There is a $1.50 fee to use any ATM, however, an additional fee could also be charged by an out of network ATM.
BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Cards can be used anyplace Visa® cards are accepted, whether in store or online. Cards must have money loaded onto them through the BusyKid app before use and card holders should make sure a sufficient balance is available before making any purchases. Insufficient funds could result in cards becoming inactive or decline fees being charged.
If you are new to BusyKid and your card has been declined, most likely the card hasn't been activated yet, there isn't enough money on the card or you've used the wrong PIN. Please check for these issues and try again. If the card declines again, please call the number on the back of the card for immediate attention.
You are protected with Visa ® Zero Liability Policy—our guarantee that you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your account or account information. You can always dispute charges as well by contacting our card provider by calling the number on the back of the card (833-920-2554). Please make sure you provide the card number and details on the activity.card holder and the card number.
If the card is truly lost or stolen, go to "Settings" in the parent dashboard and press "Spend Cards" from the menu. Tap the three dots on the child’s spend card and "Report Lost or Stolen". This will cancel the old card and order a duplicate one. The replacement cost for the new card is $5. If you want to take this time to update your card to a newly designed card, you can do this as well at the same price.
If you think a card is just misplaced, you can "Freeze" it by contacting our support team during regular business hours. Once the card is found or you're convinced it's lost, the support team can "unfreeze" the card or you can order a new one.
Since we use identity verification services to help determine the identity of anyone ordering a BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Card, members must be in compliance with Visa® requirements. There could be several reasons why you received an error message while trying to ordering a card. However, the biggest are information entered wrong or it's not matching data which exists in other databases. Here are some common errors:
Address Error
This error generally occurs because an older address is on file with the verification service or because a PO Box number is used. Please use your domestic street address and if you need a BusyKid Spend Card sent to a PO Box or other address, please contact our support team so we can process the order manually.
Date of Birth Error
Usually a date of birth or ID error is related to information provided and is usually a typo. Please verify the information you used is correct.
ID Error
ID errors generally occur because of the legal name provided on the account or improper formatting of the SSN. If you have recently married or changed your name, please try your former name and remove any extraneous dashes from the SSN. If you continue to receive this error, you will receive an email within a few days with instructions to complete the process. If you do not receive a notification within 3 business days, please contact our support team.
Our card provider is required by law to verify the personal information for the main parent on the account. BusyKid just passes information through to the card provider for validation purposes. Our card provider processes cards for many other companies and is entrusted by Visa® to handle private information.
If you've entered in your information and received an error message, please see our FAQ section on error messages.
The BusyKid Visa ®️️️ Prepaid Spend Card is issued by MVB Bank, Inc, Member FDIC, pursuant to a licensee from Visa ®️️️ USA Inc. All cardholder’s funds are insured by the FDIC in accordance with the FDIC’s applicable terms and conditions. For more information about the card’s terms and conditions including the Visa ®️️️ Zero Liability policy, click here.
Here are the most common fees BusyKid members may occasionally encounter:
- Card Decline - $.50 (starting on the fifth decline in a month)
- Replacing Card for any reason - $5
- ATM - $1.50 (There may also be a fee charged by the ATM owner)
For a complete description of the terms, conditions, and fees associated with the BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Card, please review the official documentation.
To cancel any BusyKid Visa® Prepaid Spend Cards, please email our card provider Cliq. Cards will remain active as long as funds are available. If you cancel the card, before funds are gone, funds can be returned to you.
Note .... Closing a BusyKid account does not close any cards you may have.
BusyKid's top priority is protecting our customers. As such, we leverage bank-level security to ensure your sensitive personal information and account data are always safe.
Still don't see a solution to your issue, click here.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with BusyKid in the first 30 days, we will refund your money back. No questions asked.
*BusyKid can not refund any stock purchases made. Only the subscription paid will be refunded. Guarantee applies to new subscriptions only.*
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Privacy & Terms
The BusyKid Spend Card is issued by MVB Bank, Inc., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from VISA® U.S.A. Inc. All cardholders funds are insured by the FDIC in accordance with the FDIC’s applicable terms and conditions. For more information about your card terms and conditions including the VISA® Zero Liability policy go here. Cliq® is registered ISO/MSP of MVB Bank, Inc.
