Best Money App for Teenagers UK: What Works Past 16

Choosing the best money app for teenagers in the UK is not the same problem as choosing one for a nine-year-old, and almost every comparison page treats it as if it were. The apps that dominate the pocket money adverts were built for primary school children. Several of them stop dead at 15 or 17, and at that point your teenager either gets moved onto something else or loses the card in their pocket. Work out which age cliff you are walking towards first, then pick the app.

Everything below was checked against each provider’s own pages in September 2026. Rates are variable unless stated.

The short answer

• Best for a 16 or 17 year old: Monzo 16-17s. A free, genuine current account the teenager opens on their own, with a savings pot paying interest and gambling blocked at the card.
• Best for a 13 to 15 year old who wants freedom: Revolut Kids & Teens, where 13 is the age peer-to-peer payments switch on.
• Best for chores and pocket money habits: NatWest Rooster Money, free if you already bank with NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank.
• Best controls for a parent who wants the brakes on: Starling’s Under 16s Space, which blocks whole merchant categories rather than just setting a limit.
• Best for interest rather than an app: a Nationwide FlexOne current account with the linked FlexOne Saver, which pays 5.00% AER/gross a year (variable) on up to £5,000.
• Only one that runs the full 6 to 18 stretch: GoHenry, and you pay a subscription every month of it.

The age cliff nobody mentions

This is the part that decides the answer, so start here.

Two patterns fall out of that table. The digital banks hand a 16 year old a real account in their own name and then get out of the way. The pocket money apps keep the parent in the middle for longer, which is the point of them, but it means a 17 year old on GoHenry or Rooster is still spending from a card their parent tops up rather than banking.

Monzo 16-17s: the closest thing to a real account

The Monzo 16-17s account is free, and the detail that separates it from every pocket money app is that the teenager can open it completely on their own. No parent has to sign anything. They get a Hot Coral card they can add to a digital wallet and use immediately, a sort code and account number, direct debits and standing orders, and an Instant Access Savings Pot paying 2.75% AER (variable), paid monthly.

Monzo blocks spending on things that are off limits to under-18s, gambling included, at the card. There is no overdraft, and Monzo says it will not charge if the balance dips below zero. ATM withdrawals in the EEA are free; outside it, £200 is free every 30 days and 3% applies after that. At 18 the account becomes a full Monzo current account with nothing to move.

For a teenager with a part-time job, this is usually the right answer, and our Monzo review covers the adult account they inherit.

Starling: the strictest controls, then a clean handover

Starling splits the same way. The Under 16s Space covers 6 to 15, costs nothing, and requires the parent to hold a Starling personal or joint account. Its controls go further than most: daily spending limits, instant notifications on every transaction, the ability to lock the card, and switches to block online payments and ATM withdrawals separately. Starling also blocks whole merchant categories by default, naming pubs, internet gambling sites, betting establishments, pawn shops and video game arcades.

At 16 the child applies for a Starling Teen account, and that one converts to a standard personal account after their 18th birthday. If the Space is closed while money is still in it, the balance goes back to the adult’s main balance rather than to the child. See our Starling Bank review for the parent side.

Revolut Kids & Teens: 13 is the switch

Revolut’s Kids & Teens account runs 6 to 15 and the parent needs their own Revolut account to set it up. The age that matters is 13. From 13 the teenager can start the sign-up themselves, with the parent approving it from their app, and payments to and from other Kids & Teens users unlock. Below 13, none of that exists.

The savings side sits with ClearBank and pays 2.9% AER (variable) on the parent’s free Standard plan, rising to 4% AER on Ultra, capped at £3,500. A parent can block withdrawals by the teenager until they turn 18. If nobody closes the account, Revolut closes it automatically on the 19th birthday and returns any savings balance to the parent’s Revolut account. Sixteen and 17 year olds use a separate Revolut account rather than this one.

One thing to hold in mind: money at ClearBank is FSCS protected, but that limit is shared across everything you hold there through any app. Our piece on whether digital banks are safe explains how that pooling works.

GoHenry: the only one that covers 6 to 18

GoHenry is the only option here that runs the whole way from 6 to 18 without a handover, and the teenage half of it is better thought through than people expect. From 13, a teenager can have wages paid straight to the card and transfer money to friends. Money Missions, the app’s short lessons, run in three levels, with level 3 written for 15 to 18 year olds. Giftlinks let relatives send birthday money to a shareable link for free.

The costs are the catch. Every GoHenry plan carries a monthly subscription, and interest on savings goals is restricted to the paid upper plans, so on the entry plan a teenager’s saved money earns nothing while the fee comes out every month. GoHenry is also not a bank, so balances are not FSCS protected the way a deposit at Monzo, Starling or Nationwide is. Pay for the teaching, not the storage.

NatWest Rooster Money: free if you are already a NatWest customer

The Rooster Card covers 6 to 17, which is the widest reach of any of the subscription apps short of GoHenry. The subscription is free as long as you bank with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank; otherwise there is a monthly or annual charge. The parent needs to be 18 or over and UK resident.

Chores are the core of it. Parents set jobs, track them, and release pocket money to the card when the work is done. For a 13 to 15 year old that is a genuinely useful structure. For a 17 year old with a Saturday job it is usually the wrong shape, and a real current account is the better move.

Nationwide FlexOne: the boring one that pays

FlexOne is not an app-first brand, and it beats most of these on the number that matters. It is open from 11 to 17, has no monthly fee, comes with a choice of cash card or Visa debit card, and switches automatically to a debit card at 17 and a half. The current account pays 2% AER (1.98% gross a year, variable) on balances up to £1,000, and there are no foreign transaction fees.

The reason to look at it is the linked FlexOne Saver: 5.00% AER/gross a year (variable) on up to £5,000, open to 11 to 17 year olds who hold the FlexOne current account, with online opening from 13. Nothing else on this page comes close for a teenager sitting on saved wages or Christmas money. Read the rate on Nationwide’s own FlexOne Saver page before you move anything, because it is variable.

Cards, chores and controls: what actually differs

• Chores: Rooster Money and GoHenry build the app around them. Monzo, Starling and Nationwide do not offer them at all, because they are banks handing over an account, not a parenting tool.
• Controls: Starling’s category blocks are the tightest. Monzo and Starling both block gambling for under-18s automatically. Revolut’s distinctive control is the ability to freeze withdrawals until 18, which suits money being saved for something specific.
• Cards: every option here gives a physical card. Monzo’s 16-17s card and the digital bank teen accounts go into Apple Pay and Google Pay; Monzo allows digital wallets from 13 on the Under 16s account too.
• Interest: only the banks pay anything worth having. Nationwide’s saver leads, Monzo’s 16-17s pot is the best of the free app-native rates, Revolut’s depends on the parent’s plan, and GoHenry pays only on its upper tiers.

What to check before you hand over a card

1. Confirm the age range covers the next two years, not just today. A 15 year old on Starling Kite will need a new account within months.
2. Check whether the money is FSCS protected. Bank accounts are; prepaid pocket money cards are not.
3. Compare the annual cost of a subscription against what the balance could earn somewhere free. On typical teenage balances the subscription wins that race every time, so only pay if you want the teaching.
4. Decide who owns the money. On the parent-controlled apps it goes back to the adult if the account closes.
5. Look at what happens at 18. An account that converts by itself saves a switch at exactly the moment they start university or work.

If your teenager’s money is mostly sitting still rather than being spent, read our guide to the best kids savings app in the UK next. If they are about to turn 18, best banking apps UK covers what comes after.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best money app for teenagers in the UK? For 16 and 17 year olds, Monzo’s 16-17s account: it is free, the teenager opens it alone, it pays 2.75% AER (variable) on savings, and it becomes a full current account at 18. For 13 to 15 year olds it depends on what you want. Revolut Kids & Teens for independence, NatWest Rooster Money for chores, Starling’s Under 16s Space for the strictest controls.

Can a 13 year old open a bank account on their own in the UK? Not a full one. At 13 a teenager can start the sign-up for Revolut Kids & Teens themselves, but a parent or guardian with their own Revolut account has to approve it. The first account a UK teenager can open without any adult involvement is generally at 16, such as Monzo’s 16-17s account.

Do teen money apps charge a monthly fee? Some do and some do not. Monzo, Starling and Nationwide FlexOne are free. GoHenry charges a monthly subscription on every plan. NatWest Rooster Money is free if you bank with NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank and charges a subscription if you do not.

Which teen account pays the most interest? Nationwide’s FlexOne Saver, at 5.00% AER/gross a year (variable) on up to £5,000, open to 11 to 17 year olds who hold a FlexOne current account. Among the app-native options, Revolut’s Kids & Teens savings reaches 4% AER only on the parent’s Ultra plan, and Monzo’s 16-17s pot pays 2.75% AER for free.

What happens to the account when my teenager turns 18? Monzo’s 16-17s account becomes a full Monzo current account automatically, and a Starling Teen account converts to a Starling personal account. Revolut closes a Kids & Teens account on the 19th birthday if it is still open and returns the savings balance to the parent. GoHenry and Rooster Money stop at 18 and 17 respectively, with no automatic replacement, so you arrange the next account yourself.

Is money on a pocket money card protected if the company fails? Not in the same way as a bank deposit. GoHenry states it is a kids’ money app and debit card rather than a bank, so its balances are not FSCS protected. Money in a Monzo, Starling or Nationwide account, and the Revolut Kids & Teens savings held at ClearBank, is covered by the FSCS up to the usual limit per banking licence.