Ages 13-17
iOS, Android, Web
Axos First Checking
By Axos Bank
Reviewed by Alex Thompson, founder of Kids Financial Guide · Updated November 2026
The short answer
Axos First Checking is a free online checking account and debit card for teens 13-17 with a parent as co-owner: no monthly, overdraft or insufficient-funds fees, a little interest, up to $12 a month back on other banks' ATM fees, and fixed daily limits of $100 cash and $500 in purchases. It has no allowance tool, savings goals or branches, so pick Capital One MONEY if you want automatic allowance and savings goals, or an account from age 6.
| Ages | 13-17 (18 in Alabama), with an adult co-owner on the account |
|---|---|
| Price | Free: no monthly maintenance, overdraft or insufficient-funds fees and no minimum to open; Axos repays up to $12 a month of domestic ATM fees |
| Debit card | Yes, a free debit card; Axos Bank, member FDIC |
| Investing | No |
| Interest | Yes, a small variable rate: Axos calls it an interest-bearing account but doesn't publish the rate on its teen page; Finder listed 0.10% APY (the yearly rate, including interest on interest) in October 2026, about 10 cents a year on $100 |
| Limits | $100 a day in cash and $500 a day in card purchases, set by Axos; bars, liquor stores, dating services, massage parlors, gambling and some other merchant types are blocked |
| What the parent needs | To be the adult co-owner. Axos says parents monitor the teen's account from their own active Axos account, so ask Axos how you'll see it if you don't have one |
| Chores and allowance | No |
Compare it with other apps: Best Money Apps for Kids and Teens, Compared
Questions parents ask: What Age Should a Kid Get a Debit Card?
Axos First Checking is a free online checking account and debit card for teens 13-17, co-owned by a parent, that earns interest and repays some ATM fees.
Axos Bank is an online-only bank, and First Checking is its account for teens 13 to 17 (18 in Alabama), opened with an adult co-owner. There is no monthly fee, no minimum to open and no overdraft or insufficient-funds fee, and the teen gets a free debit card. Axos repays up to $12 a month of fees charged by other banks' ATMs in the US.
Axos sets the guardrails itself: $100 a day in cash, $500 a day in card purchases, and some merchant types, like bars, liquor stores and gambling, are blocked. The parent sees the account in their own Axos app, gets alerts and can lock the card, but can't set their own limits or block particular stores. There are no chores, allowance tool or savings goals.
The account is interest-bearing, but Axos's teen page doesn't publish the rate; Finder listed 0.10% APY in October 2026. Axos's separate First Savings account for teens paid 0.25% APY in November 2026.
Key Features
- ✓No monthly, overdraft or insufficient-funds fees and no minimum to open
- ✓A real FDIC-insured checking account that pays a little interest
- ✓Up to $12 a month back on other banks' ATM fees in the US
- ✓Axos caps cash at $100 a day and purchases at $500 a day, and blocks bars, liquor stores and gambling
- ✓Parents see the teen's account in their own Axos app and can lock the card
⚠Limitations
- ×Online only: no branches, and no cash deposits at a counter
- ×No chores, allowance tool, savings goals or lessons
- ×Parents can't change the limits, block particular stores or approve purchases, and $500 a day is a lot for a 13-year-old, so agree a spending rule together
- ×The parent is a co-owner, so either of you can withdraw everything, and gifts to your teen aren't set aside for them the way they are in a custodial account (one legally held for the child)
- ×Axos's teen page doesn't publish the interest rate or say what happens at 18
- ×No check writing
- ×The App Store lists that the Axos app contains advertising, and Axos shows you its ads on other websites after you visit its site (you can opt out)
Learning Outcomes
- •Spending with a debit card within the money you have
- •Seeing how interest works on a real account
- •Spotting ATM fees, and knowing Axos repays only up to $12 a month
Our Verdict
Our take: Axos First Checking is a solid, simple free bank account for a teen who's ready for a real debit card, with fixed daily limits and some ATM fee refunds. It has none of the allowance or chore tools of app-based cards, so set up a weekly transfer from your own bank and look at the spending together; for younger kids or an automatic allowance, Capital One MONEY is the better free pick.
Parental Controls
- •See the teen's balance and spending in the parent's own Axos app
- •Set up alerts
- •Lock and unlock the debit card
- •Daily limits of $100 cash and $500 purchases, set by Axos
- •Blocked merchant types, set by Axos
Axos First Checking: our in-depth review
How it works day to day
A parent or other adult opens First Checking online with the teen as co-owner. The teen gets a free debit card and can use the Axos app, and the parent sees the teen's account alongside their own and can lock and unlock the card.
Money goes in by transfer from another bank, direct deposit from a job, or mobile deposit. There is no check writing and no branch. The teen can take out up to $100 a day in cash and spend up to $500 a day on the card. If a purchase does take the account below zero, there's no fee, but the money is owed straight away: as co-owner you are responsible for repaying it, and Axos can take it from your other Axos accounts. Axos repays up to $12 a month of fees from other banks' ATMs in the US.
What kids actually learn
This is a real bank account, so the lessons are the real ones: spend only what you have, check the balance, and avoid ATM fees. Look at the spending together each week; the app has no lessons, chores or goals.
The account pays a little interest, so it can show how interest works, but at a rate like 0.10% APY (the yearly rate, including interest on interest) $100 earns about 10 cents a year. Axos's First Savings account paid 0.25% in November 2026. At First Savings' 0.25% APY, $100 earns about 25 cents a year; at an example rate of 4% APY, it would earn about $4. Rates are variable, and online banks often pay more on savings, so compare them with your teen once a year.
Safety, privacy and who owns the money
Axos Bank is a member of the FDIC: the US government insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. The parent is a co-owner, so either of you can withdraw all the money, and gifts to your teen aren't set aside for them the way they are in a custodial account. If the card is lost, lock it in the app and report it to Axos straight away, and teach your teen never to share the card or PIN. Under Axos's account agreement, an account with no activity for a long time can be treated as dormant, still charged normal fees, and eventually handed to the state as unclaimed property. Some fees can still apply, so check Axos's fee schedule, especially before your teen travels or buys from foreign websites. Ask Axos too whether your teen can send money out with Zelle or transfers; payments to strangers are where scams happen. Axos can also close the account at any time and send the balance as a cashier's check, and may close it if it isn't funded within 30 days of opening.
Axos's online privacy notice is its children's privacy policy for the website: the site isn't directed to children under 13, and Axos doesn't knowingly collect their data without written, verifiable consent from a parent or guardian. It names COPPA, the US law that protects children under 13, but First Checking is for 13-17, so COPPA doesn't cover your teen, and the notice sets no special rules for teens. Axos uses remarketing ads through Google and Microsoft (ads that follow you to other websites after you visit Axos), which you can opt out of. On the App Store, the Axos app lists that it contains advertising and that financial info, contact info, identifiers and sensitive info are linked to you, and that it uses financial and contact info for Axos's own advertising and marketing; on Google Play, Axos says the app collects and shares no data.
Who it's best for
Axos First Checking suits teens 13 to 17 who are ready for a plain bank account and debit card, in families happy to bank online and set up their own weekly transfer as an allowance. Teens paid in cash for babysitting or yard work will need another way to get that cash in, such as a parent depositing it at their own bank and sending a transfer.
For younger kids, savings goals or an automatic allowance, Capital One MONEY is free from 6. For chores and lessons, Greenlight costs from $5.99 a month per family. For a free teen card with chores and spending limits, Current Teen Banking needs the parent to open a Current account.
Frequently asked questions
Is Axos First Checking free?
Yes. Axos charges no monthly maintenance fee, no overdraft or insufficient-funds fee, and needs no minimum deposit to open. If a purchase does take the account below zero, there's no fee, but the money is owed straight away: as co-owner you are responsible for repaying it, and Axos can take it from your other Axos accounts. Axos repays up to $12 a month of fees from other banks' ATMs in the US. Like other banks, Axos makes money by lending out and investing customers' deposits at a higher rate than it pays in interest, and from the fees stores pay when a card is used. Some fees can still apply, so check Axos's fee schedule.
What age can a teen open Axos First Checking?
From 13 to 17 (to 18 in Alabama), with an adult, usually a parent, as co-owner. Axos's teen page says the account is valid through 17 and doesn't say what happens at 18, so ask Axos before the 18th birthday about moving to an adult Axos checking account and taking the parent off.
What can parents control in Axos First Checking?
As co-owner, a parent sees the teen's balance and spending from their own active Axos account, online or in the app, gets alerts, and can lock and unlock the debit card. Axos sets the limits itself: $100 a day in cash, $500 a day in purchases, and some merchant types, like bars, liquor stores and gambling, are blocked. Parents can't set their own limits, block particular stores, or approve purchases.
Is Axos First Checking or Capital One MONEY better?
Both are free, FDIC-insured checking accounts a parent co-owns, opened online, and both pay a little interest. Capital One MONEY starts at 6, has savings goals and automatic allowance, is free at 70,000 Capital One and partner ATMs, and allows $500 a day in total, which you can ask Capital One to lower. Axos starts at 13, repays up to $12 a month of other banks' ATM fees, and caps cash at $100 and purchases at $500 a day, but parents can't change those limits. Pick Capital One for younger kids, an allowance or limits you can adjust; Axos suits teens who want a plain online account that pays a little interest and refunds some fees at any US ATM.
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