Step Teen Card & Money App

How it works day to day

A teen can download Step and create an account, but can't move money in or out until an adult sponsors it. For a younger child without a phone, a parent opens a parent-managed account from their own app: no separate login for the child, an allowance, savings goals and a card, with the parent deciding how much the child can use. When the child gets a phone, the parent can upgrade it to a sponsored account and keeps full visibility.

Money comes in from the sponsor, from a linked bank or debit card, by direct deposit, from other Step users or as cash at 70,000 stores, which costs $3.95 after the first two deposits (MyBankTracker, January 2026). A virtual card works straight away and the physical card takes 14 to 21 business days. MyBankTracker lists limits of $1,000 a day for purchases, $250 a day at ATMs and a $10,000 maximum balance.

Teens can send money instantly to any other Step user by username or phone number, up to $3,000 a month. The sponsor sees it, but Step lists no way to approve payments, limit who a teen pays or turn sending off. At 18 (the age of majority in most states) the teen is offered their own adult account, takes ownership of the money, and the sponsor's view ends.

What kids actually learn

The lessons are the everyday ones: spend only what you have, save toward a goal, and live on an allowance. Step's Money 101 articles cover saving and investing basics, but there are no quizzes or chore charts, so plan a weekly look at purchases together.

The "build credit" pitch is for later. A credit score tracks how reliably you repay borrowed money; for under-18s the Step card can't borrow and Step doesn't report anything to the credit bureaus until 18, so explain that a teen card is practice, not a score.

Step pays most teens no interest: its 3% savings rewards are only for Step Black members, which takes $300 of direct deposits or $500 of card spending a month. To teach interest, pay a little "parent interest" on the savings goal each month.

Safety, privacy and Step's new owner

Step is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking is provided by Evolve Bank & Trust or Lead Bank, both members of the FDIC, and Step says money is insured through them: the US government insures bank deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. FDIC insurance only applies if the partner bank fails; it doesn't protect you if Step or a company between Step and the bank fails, as customers of other apps found in the 2024 Synapse collapse. Investments are held by DriveWealth and covered by SIPC, which protects against a firm failing but not against losses; investments can lose value and are not FDIC insured. Step also offers crypto, which a parent can buy for a minor through the parent's account; Step itself says crypto is unregulated and not protected by the FDIC or SIPC.

Step's account agreement treats a teen as an authorized user on the sponsor's account, and the sponsor is responsible for the teen's use of it even when they didn't agree to a purchase. If the balance goes negative, Step's bank can take the shortfall from the account without notice and charge its costs of collecting, including lawyers' fees. To close the account you contact Step support; the remaining balance, minus anything owed and any applicable service charge, comes back to a linked bank account or by check, and Step can close an account without notice if it is in default. Either side can send a dispute to individual arbitration instead of court, and class actions are waived. Accounts with no money movement for 12 months are marked inactive, and what happens to unclaimed money after that follows state law.

Teens can pay any Step user instantly, so talk about scams before you sponsor them: never send money to someone they haven't met, and anyone offering to double money, asking for gift cards or crypto, or sending money "by mistake" and asking for it back is running a scam. Freeze the card in the app if it's lost.

Step's children's privacy policy (its "Children's Privacy Statement") covers under-13s: it collects name, birth date, phone, email and address with a parent's consent and uses cookies and analytics, and parents can review or delete the data by emailing [email protected], which closes the account. It doesn't name COPPA, the US children's privacy law, or say whether children's data is used for ads. Step's general privacy policy describes interest-based advertising and remarketing (ads based on what you do in the app, including ads that follow you to other sites) and doesn't say minors are excluded. The App Store rates the app 4+ but notes it contains ads and contests; Apple's label lists usage data as used to track you, and purchases, financial info, location, contact info, user content and identifiers as linked to you. Google Play rates it Everyone and says it may collect location and personal info and shares no data with third parties.

Beast Industries, MrBeast's company, bought Step in 2026. In March 2026 Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the company about its plans, noting that Step lets minors invest in crypto with a parent's permission and had published a video coaching kids on how to persuade parents to allow it. Step's partner Evolve Bank & Trust was at the center of the 2024 Synapse collapse, in which customers of other apps couldn't reach their money, and faced a Federal Reserve enforcement action and a data breach that year.

Who it's best for

Teens 13 and up whose friends already use Step and who want to pay each other, with a parent willing to check activity weekly. Step allows younger kids through a parent-managed account, but we suggest a bank's kids' account for under-13s.

If you want a free card with fewer risks, Capital One MONEY is a checking account at a bank for kids 6 and up, and Chase First Banking adds chores for Chase customers. If you want chores and store-level controls, Greenlight starts at $5.99 a month.