Why we LOVE Monzo’s Ethical and Sustainable Kid’s Bank Accounts!
Last year Monzo introduced their Monzo kids bank account for 6-15 year olds providing a new option for kids accounts in the UK! We’ve used Monzo for years so I signed our kids up right away and we’re reviewing the account and process in this post. We’ve loved bringing our kids into the journey of more ethical, sustainable banking, and having an impact with our money so let’s take a look at why where we bank matters, a review of Monzo for kids, how to sign up (and get a cashback), and what we love about the Monzo account for our kids.
What is a sustainable and ethical bank account?
What makes a kids bank account ethical or sustainable is more than whether they just offer paperless billing, or whether their bank cards are made of recycled plastic.
Banks are responsible for funding a lot of different industries. Our money, or our kids’ money, doesn’t just sit in a bank. Banks use that money to invest and fund many different things and some of those are not remotely ethical, or sustainable. Two of the specific things that many people look for, that matter to our family are: Not investing in the fossil fuel industry, or in arms (weapons). This is the main thing that makes an account sustainable or ethical – the industries they fund, and therefore, make possible.
Monzo commits to not fund the arms, fossil fuel, or tobacco industries so by opening a Monzo account you know your kids’ money is contributing to a more sustainable world.

Why I love introducing kids to ethical banking
Bringing our kids into the journey of ethical and sustainable living is really important and I love getting to do it. They’re the next generation of people managing this planet, making the purchasing decisions, and honestly – sorting out a lot of the problems we’ve created.
At the same time, many ethical and sustainable choices cause life to look a little different. When we make our kids lives look different from their peers I think it’s important to have honest and helpful conversations about WHY we make those choices and why they matter.
That said, when we can find a way to create a more ethical and sustainable life without it feeling different, when it’s just fun and happy – I LOVE that for my kids. Putting money in an ethical, sustainable bank is one of those things for me – especially when it’s a bank that’s easy and fun for them to use like Monzo. It can help them see that we can be part of bigger change with our actions, and what that looks like. It’s a place to talk about big industries and how they impact the world, and how we can be involved in taking a stand.
How to sign up for a free Monzo kids account
Monzo have a free 6-15 year old’s bank account with a bank card, budgeting tools, and great parental controls. It takes about 5 minutes to sign up once you have a Monzo account of your own – which takes a few minutes to set up. Legally the money in the kids account is still yours (although you don’t notice it practically) so they’re set up connected to an adult account.
You don’t need any ID to set up the account, you just need:
- to be the legal guardian of the child
- to have a 6-15 year old child, and
- to have the Monzo app.
You’ll have to enter the name of the child, and what they call you in the setup. That name (“mum” or whatever you choose) will pop up when you send them money, or when they log in for security so you can choose what would make sense for you.
At the final page of the sign up pages, you or the child get to pick the colour of the card from neon yellow, blue and pink which my kids loved getting to do!

Using Monzo as a simple budgeting app for kids

Monzo has a brilliant system called pots which you or the child can use to save and allocate money. We use these for all of our budgeting and they can be added to on a schedule (e.g. £2 a month for savings automatically) or manually (e.g. they get £10 for a birthday gift and want to separate it out.)
The pots can be locked to help manage spending or used at any point, and a goal can be set for each one if you want. They’re a really great simple and easy visual way to manage money.
Also on the The Whole Home: How We Use Monzo for an Easy, FREE Budgeting tool
Viewing Monzo for Kids: Kids with a Device vs Without a Device

You do need the Monzo app to be able to view your Monzo account BUT, the kids do not need their own device to view their money. Our kids don’t have devices and we simply let them view their kids’ bank accounts on our phones. Monzo isn’t available on a desktop so they will need a smartphone or tablet to be able to view the app, account, pocket money, or use their pots.
On their own device (or logged in as themselves on your device) they will have all the features available, and they won’t be able to view any of your other accounts. You can set limits on what they’re able to do like spending limits and spending in different places – which I love.
If they’re using Monzo on your device logged into your account, you can click in so they are viewing their account with one click – but if they click out they will be able to view your account information too. We still tend to do this because it’s much easier when they don’t have their own devices. They still have full functionality in managing their money from our login.
What’s bad about the Monzo kids account?
In all honesty, we’ve found no downside at all to the Monzo kids bank account. It was easy to set up, its easy to manage and view, easy to move money around. If kids want to put cash in to the account they can do it at any PayPoint or Post Office which is really easy too.
The only downsides I would say are that you as the adult need to have an account too. If you bank with a different bank that doesn’t offer kids accounts, you’ll need to sign up to Monzo for an additional account (Get £10 back for doing that here!) before you can sign up your child. If your kids don’t have a device they will need your device to be able to view their account as it’s not available on a desktop. This has been fine for us but I can see it could be a disadvantage to some.
Other than that, I don’t think there are any downsides and to us the positives have far far outweighed those potential cons!
How to talk to kids about banks, and their ethics and impact
Whether you bring your kids into the values side of their bank account – it’s still a great idea to open a sustainable and ethical bank account for your kids. You can let them into that side of the story in an age appropriate way when you want to. The values are there whether they know or not, and, maybe they’ll really thank you for the values you’ve had on their behalf before they understood. If your kids are concerned about the environment, climate, fossil fuels, or war around the world, banking with an ethical and sustainable bank can be a great way to show them they can be involved in change.
I think getting an ethical bank account for kids is a great way to begin to show them what taking individual action can look like. They can begin to see how our daily choices play into funding, or divesting from certain industries. While they can’t vote at age 6, choosing what power their money has let’s them into being powerful over what they are able to do. They can bring change in the world in a way that’s really easy and makes no compromise or being different from their peers. And that is all a massive win in my book as a parent on a continual sustainability journey!
