PayPal has a great alternative to the prepaid debit card for students returning to school this fall, it’s the PayPal Student Account, an account that’s tied directly to their parent’s PayPal account. The student’s card is a special PayPal branded MasterCard debit card where the parent acts as the provider. What does the new PayPal student debit card do differently then prepaid cards offered by a multitude of other providers? Why should parents switch?
The PayPal Student Account card offers many advantages to both the parent and to the student. The parent can set up the student account so money is funneled into the student’s account on specified dates, which teaches the student the importance of living on a budget and teaches the student the need to manage their money intelligently. Parents have the option of adding money to the student’s account at anytime no matter what the preset dates are so emergency needs can be covered. With the PayPal Student Account, there are no overdraft fees and with the card tied to no particular bank, the funds can come from many different sources.
Students can use the card to make online purchases and it’s accepted in stores and anywhere else that MasterCard is accepted. For the younger students, middle school, and high school students, it’s much safer for them to carry the card than to carry cash. PayPal also provides the same protection when conducting business online as our PayPal card and regular charge cards do. The card provides the young student with a feeling of independence and pride of paying with a debit card just as their parents do. PayPal is also the preferred payment method for an increasing number of online vendors, and PayPal wants to get young people accustomed to working with their system. In that respect, their offer is self-serving but the benefits that we as parents get and the benefits our children and grandchildren receive make this an acceptable trade-off.
Most of us who conduct business online already have a PayPal account; some of us have more than one. I have both a personal account and a business account to keep my funds separated for income tax purposes. We have grown accustomed to simply logging in to our account(s) and tracking deposits made to our account(s) as well as disbursements. As the “Provider” we have the same access to our children’s’ accounts. We can log into those accounts and see just where our children are spending the money that we funneled into their accounts. No, that’s not spying; after all, it really is your money that they are spending. What it will do is promote healthy, honest communication between parent and child about money and needs vs. wants.
Think about it, folks. What better way to provide your students with the funds they need for school and their after-school activities, what better way to pay them their allowance while they’re still living at home, than this new PayPal Student Account MasterCard? I’m getting them for my three oldest grandchildren.
