On raising a financially informed generation: Behind Stockpile’s new debit card targeting families

While the younger generation is inclined toward personal finance and investing, the majority lack basic financial skills and are clueless about the starting point from where it all begins. Only 32% of youth claim to know how to budget as part of their schooling, with very few teens (26%) understanding need-to-know skills such as balancing a checkbook, according to a recent survey. Governments and institutions at large are missing the mark on foundational financial education giving rise to a financially uninformed generation.

Digital brokerage platform Stockpile has teamed up with Green Dot to launch a youth-focused debit card as part of Stockpile’s product lineup, enabling consumers to learn financial skills first-hand and build better financial habits early on in their lives.

Stockpile is an app-based brokerage that aims to make learning about stocks and investing in the stock market more accessible for investors of any age, including children. Its interface makes buying and selling stocks and ETFs easy, while gift card options incentivize users to make shares the gift of choice for special occasions.

The new debit card is backed by Green Dot’s banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform and includes parental spending controls. Parents can activate debit cards for their kids, set limits, and control access to transactions while keeping close tabs on their spending.

I spoke with Victor Wang, CEO of Stockpile, and Simran Singh, head of enterprise business development, BaaS and embedded finance at Green Dot, about how this collaboration supports building financial confidence among younger consumers and whether it has become the need of the hour.

How is the Stockpile debit card similar to or different from other competing youth-focused payment card products offered by Greenlight and GoHenry by Acorns, for example?

Victor Wang, Stockpile: We start with the same basic features as other youth-focused card providers (spending restrictions, parental controls, etc.), but what sets Stockpile apart is an overall focus on learning through parental engagement, and hands-on education that includes spending, saving and investing combined. We are a platform where kids own stocks and cash within our “kids choose, parents approve” model that gives them the chance to build knowledge and confidence with practical experience. 

Our research indicates that a significant percentage of teens rely on their parents for financial education, but there is often little conversation about finances at home. This card is part of a platform that is intended to bridge this gap, creating a place where parents can actively participate in their children's financial learning and development. 

How does Green Dot back Stockpile’s debit card for minors?

Simran Singh, Green Dot: Green Dot’s upgraded and integrated BaaS platform allows us to embed financial tools designed to fuel customer engagement and loyalty and enable partners like Stockpile to deepen customer relationships. We’re well-positioned with our unique set of assets – including our bank, full tech stack, deep operations and compliance expertise, and modular, configurable platform – to be a one-stop shop embedded finance partner for partners like Stockpile. 

What makes this relationship between Stockpile and Green Dot different?

Simran Singh, Green Dot: Stockpile is addressing a unique and unmet need in the market today by making it easier than ever for people of all ages to begin their investment journey and provide minors an educational stepping stone to investing. Stockpile is one of the first partners to use Green Dot’s fully revamped, modular technology platform, which will allow them to take a phased approach to product development and easily build features that are most relevant for their customers. We have an opportunity to build a unique financial offering together that can positively impact this and future generations of families and young investors.  

To what extent can these efforts help in instilling better financial habits from a young age?

Victor Wang, Stockpile: From our inception, we have focused on providing financial tools that make it easier for people to build hands-on financial experience and confidence. After introducing same-day fractional trading and gift cards redeemable for stock in the market, we are now offering a debit card that will be part of a combined financial experience for kids and families. Our goal is to provide kids and families a way to start learning about finances as early as they choose, with the comfort and safeguards of our “kids choose, parents approve” structure. By preparing the ground for hands-on financial experiences together with the involvement of parents, we expect to instill better financial habits in kids and teens from an early age. 

Additionally, we plan to add more tools and functionality in the future, making our debit card a stepping stone toward educating the next generation about personal finance.