Your teen is smart. Show them how to spend like it.

Help them get real world ready with a free debit card, so they can practice everyday saving and spending skills starting at age 13.

Teen Debit Accounts

When it's time for your teenager to get an intro to everyday spending, you can start strong with a free debit card that's all their own. Citadel's Teen Debit Accounts are designed to encourage teachable moments and help families practice spending and saving together. 

Starting at age 13, teens are eligible for their own account with joint ownership shared by a parent or guardian. You can easily set up direct deposit for paychecks from a summer job, or send and receive payments from friends and family when you connect the card to cash apps like Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. 

Custom Account Alerts

Personalized notifications for parents and teens to track activity via text or email.

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Easy Transfers Between Accounts

Move money from your other accounts to your teen’s account as a one-time transfer or recurring allowance.

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Connect to Cash Apps

Easily send and request payments between friends and family on Venmo and other cash apps.

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Account Details

They’re not a little kid anymore, and they don’t need a little kids’ account. Teenagers can choose from either of Citadel’s standard checking accounts with all the original features and benefits – without fees or minimums.1

Cashback Rewards Checking for Teenagers

  • No fees from Citadel when you get cash at any ATM2
  • Free overdraft transfers from your Citadel savings account3
  • No monthly service charge or minimum balance until age 211
  • An account that grows with you: Potentially earn 1% cash back up to $120 per year4

Note: A monthly qualifying direct deposit of $1,000 or an average daily balance of $5,000 is required to earn cash back.

Free Checking for Teenagers

  • No minimum balance or monthly service charge before or after age 215

With both accounts, you can also:

  • Get a free Contactless Debit Card to pay for everyday purchases online and in-person
  • Monitor account activity, eStatements, and check balances 24/7 with Citadel’s free Mobile App and Online Banking
  • Make secure payments from a mobile device when you add your card to mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Microsoft Pay, or Samsung Pay
  • Connect your Citadel savings account to practice healthy saving and budgeting habits
  • Set up overdraft protection from another savings or checking account3
  • Turn your card on or off if it’s lost or stolen using Card Controls in Online & Mobile Banking
  • Get cash at Citadel ATMs and branches with no fees
  • Make online transfers to and from other financial institutions
  • Snap a picture in in the Citadel Mobile App to deposit checks

Ready to get started?

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How to Get Started

Every Citadel member starts with a savings account to establish credit union membership. If your child started early with a Kids Club account, they’re already a member and you can open their new checking account through Online Banking.

If your child is not a Citadel member yet, you can open a Teen Debit Account online, or we can help you get started at a Citadel branch or via Video Connect.

How to Open an Account:

  • Select either Cashback Rewards Checking or Free Checking
  • Enter the teen's information as the primary account holder
  • Add the parent/guardian information as a joint account holder

What You’ll Need:

  • Child's birth certificate and social security card (or driver's license if applicable)
  • Minors are not required to be present to open the account

Once you’re set up, both checking and savings account balances and activity can be viewed any time via Online and Mobile Banking, so you can build a beginners’ budget, transfer cash between accounts, and make adjustments as they grow.

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All standard account requirements apply. Information accurate as of and subject to change without notice. Offers may be modified or withdrawn at any time. Fees may reduce earnings.

1 There is no minimum balance or monthly service fee for account holders under the age of 21. After the primary account holder is 21 years of age or older, they are subject to fees if account requirements are not met. To earn Cashback Rewards and avoid $10 monthly service fee, one of the following criteria must be met: Receive monthly qualifying direct deposit(s), as previously defined, totaling $1,000 or more OR maintain average daily balance of $5,000 in your Cashback Rewards Checking Account. Account must be active and in good standing in order to receive Cashback Rewards Checking offers. Not available for business accounts or public funds. Limit to 5 Cashback Rewards Checking accounts per member. A qualifying direct deposit is defined as a recurring direct deposit of payroll, pension, Social Security, Government benefits, or other regular monthly income, electronically deposited into the account. Internal or external transfers from one account to another, mobile deposits, and deposits made at a banking location, ATM, or through Online and Mobile Banking do not qualify as a direct deposit. For a complete list of checking fees, visit Citadel’s fee schedule.

2 ATM transactions at non-Citadel ATMs may be subject to a surcharge from the ATM owner.

3 Citadel offers several overdraft protection options including Courtesy Pay (members age 17 or older) and automatic transfers from a Citadel savings or loan account. An overdraft occurs when the available balance in your account is not sufficient to cover a transaction. Citadel offers several options for you to avoid the extra expenses caused by a bounced check or insufficient funds. These include: transferring funds from a Citadel Savings and/or Money Market Account; advancing funds from a Citadel Personal Line of Credit; and Courtesy Pay. Citadel offers Courtesy Pay for its members and may pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions: checks, ACH withdrawals, Bill Payer payments, and/or recurring debit card transactions (e.g., monthly payments debited from your account). As a Citadel member, if you have a checking account and qualify, you will automatically be enrolled in Courtesy Pay when you open your account. You can opt out of Courtesy Pay at any time by contacting us. If you wish to use one of the other options, which may be free or less expensive than Courtesy Pay, you can sign up at any time. We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction. If we do not pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined and not paid. If you want to use Courtesy Pay to pay overdrafts for one time, everyday debit card transactions (e.g. Starbucks®, Home Depot®, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.), you must opt in and give us your permission. You can opt in by: completing the opt-in form in Online and Mobile Banking by selecting 'Overdraft Protection' in the main menu; visiting any Citadel Branch; calling Citadel toll free at 800-666-0191; or you cannot use Courtesy Pay to pay for overdrafts on ATM withdrawals. For a complete list of fees associated with overdrafts, please refer to Citadel’s fee schedule.

When you use Courtesy Pay, we will charge you a fee of $33 each time we pay an overdraft. We will limit to 5 the total number of Courtesy Pay Fees and Insufficient Funds Fees charged on any one calendar day. Once you have overdrawn your account, you must bring it to a positive balance as soon as possible. Citadel will close and charge off overdrawn member deposit accounts that have a negative balance for more than 60 days. For the purpose of making the decision to pay or return a check or ACH transaction and to charge a fee, we treat each original presentment and representment as an individual transaction. Any fees charged will count against your Courtesy Pay limit. See the General Terms Applicable to All Accounts in the Membership Agreement and Disclosures for details on how we process insufficient funds and overdraft items.

4 Earn Up to $120 in Cashback Rewards Annually: When Cashback Rewards transaction requirements are met, earn 1% cash back on Citadel debit and/or credit card purchases that post to your account each statement cycle from Citadel debit and/or credit cards linked to your Citadel Cashback Rewards Checking Account. Maximum Cashback Rewards: $10 per month. Cashback Rewards will be calculated at month end on net purchases (purchases minus any credit or returns). Available Cashback Rewards may be redeemed at any time during the year through Online and Mobile Banking or by contacting Citadel. Earned Cashback Rewards can only be deposited to your Cashback Rewards Checking Account. For full Cashback Rewards program details and disclosures, visit CitadelBanking.com/CashbackChecking.

5 A $5 monthly inactivity fee will apply if there is no activity on any Citadel account for one year – this fee is waived if combined balance of all deposit accounts is $500 or more. Fee does not apply to primary account holders less than 13 years of age. Inactivity is defined as a 365-day period during which there were no customer-initiated transactions on any Citadel account.

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