Banking for minors: the next financial frontier in Latin America
The financial relationship does not begin when a person requests their first credit. It starts when they learn to save, manage an allowance, or make their first digital purchase.
Revolut, Nubank, and Greenlight understood that shift. Their products for children and teenagers combine progressive autonomy, parental supervision, and financial education within digital experiences designed specifically for families. For Latin American banks and credit unions, serving minors is no longer peripheral: it is an opportunity to build long-term relationships.
From a youth account to a family financial relationship
Traditional products for minors used to work like limited versions of an adult account. The new generation changes the focus: it does not just sell a card, but a shared experience between parents, children, and the financial institution.
Revolut Kids & Teens allows users aged 6 to 17 to learn to manage money, save, and make payments, while their guardians maintain controls and visibility. Greenlight integrates automated allowances, alerts, spending limits, and tools to teach financial decisions. Nubank offers accounts for minors from the age of six and has incorporated parental control, savings goals, instant payments, and, for certain teenagers, a credit option backed by previously reserved funds.
The logic behind these models is clear: financial education works best when it happens within real decisions, not solely through theoretical content.
Success cases show an opportunity for scale
Nubank reached three million users under 18 years of age in May 2024, less than three years after launching the offering. The company also reported that this segment showed about 20% more engagement with the product than adults.
The data goes beyond acquisition. A family solution can broaden the relationship with the adult customer, increase the frequency of interaction, and create a natural path to guide the minor toward more complex financial products when they reach legal age.
Nubank even extended this strategy beyond the account: in May 2026, it launched NuCel for customers aged 16 to 18, integrating connectivity services within the same digital experience. It is a sign of how a relationship started around money can become a daily ecosystem.
Why Latin America should accelerate
Latin America and the Caribbean host 188 million children and teenagers. Within that universe, 106 million are between 10 and 19 years old. It is a generation that is forming digital and financial habits while deciding which brands deserve their trust.
For financial institutions, waiting until adulthood means arriving late. By then, many young people will have already chosen a wallet, a fintech, or a platform that allowed them to make their first transactions.
However, replicating an adult account with a more colorful interface will not be enough. A competitive proposal must incorporate:
differentiated profiles for guardians and minors;
configurable parental controls;
savings goals and rewards;
allowances, chores, and practical financial education;
secure payments and limits by category;
an orderly transition to adult products;
data protection and compliance adapted to each market.
The advantage is not only in acquiring young users. It is in making the institution the financial hub of the family.
The real risk is losing two generations at once
Entities that do not develop this capability could lose the minor to a fintech and, simultaneously, reduce their relevance to the parents. In contrast, a well-designed family experience can strengthen loyalty, generate new interactions, and provide valuable information on future financial needs, always under clear rules of consent, privacy, and protection.
Banking for minors must be seen as strategic growth infrastructure, not as an accessory feature. Those who enter early will have a better chance of building trust before the financial relationship becomes transactional and hard to challenge.
From opportunity to execution
The question is no longer whether minors will use digital financial services. They already do today. The decision is who will accompany them and under what experience.
Is your institution prepared to build a relationship with the next generation of customers and, at the same time, bring value to the entire family?
Bankingly offers Family Banking, a solution developed to integrate into the digital channels suite of banks, credit unions, and financial institutions. It includes parental control, savings goals, chores and rewards, payment methods, and family tracking tools, with a scheduled implementation of eight weeks.
The opportunity is not just about launching an account for minors. It is about becoming the institution that accompanies their first financial decisions and remains with them throughout their entire evolution.
