Leave a Review BusyKid
A headache!
The app doesn’t keep accurate accounts of transactions or balances. You have to have a separate cliq account to actually manage the funds and uses. So a kid would have to manage both with is ridiculous when trying to teach financial responsibility. I recommend an actual bank account that you can transfer money to for free. App has charged me 11 times for 1 transaction. App customer service never resolves issues and you get bounced between the BusyKid email and customer service of cliq.
📌UPDATE📍
I got a customer service call from Scott S. I was pleased that they take their reviews seriously. I expressed all of my concerns and we discussed avenues for improvement. Scott S got the funds that were lost in “air” back to my bank account. He was great to work with and I do hope the App with make all the improvements we discussed about customer service and development.Show lessranchhand#2
Shut down my account
There’s no upside to this card. The cons:
1. While some transactions may go though quickly, for the most part it takes A long time for any credit or debit to go through, so if you’re kid needs cash fast, you’re out of luck.
2. Very little information on the parent app. Under “activity”, a parent can see activity on the card. But again, it takes so long for this to be updated (see #1). There’s also no running balance, so you can’t actually see how much money is left after each debit or credit - you just have to trust the app. The store information given is vague. For example, if there are 5 of one kind of store on an area, it gives no address or idea of which one was used.
3. Good luck getting in touch with customer service! After sifting through paragraphs of “help” information, you get a number that you can leave a message on and wait for a call back. They also say there’s a chat feature. If there actually is, I couldn’t find it. I finally decided to shut down the card after finding fraudulent activity on it. You have to contact Cliq to shut down the card and then BusyKid to shut down the account but, again, you can’t get through to anyone.
Nothing about this is user friendly. Going to try a different card.Show lessCallamarie
Bro seriously 🤨
I have been using this for a little over a year but it’s been getting worse. I am the “child” so I have no control over my payday but it’s usually on fridays, my parents load my card and I get my money on the card. But it’s been saying whenever I try taking money out of my savings that it’s been declined and “try again in a few minutes” bestie it’s been 2 weeks. I’ve tried everyday and that’s all it says. I wait about 6 hours before trying again 🤨. I have 40 bucks in saving and I’m just trying to take out 20 😭. And lemme also say when you get the actual card you can’t insert and only swipe so when I go out in public and it’s a insert I stand there like “ 🧍” “uh” like it’s a good app but the amount of times it’s declined me taking out money when I clearly have enough is crazy. Like bestie I just wanna roll for Kokomi I’m on 65 pity 😭.
Anyways download at ur own risk ig 😩.
Busy kid step it up bestie 😟Show less1027391
Good overall but needs added functionality
We have used this app for a couple of weeks now and like the concept, however there are a few things I wish this app had. For example, although you can assign a chore to all of your children, such as “feed the dog”, it does not recognize from profile to profile when one of the kids has completed that task. Unless the kids all talk to each other (yeah right), the dog might get fed multiple times in the same day. It would be nice to have the ability to have one list of “group” chores for all the kids to complete, as well as the individual chores assigned to each kid. It would also be helpful to be able to assign chores without a specific date but rather a week or a month as the timeline. For example it would be good to be able to assign “vacuum the living room” with a periodicity of once a week. It should show up on the list of chores to complete for the entire week and show when someone completed it. It doesn’t matter to me what day of the week that chore gets completed, just as long as it gets done by someone once a week.Show lessAlexsummer79
Developer Response
Thank you for the feedback! We're working on many changes in the chore section. It's a complicated place and since each parent parents differently, we need to be careful that new features don't take away from previous updates. Still, we want a platform that provides the greatest opportunity for a child to do what's assigned. Look for updates soon.First Week Using App
We are in the first week using this app. This app has really got my children excited about chores. I also like that they can learn basic financial fundamentals with this app. The children are also excited about being able to make donations to organizations that help make our world a better world! The reasons for the 4 stars (and not 5) are: (1) they cannot trade chores or reading books for screen time (Minecraft). We might have figured a workaround by using the “cashing out” feature and setting a cost for a hour of time, but I would love to see an enhancement related to earning non-payments rewards and (2) does not seem to have a way to mitigate when a child looses their phone as a consequence - they can’t track chores - we have not figured out if the child can print chores out and backenter chores completed or if they just miss out on doing the chores and being compensated. If you are a parent that takes away your children’s electronics…be aware. I am sure we haven’t figured it out yet! Anyway…so far very pleased!Show lessFlorida St Johns Mom
Developer Response
Thank you for your feedback and 4 stars. We really want 5, so we'll be working hard to earn the last one. The reason for no non-money rewards is that our app is designed to help children how to manage money. Having non-money rewards works against the basic function of the app and what it's designed to teach. We appreciate you finding a way around this to fit your needs. As far as a child losing their phone, a child can log in from any device as long as they have the main account email and their PIN. However, if they miss some days, yes, they can add past chores not marked. If you have any other questions or comments, please reach out to us at help@busykid.com or chat through our website.Well worth it/ it has helped our relationship
The cost for Busy Kids is worth it. My 9 yo son and I struggled with our relationship every day. I give him a directive and he didn’t follow through. I repeat myself multiple times a day but it didn’t get me anywhere but frustrated and annoyed. I researched the debit card apps for kids and came across Busy Kids. The price is affordable $20 for the year. It may not have all the bells and whistles compared with other apps” BUT I don’t need the extras, just the basics. It has a share/donate, spend, and save option. It automatically sends a portion of my sons earned income to the above. You can transfer all money into the spend account BUT we decided to donate to an organization. (If the organization isn’t listed, you can send a request to the team). I’ve used the app for 2 weeks now and I can tell you that it has minimized the arguments I’ve had with my son on a regular basis. I remind him: “ Remember , your paycheck is coming up. Make sure you earn that money!” The app is pretty easy to use— and I did have a question , sent an email, and the team responded the same day! So , they are definitely available for concerns.Show lessDown Syndrome Rocks!!!
Developer Response
Thank you for the tremendous feedback. We're working hard to make sure our app has everything a parent and child needs to understand money management and make life easier. It's an important topic and one that needs to be practiced. We appreciate you using the app and card, and we'll continue to fine tune and add new features several times a year.Awesome tool to motivate my boys
So far I love, love, love this. I have 5 boys and it has always been a challenge for me to motivate them to do chores, and then for me to remember to pay them allowances. I love that I can set up daily, weekly and monthly chores for them and customize the “pay”. It has the added advantage of motivating them to save or share their funds. I plan on using the option of giving them a percentage each month on the money they save. I have the boys run a small dog treat business and most of our transactions with our customers are electronic. This is so easy for me to load their card with the money they earn. Customer service at BusyKid has been so helpful and patient with me.Show lessMom of 5 Boys!
It’s good until compared to other apps
Busy kid has worked very well for me. My parent was able to pay me money for a good amount of chores. Busy kid was going well in my house until I found another app called “Step”. Step is a mobile banking app similar to busy kid, but better in almost any way. One major difference is the fees. Because there are none. No fees. Nothing at all. Another great thing about step is that there’s a virtual card you can use with Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and etc. Once your parent approves the account, you can immediately activate your virtual card just using your phone. No phone calls needed. And one more thing that has to be my favorite is the fact that step helps Kids build credit for their future credit score. This means that if I make my purchases wisely, that will count as a referral for a credit card application. Busy kid is still a great app, but I just wish it would turn into a Gen Z focused app, and not an adult banking focused app. Like step. ☺️Show lessPolyIcee
Excellent Customer Service
We’ve been with BusyKid a long time with 4 kids. We love the options of give, save, and spend; and the stock option is a huge bonus to my two boys who are learning the ropes of investments. The app itself is easy to navigate. Payday is a cinch, and it holds my kids accountable to checking off their chores/responsibilities. And the bonus pay is helpful when I want them to “pay for their own”haircut, clothing, snack, etc.
More than that, their customer service is great. In a day where you are more likely to get a robot or someone overseas who doesn’t understand the company or business they work for, it is a breath of fresh air to have people who care, step in to help and answer questions. The few problems we have had, have been dealt with and handled well. Customer service is huge to me, and I appreciate and applaud theirs.Show lessSomosHubers
Potential but just okay
The app is just okay really. I love the concept but it’s not very kid or parent friendly. Find myself have to toggle too much or click on buttons/features to find what I’m looking for if it’s even there. I wish there was a feature to send the kids reminders of chores do or what is past due and also a feature for parents to add notes as to why the chore is no longer marked completed (I .e - crumbs still left in bed, clothes not picked up or trash still in bedroom)
I also which the chore list had more of a calendar feature instead of a list. The lists get confusing for my 9 year old as to how to access them or mark completed or which list to use.
Overall it’s nice I’m just not wowed but hoping for more updates soon.Show lessAH2886
