Google Wallet now lets parents set up secure balances for their kids

Google Wallet now lets parents set up secure balances for their kids Aisha Malik 9:00 AM PDT · August 6, 2026 Google announced on Thursday that Google Wallet will now allow parents to set up a secure balance for children under 18. The tech giant says the new feature is designed to help parents teach healthy financial habits while maintaining oversight of their child’s spending through built-in safeguards. Parents can set daily spending limits, review their child’s transaction history, and choose to receive notifications whenever a purchase is made. Parents can also lock or unlock the account if the child’s device is lost, or activate a temporary “spending timeout” to pause spending at any time. The new feature brings Google Wallet more in line with competing financial tools, including Apple Cash Family, which lets parents send money to their children while monitoring transactions and managing spending controls. Additionally, the company is positioning itself against startups like FamZoo and Greenlight, which allow parents to teach their children financial literacy through prepaid debit card systems. Kids can use their Android device or Wear OS devices to tap and pay wherever Google Pay is accepted. The tech giant sees the new feature as a way for kids to manage their own money without the need for an actual bank account. The update is rolling out in the United States. It’s unknown when, or if, Google plans to bring the new capability to additional regions. The new feature builds on Google’s announcement last year that parents and guardians in select countries can allow their children to use digital payments on Android devices under parental supervision. A payment card can only be added with parental consent, and parents receive an email whenever their child makes a transaction. With last year’s update, kids also gained the ability to use Google Wallet to access supported passes, like event tickets, library cards, and gift cards. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. You can contact or verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at aisha_malik.01 on Signal. October 13 – 15 San Francisco Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you.Save up to $330 today! Most Popular Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.28B Ivan Mehta Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip Dominic-Madori Davis Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire leads $1B round for nuclear startup Valar Atomics Julie Bort Malaysia is reportedly shutting down Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School Anthony Ha YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’ Anthony Ha VC-backed startups commit more fraud, and researchers think they know why Dominic-Madori Davis WhatsApp is testing a new folder for messages from large businesses Ivan Mehta

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Source: TechCrunch

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