Go Henry for Tweens | Our Review

This is not a paid or sponsored post but the Go Henry links are standard customer referral links (where I receive a little bonus if you sign up). 

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. I wanted to write my honest review of Go Henry after using it for the past 18 months. 

What is Go Henry? 

Go Henry is a prepaid debit card and financial learning app for kids. They have won awards, are used by 1.5 million customers and 92% of parents say their kids are more confident with money management thanks to the app/card and I would have to agree.

The app and card is available to children and young people aged 6-18. In my experience, it is best suited for children aged 9-11 who are coming to the end of Primary School / in the first year of Secondary School. 


Why Go Henry? 

I was against Go Henry for a LONG time. The £2.99 per month fee put me off. I mean why pay that when I can sign the kids up to a regular bank account for free? As soon as Harry was 11 we signed him up for a Lloyds under 17s account which is available as soon as your child turns 11.

We chose Lloyds primarily as there is a branch in our town so if he receives cash/cheques, he can pay them in himself. It was also easy enough to make an appt there to join after school. Harry has a contactless debit card with his acct and we haven't had any issues at all. 

When Dee turned 11, we had plans to do the same however this happened in the middle of a pandemic and for a while, new accounts were not being opened, then parents who had an account there needed to have a telephone interview with the child and the bank which was a pain with Steve's shifts (I don't have an account there but Steve does) then Dee's passport expired so ID was an issue......There were just so many obstacles! 

It seemed like one problem after another and we wanted a quick solution for Dee being able to manage their own money when starting Secondary School. In steps Go Henry which I reluctantly signed up to BUT it was quick, easy and a billion times more convenient than a bank. We simply signed up online and a card was sent out in the post in a few days. We downloaded the parent app to my phone and the kids app to the kids' phones. 

You can sign up to read more or for a free trial here (it is £2.99 per month thereafter and you can cancel at any time). Lots of info / FAQs on the link). 

After a few weeks of Go Henry, we were so pleased with it that we decided to get Jack (who was then aged 9) one too. 


Contactless Payments 

I like with Go Henry, kids are sent a contactless debit card which does make them feel grown up. You can use the card pretty much everywhere you see the contactless sign (or use chip and pin if you prefer). There are a couple of restrictions such as adult/gambling sites etc....where Go Henry cards are banned. 

Dee has used their Go Henry debit card as an oyster card on the tube, to get drinks on the way home from school, to go shopping with friends at the Metrocentre and to pay for lunch on a school day. You can use a Go Henry card to pay for items online too and Jack sometimes does this with XBox, he always asks us first though and is good and checks he has enough money in the app before purchasing anything. 

Independence / Money Management / Encourages Saving 

I really like Go Henry as a stepping stone between receiving pocket money / bits and bobs in cash and transitioning to using a debit card/managing your money online. 

The kids are definitely more independent and have learnt about recurring debit card payments / not putting their card details in to start free trials / how to stay safe online etc..... 

It has encouraged both Dee and Jack to save too. The kids can set 'savings goals' and each week (or whenever) transfer cash into this little savings pot so it's not available to spend on their debit card. Jack has done this a few times when saving for a game and Dee does it regularly to save for things like friends birthdays and Christmas. 

Go Henry worked so well for us in London too. I topped up the kids with £20 each and said that was for drinks / snacks for the trip and they could just buy a bottle of water etc.... when needed if they wanted to. It's really good for budgeting like that and teaching independence.

 Both Jack and Dee can both confidentiality pay for things in a shop independently now. 

My kids don't use this option but it is free to withdraw cash from an ATM with your Go Henry card. 


High Level of Parental Control 

One reason I do like Go Henry is that there is a high level of parental control that you don't get with a traditional bank account (although I think there are some newer accounts which allow kids to be an add on to their parent's account). 

For example, I receive a notification on my phone every time the kids use their Go Henry Card with an amount spent and where it was spent (usually Home Bargains!). 

I can easily access their pin number through the app if they lose it and at all times I can see their balance / how much they have on their card / how much they have in their savings. 

I also like that I can easily deduct money from their account through the app. For example, if they haven't tidied their room, I can transfer money from their account back to my own at the touch of a button in the app. This is very different to Harry's regular bank account where I have zero access (I pay pocket money by standing order so I don't forget btw). 

If their card is lost, it's super easy to block through the app and you can set spending limits if you like too. 


Easy Pocket Money 

You can set pocket money up with chores where the kids have to tick something in the app when they've completed the chore then when you tick your box in the app once you've checked, they will receive their pocket money. We did this to start with but both me and the kids always forgot about ticking the app. 

So now I have a regular pocket payment sent every Sunday evening without the need to tick anything and if they haven't completed their chores, I take some of the cash back which is easy to do in the app. This method just works easier for us. 

I never have cash anymore so being able to sort pocket money like this is just so much more convenient for us. 


Topping Up with Go Henry 

Topping up with Go Henry isn't too straight forward at first. I imagined it would be linked with your bank account and cash would come straight from there when you send the kids some cash. However this isn't the case. 

You have a 'parent pot' which needs to be topped up (can easily be done by bank transfer) and the money you send the kids comes from that. So if I wanted to send Jack £2 for washing the car for example, I would first need to top up my parent account and then send it to Jack's account so it is a bit of a carry on. 

You can set it so that your parent pot auto tops up which I do so my balance never drops below £20 and once you get the hang of it, it's really no bother at all.

Prepares for a Bank Account 

I do trust my kids but I have liked that Go Henry has given them some level of independence and some control for me rather than going to a contact card cold turkey. I like that I've been able to monitor their spending and have conversations about them (well done for saving some £ this week etc....) rather than having little involvement and letting them get on with it themselves. I really do feel like Go Henry has been a good stepping stone for us. 

I Never Have Cash

I love that I can easily transfer a couple of £ to the kids and send them to the corner shop for bread. The other alternatives would be for me to stop being so lazy and go myself, trust them with my debit card (which I am sure is illegal although my mam did used to do this with me sometimes) or to actually make sure I have cash in the house. 

Grandparents still send Cash

You can send money as a gift through Go Henry with the app, there is just a link to send which is ideal for birthdays etc..... however both grandparents do still prefer cash and I think most of that generation will be the same. The kids like all of their £ on their card so if they receive pocket money / cash for Christmas, they tend to give it to me and then I transfer the equivalent electronically.

Now I actually like this as I still need cash for Jack's dinner money, the milkman and the window cleaner and this method generally means I never need to go to the cashpoint however it might not work in all situations. As far as I can see, you can't pay into Go Henry with cash or a cheque, it needs to be electronically. 

It's Expensive 

Go Henry is expensive. It is £2.99 per month. I top up by bank transfer, I try to do a big transfer to cover the month at the start of the month as you get one transfer for free per month.

We signed up for free but I think you can customise a card for around a fiver when you join if you prefer. 

After that, you are charged 50p per transfer. It's not cheap and for us with two kids using Go Henry it is an eye watering £72 per year. Yikes! I am paying for convenience though and like I say, I have been happy with the benefits of Go Henry so far and for me, the convenience has been worth it. 

Overall 

I honestly would recommend Go Henry for children aged 9-11 (so long as the £2.99 per month fee does not put you off / you can afford it). It has served us well over the last 18 months when the kids haven't been able to easily open a bank account yet have needed some kind of financial independence, especially during this time when many things are now cashless. 

Pandemic or no pandemic, if I had another child, I would definitely start them off with a Go Henry account when they were 9/10 for a year or so before moving them onto a bank account. 

I would recommend Go Henry for 1 year - 18 months, probably between year 6 and 7 when tweens are getting to grips with things. We haven't encountered any problems at all. The app has gone down for us once but it was resolved in a few hours. To be honest my bank app has gone down more often than Go Henry. 

However once I have applied for Jack and Dee's new passports in the new year, I will be transferring both Jack and Dee to a young persons Lloyds account like Harry (fingers crossed the systems for opening a bank account are back to normal now).

Go Henry has served its purpose for us and I feel confident that Dee and Jack are both able to manage a bank account and use a debit card without me looking over their shoulder now. Being able to instantly transfer funds for free like I do with Harry and not having to pay a monthly fee will be a definite plus too. 

If you are interested, you can find out more about Go Henry and sign up for a free trial here. 

PS - I know lots of other pre-payment accounts / alternative bank accounts etc.... are available and some may be better for your circumstances. Go Henry is a market leader and who I have personal experience of so I wanted to share this honest review of how I found it. 

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