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Your child is moving to a coaching city for JEE or NEET preparation and wants their own bank card instead of asking you for cash. With the right setup, a card can be easier to control than a wallet full of notes, and your teen gets to practise managing money while you can still help.
Can a minor get their own debit card in India?
Usually, yes. In April 2025 the Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to let minors above 10 years of age open and operate savings accounts independently, up to amounts and terms each bank sets (RBI notification, 21 April 2025). The same notification lets banks offer minors ATM or debit cards, internet banking and cheque books, depending on each bank's own policy.
A minor's account cannot be overdrawn and must always stay in credit, so your teen can't spend money that isn't there. At the branch, ask about the bank's limits for minors and which mobile number gets the alerts.
How much money should go on the card each month?
Pay fees, hostel or PG rent, the mess bill and deposits yourself. The card then covers only day-to-day spending, so amounts stay small and easy to follow.
Here is a worked example. The rupee amounts are only an illustration; adjust them to your city and your family's budget.
List the categories together: snacks, autos, printouts, phone recharge, laundry, personal items.
Estimate a week's total. Say it comes to ₹1,200.
Transfer ₹1,200 every Sunday, not ₹4,800 on the 1st, so a bad week only costs one week's money.
Keep a ₹1,000 buffer in your own account for genuine extras, such as a book or a doctor's visit.
Let your teen keep what they don't spend. Taking it back teaches them to spend up to the limit.
For the overall amount, read our guide on how much pocket money a teenager in India should get.
Which card settings should you turn on or off?
RBI rules say new cards are enabled only for contact-based use at ATMs and shop card machines within India, and online, international and contactless use must be switched on separately (RBI, Enhancing Security of Card Transactions, January 2020). The same circular requires banks to let cardholders switch the card on or off and set limits at any hour, through the mobile app, internet banking, ATMs or a phone line.
Set these up together in the bank's app before they leave:
Online payments: off, or a low limit if genuinely needed.
International use: off.
Contactless: your choice, with a low limit.
Daily ATM limit: about one week's budget.
SMS and email alerts: on. Under RBI directions issued in June 2026, from 1 January 2027 banks must send an instant SMS for every electronic transaction above ₹500, and email alerts wherever an email address is provided (RBI, 24 June 2026).
Then agree on four rules. Never share the PIN or an OTP, whoever is calling. Cover the keypad when typing the PIN. Never lend the card, even to a roommate (see friends who borrow money in the hostel). Keep the card apart from the phone, as in how to keep your phone and money safe in a hostel or PG.
What should your teen do if the card is lost or money disappears?
Practise these steps once before they move:
Block the card at once in the bank app, or call the bank's helpline. RBI requires banks to offer 24x7 reporting channels, including phone banking, SMS and a toll-free helpline (RBI, July 2017).
Call you.
If money was taken through fraud, call 1930, the government's toll-free helpline for cyber-fraud complaints, and file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in (Ministry of Home Affairs, via PIB).
Note the reference number and ask for a replacement card.
What to say: "My debit card ending in [last four digits] is lost and I see a payment I didn't make. Please block the card, register a complaint and give me the reference number."
Speed matters. Under RBI's 2017 rules, a customer has zero liability for a third-party fraud reported within three working days of receiving the bank's alert (RBI, July 2017). For transactions on or after 1 January 2027, the new directions give zero liability when the fraud is reported within five calendar days of the date it happened (RBI, 24 June 2026). Don't wait for either deadline: report within minutes.
How do you talk about money without fighting?
Make it a ten-minute call on Sunday, alongside the top-up. Look at the week's alerts, ask what was hard to budget for, and adjust. Don't audit every snack; this is a skill being learned, not a test.
If your teen also doesn't know where to start with the week's studies, Fermi's AI tutor works out what they already know and builds a plan for the session, so they sit down to a clear next step.
This week, open the bank app together and set the limits before the bags are packed.
