Back to School with the Walking ATM Posted by: Alexandria Sage
Parents — ever feel like a walking ATM? Want to teach your kids about responsible financial management (and get them to stop pestering you for their allowance every week in the bargain?) Check out PayPal’s new program for students, launching today, in which a sub-account for your child is linked to your own PayPal account.
"Parents can transfer money to their kids’ accounts in “allowance mode”or “on-demand.” Requests for money from kids can be sent by text oncellphones and transfers are automatic performed once mom or dadapproves."
The program, Student Account, is designed to balance convenience for parents and their kids with financial responsibility, said Don Fotsch, vice president of customer experience and design at PayPal. It’s also a push by the fast-growing online payments company, which is eBay Inc’s growth engine, to expand in new directions. The program addresses a “clearly underserved” market of the estimated 17 million students headed to college in the United States this year, Fotsch said.
