Google announced Thursday that Google Wallet will now let parents set up a secure balance for children under 18, giving families a supervised way to handle spending without a traditional bank account. Parents in the US can create a digital spending pot for their kids and teenagers and top it up whenever they choose.
The funds appear instantly in the child's balance after a parent adds money through the Google Wallet app. Kids can then use that balance from their Android phone or Wear OS device anywhere Google Pay is accepted, with no need for the child to have their own bank account.
Account managers can transfer funds, set up purchase notifications, and establish daily spending limits for minor tap-to-pay Wallet accounts connected to their profiles. Parents also get visibility into their child's activity through a transaction list or by enabling push notifications from Family Link, and they can lock down payment options remotely at any time for lost or stolen devices or to enact spending timeouts.
Google positions the tool as a way to help parents teach healthy financial habits, with oversight built in to prevent overspending. The feature works alongside parental controls already integrated into Google's Family Link, which includes restrictions intended to reduce kids' screen time.
The expansion builds on last year's update that let kids use Google Wallet to access supported passes like event tickets, library cards, and gift cards. It also follows a broader run of Wallet upgrades over the past month, including on-screen flight updates for linked boarding passes and live delivery tracking that pulls order information, tracking numbers, and shipping statuses from Gmail accounts.
Parents can set up purchase notifications, and the balance works for any vendor that accepts Google Pay, making weekly allowances and supervised spending a more practical option for Android households.
