Youth Accounts & Education

No. Columbia Credit Union Youth Accounts can be opened regardless of whether you already have a checking or savings account with us.

Note that to open a Youth Account for your child, we’ll run a check systems and perform a soft credit report pull. This process applies to all new signers at Columbia, in this case, the parent or legal guardian, and does not affect the minor.

Our Youth Accounts come with slightly different guidelines when it comes to checks and debit cards. Here’s how it works:

• Checks: Our Youth Checking Account, Spend Checking, does not offer check writing. If your child needs to write checks, we can consider opening a Rewards or Income Checking for them on a case-by-case basis.
• Debit Cards: Youth Account debit cards come with lower daily spending limits to ensure safe and age-appropriate access. Minor accounts have daily limits of $200 for ATM withdrawals and $300 for point-of-sale purchases.

If you’d like to chat more about the use of checks or debit cards for Youth Accounts, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to answer all your questions.

As a signer on your child’s account, you can view their activity right alongside your other accounts in digital banking.

If you’d like, you can also give your child their own access by signing a consent form. That way, they can log in with their own credentials and access just their Youth Account.

This makes it easy to keep an eye on their spending, while giving them a little independence to manage their own money.

Here’s a list of the documents you need to present to open a Youth Account for your kid:

• Social Security Number for your kid (minor under age 18)
• Your Social Security Number (parent or legal guardian)
• A valid identification form for you (optional for your kid). Here are the identification forms we accept:
  • Driver’s License issued by a U.S. state or Canadian province (see the current I.D. Checking Guide for details).
  • State Driver’s Permit:
    • In Washington, permits do not have a photo. For minors, a permit without a photo is accepted.
    • If the individual is 18 or older, a valid photo ID is required.
  • State Identification Card
  • Oregon Temporary Driver’s License or Identification Card (Temporary IDs in Washington are not accepted because they do not include a photo)
  • Government-issued ID: U.S., state, or local government ID, or a United States Armed Services ID
  • Passport: U.S. or foreign passport

Please note that if you, as the parent, have an address discrepancy, we may require additional information to verify your address.

It depends on the type of Youth Account and what works best for your family.

• Regular Youth Accounts: By default, only you and your child can access the account. That said, we can add both parents to the account if that’s your preference. If the account is opened as a joint account, all signers have the authority to access the account and make transactions.
• Custodial Accounts (UTTMA): Only you, the parent or legal guardian (the custodian), can access the account and make transactions on behalf of your minor child (the account beneficiary). In this case, only one parent or legal guardian can act as the custodian and access the account.

This setup keeps your child’s account secure while giving families the flexibility to manage it together.

Deposits for our Columbia Credit Union Youth Accounts work just the same as any other account. You can make deposits:

• In person
• At an ATM
• With Mobile Deposit
• Via direct deposit, if your child is a working teen

You can also transfer money from your account or use Fern to reward chores, good grades, and more, helping your child learn about earning, saving, and smart spending.