GoHenry review – the best pocket money app?

In this independent review, we look at the pocket money app GoHenry*, including how it works, how much it costs, and the alternatives. We recommend that you read the review in full, but you can jump to specific sections of the article using the following links:

• What is GoHenry?
• GoHenry key features
• How does GoHenry work?
• GoHenry memberships
• How to set up a GoHenry account
• GoHenry account limits
• How much does GoHenry cost?
• Is GoHenry safe?
• Can GoHenry be used abroad?
• Alternatives to GoHenry
• GoHenry customer reviews
• GoHenry pros and cons
• Summary

What is GoHenry?

GoHenry* was launched in 2012 by a group of parents that wanted to teach their children how to manage their own money without getting into debt.

GoHenry has over 2 million members across the UK and America and has raised over £13m through investors and shareholders. GoHenry provides an account that can be monitored by a parent while giving children between the ages of 6 and 18 the freedom and independence to manage their own money. GoHenry won Best Children's Financial Provider 2021 at the British Bank Awards.

Most high street banks already offer a number of children's accounts, however, none of them offer the ability to track your child's spending or provide features that can help your child to understand their spending first-hand. For more information on the best bank accounts for under 18s, read our article "The best bank accounts for under 18s".

GoHenry key features

• Customisable Visa prepaid debit card - A prepaid card that can be topped up and used in shops, online, or at cash machines. It can be customised by your child with a personalised name and image
• Online or mobile app - GoHenry can be controlled online or via an iPad or smartphone app
• Regular payments - Set up regular pocket money payments
• Set tasks/chores - Set tasks for your child to complete, which they can mark as complete when finished
• Instant notifications - Instant spending notifications for both you and your child
• Block and unblock cards - Block and unblock the card if it becomes lost or if you want to prevent your child from spending
• Pick where the card can be used - Stay in control of exactly where your child can spend money
• Savings goals - Set savings goals within the app and track your child's progress
• Money Missions - In-app learning programme designed to teach children about money management while earning points and badges
• Split the bill - a feature that allows teenagers to easily split payments with their friends for days out and lunches
• Junior ISA - existing members can open a GoHenry Junior ISA and invest from as little as £1

How does GoHenry work?

You can set up a GoHenry account online or by downloading the smartphone app. When you download the app, you can choose whether to download the parent or child's version.

What can children do? 

• Earn money by completing tasks
• Budget within their weekly allowance
• Spend on the card (within the set limits)
• Get instant notifications as to why a transaction was declined
• Save into set savings goals
• Ask for relatives to contribute
• Split the bill - a feature that allows teenagers to easily split payments with their friends for days out and lunches
• Use Money Missions to build money management skills

What can parents do? 

• Manage up to 4 children's accounts in the app
• Co-parent on the same GoHenry account
• Set up regular payments
• Make one-off payments
• Set tasks
• Invite relatives to contribute
• Set spending limits
• Control where the card can be used (e.g. cash machines, online, in-store)
• Block and unblock cards
• Receive instant spending notifications

GoHenry Memberships

GoHenry offers three different membership plans and we summarise the key features of each GoHenry membership in the below comparison table.

	Everyday	Plus	Max
Monthly Cost	£3.99 per child	£5.99 per child	£9.99 (up to 4 kids)
Unlimited free top ups	1 free top-up per month, then 50p each time thereafter	Yes	Yes
Automatic allowance and tasks	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spend notifications	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flexible parental controls	Yes	Yes	Yes
Parent-paid interest	Yes	Yes	Yes
Co-parent and relative accounts	Yes	Yes	Yes
Send money with Giftlinks	Yes	Yes	Yes
80+ educational Money Missions^	Intro	All	All
Earn 4.50% AER (variable) interest on savings	No	Yes	Yes
1% cashback on in-store spending	No	Yes	Yes
Up to 4 child accounts, one monthly fee	No	No	Yes

^In-app money lessons

How to set up a GoHenry account

To set up a GoHenry* account, simply sign up online or download the free mobile app. You will need to enter personal details such as your name, email, and mobile number and then choose a password to create an account. Once you have added your child's details and confirmed your account, your cards will be ordered and should arrive within 5-7 days. There is a 30-day free trial where you get access to full membership, after which you will be charged a monthly membership fee of £3.99 per child for the Everyday membership, £5.99 per child for the Plus membership or £9.99 for up to four children with the Max membership, taken from the parent's linked bank account. You will need to activate your cards and deposit a minimum of £5 to start setting spending limits and tasks as required.

How do I cancel a GoHenry account?

If your child reaches 18 or no longer wants to use a GoHenry account, you can cancel within the app or by contacting the customer services team by calling 0330 100 7676 or emailing help@gohenry.co.uk between 8am-8pm, 7 days a week. Your account will be closed with immediate effect, although there is a 3-day cooling-off period during which time you can reactivate your account. Any money left in the account will be returned to your nominated bank account within 7-10 days. However, GoHenry recommends withdrawing the money at a cash point if the funds are needed quickly.

Are there any limits on a GoHenry account?

GoHenry Parent account limits

Maximum account balance	£6,000
Maximum account load at any one time	£500
Maximum account load in a day	£600
Annual load limit	£24,000
Maximum number of loads in a day	3

GoHenry Child account limits

Maximum single bank transfer load	£500
Maximum bank transfer loads in a month	£1,200
Maximum spend in a day	£4,000
Maximum number of spends a day	10
Maximum number of spends in 4 consecutive days	20
Maximum ATM withdrawal	£120
Maximum daily ATM withdrawals	3

How much does GoHenry cost?

GoHenry Everyday membership has a monthly fee of £3.99 per child and gives you access to the features mentioned above. You get one free load per month onto a parent account, after which you will be charged 50p per load. However, an easy way around this load charge would be to load a larger sum onto your account at the beginning of each month. For example, add £20 at the beginning of the month if your child gets an allowance of £5 a week. GoHenry accounts also give users free UK transactions and ATM withdrawals.

GoHenry Plus membership costs £5.99 monthly per child and gives you all of the Everyday membership benefits plus:

• Unlimited free top ups
• 80+ Money Missions
• Earn 4.50% AER (variable) interest on savings
• 1% cashback on in-store spending

GoHenry Max membership costs £9.99 monthly and gives you all of the Plus membership benefits plus you can hold up to four children's accounts for that one monthly fee.

With all three membership options, you get a free standard GoHenry card per child, but if you wish to upgrade your GoHenry card to a customisable card this will cost you a one-off fee of £4.99.

Is GoHenry safe?

The money in your GoHenry* account is held as e-money as it is a prepaid card. Therefore, GoHenry does not offer FSCS protection. However, GoHenry says that it is regularly monitored by Visa to ensure it is complying with its regulations. All money held with GoHenry is protected by being safeguarded in a segregated bank account and GoHenry itself is regulated by the FCA.

Can GoHenry be used abroad?

Yes, GoHenry can be used abroad at no extra cost (be aware that some foreign ATMs may charge a small fee). All payments will be taken in GBP and GoHenry will use the Visa Europe exchange rate on the day the payment leaves the account. GoHenry can be used anywhere that accepts Visa cards.

Alternatives to GoHenry

GoHenry vs other prepaid cards

There are a few other apps that offer pre-paid cards to help your children manage their money without opening a children's bank account. We compare GoHenry to its alternatives in the table below.

	GoHenry*	Nimbl	Osper	NatWest Rooster Money*
Eligibility Ages	6-18	6-18	8-18	6-17
Cost	£3.99/month for Everyday membership, £5.99/month for Plus membership or £9.99 for Max membership (30-day free trial)	£2.49/month or £28/year (1 month free)	£2.50/month (first month free)	£19.99/year or £1.99/month (1 month free)
Loading Fee	50p (1 free load per month) for Everyday membership / Free for Plus membership	Free	50p	Free (up to 3 per day and 10 per calendar month, or 50p per subsequent load)
ATM Fees	Free	Free	Free	Free
Fees Abroad	No international fees	£1.50 cash withdrawals, 2.95% transaction fee	£2 cash withdrawal, 3% transaction fee	3% transaction fee over £50/month

GoHenry free alternatives

GoHenry* is a great idea but can be an expensive way to teach your children about money, especially if you only want to pay your child a small amount each month. Below are a few alternatives to help you teach your children about money for free.

GoHenry vs Starling Kite

Starling Bank has launched a pocket money account for children aged between 6 - 15 years old. Starling Kite exists as a 'Space' within a Starling Bank personal account and therefore a parent needs to have a Starling account for it to be used. If you have a Starling Joint account then both account holders will be able to access and control the Kite account. A Starling Kite account is free to open with no additional charges for transferring or withdrawing money. Starling Kite has an additional app for children to use on their own devices however it does not have the functionality to set tasks or chores within the app.

A Starling Kite account allows you to:

• Instantly transfer money
• Set up regular payments
• Set savings goals
• Summarise spending with spending analytics
• Set spending limits
• Spend overseas with no additional fees

NatWest Rooster Money

Above, NatWest Rooster Money is listed as a competitor to GoHenry for its prepaid debit card account. However, it also has a free pocket money app that has similar features to GoHenry without the monthly subscription fee. The free-of-charge Rooster Virtual Tracker* account is essentially a pocket money tracker and allows you to keep tabs on the money you are giving your child and the money they have been sent as a gift from friends or grandparents. To add tasks/chores and to get the full use out of the app, you need to register for a Rooster Card account (£1.99 a month or £19.99 a year), but it is a great place to start.

A basic Rooster Virtual Tracker account allows you to:

• Give your child access to their own account to see how much money they have to spend
• Incentivise tasks with reward stars or money
• Set goals for your child to save toward
• Save money for safekeeping

Online resources

In the following Money to the Masses podcast episode, Damien and Andy share some brilliant free online resources to teach your children about money. Click to listen to the full podcast episode, or search the title on your favourite podcast app - "Understanding fund performance & teaching your kids about money online". Alternatively, check out our article "5 ways to teach your kids about money".

GoHenry customer reviews

GoHenry is rated as 'Great' on Trustpilot with a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars from over 10,000 reviews. 68% of customers rate it as 'Excellent' with customers citing great customer service and noticing an improvement in their children's financial knowledge. Those who rated it as 'Bad' (13%) cited difficulty in cancelling the subscription fee and one user commented on the app always breaking down, leaving the children in the lurch when trying to make a payment.

GoHenry pros and cons

Pros of GoHenry

• Teaches children about money
• Personalised card option
• Gives children financial independence
• Allows adults to keep track and manage spending
• Can block the card at any time
• Can control where the card is used to spend
• FCA regulated

Cons of GoHenry

• Expensive
• 50p loading fee for more than one load a month with Everyday membership
• Unable to earn interest on savings with Everyday membership
• No FSCS protection

Summary

Overall, I think it is an excellent product and I like the fact that you can sign up for a free trial to demo the app before paying the subscription fee, enabling you to trial all of the features. At Money to the Masses, we are big advocates of teaching children about money, and this app is a great way to teach basic financial skills whilst encouraging independence at the same time. Unlike a high street children's bank account, you can access and control your child's spending from a distance, helping them on the road to financial independence.

I do, however, believe that you shouldn't have to pay to teach your child about money and there is no doubt that the monthly fee will be enough to put many parents off. That said, GoHenry* has over 2 million users worldwide suggesting that for many, the card and features on offer are a price worth paying for.

 

 

If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses or take advantage of any exclusive offers - GoHenry, Starling Bank, NatWest Rooster Money