Westpac has rolled out new features aimed at helping children and their parents manage money safely and cultivate good spending and saving habits. The features include a debit card with parental controls and a digital 'Pocket Money' function.

According to Westpac's Youth Money Report, 75% of Australian parents are teaching their children some form of financial digital literacy. More than half (53%) of parents want their children to have a debit card to learn about money, and 72% are comfortable with their child having a transaction account. However, 61% are also happy for their child to have a debit card.

Parents' concerns revolve around online safety and spending, with 37% noting the lack of controls to stop online threats and oversight on what their child is spending money on. In response to these concerns, Westpac has lowered its debit card age limit to eight for Westpac Choice Youth account holders. The new controls provide parents with oversight of their child's account and spending habits while offering financial freedom within boundaries.

The features available to parents and children banking with Westpac include parental controls and safety features, a lowered debit card age limit, and a 'Pocket Money' feature.

"Talking about money early and enabling your child to put saving and spending into practice helps develop important financial literacy skills," said Acting Managing Director Cash & Transactional Banking, Chris Brell. "Our parental controls and safety features will help parents teach their kids about the value of a digital dollar, while keeping them and their money safer."

"How to keep money secure and spend responsibly is a crucial lesson for children � and parents know how important it is. Our robust parental controls and safety features, including spending limits, push notifications on account activity and blocks on certain high-risk transactions, will enable parents to empower their children to spend and save safely, and give them peace of mind," said Brell.

"Successful saving starts at home. It is nice for the tooth fairy to still pay in cash, but learning the value of the digital dollar is key to setting up kids to be savvy savers. Giving kids the freedom to access their money in cash or digitally from an early age, with oversight from their parents, enables them to practice good habits," said Brell.

The research was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research, surveying 1,000 Australian parents aged 20+ with children between the ages of 8-17.