Decorah and Cresco Bank Partner with FamZoo to Offer Youth Prepaid Debit Cards
Raising children comes with a massive list of responsibilities. You want them to grow up healthy, happy, and capable of handling whatever life throws their way. Yet, teaching kids how to manage money often feels overwhelming for many parents. We want our children to build strong financial habits, but finding the right tools to teach these practical lessons can be incredibly tough.
That is exactly why Decorah and Cresco Bank have partnered with FamZoo. 
We are thrilled to announce this new collaboration designed to help you empower your family. Through this partnership, we offer an award-winning family finance app and secure prepaid debit cards built for kids and pre-teens. Read on to discover how this powerful tool can help you teach financial literacy, track chores, and build lasting money management skills.
Why Hands-On Financial Education Matters
Learning about money works best when you actually handle it. Reading a book about budgeting is great, but managing your own funds teaches lessons that stick. Children learn through experience, trial and error. When they have real money to manage, they start to understand its true value.
Waiting until adulthood to learn about budgeting often leads to costly mistakes. Young adults frequently face credit card debt and poor spending habits simply because they lacked a safe environment to practice financial decision-making. By starting early, you give your children a massive advantage.
Our partnership with FamZoo provides that safe, controlled environment. You get to act as the "banker," while your kids gain the freedom to manage their own funds under your watchful eye. They learn how to save, spend, and give thoughtfully, all before they leave the nest.
Hands-On Learning with Prepaid Debit Cards
Giving your child a debit card might sound intimidating at first. However, FamZoo prepaid cards are specifically designed with family security and parental control in mind. You hold the reins while your children enjoy the independence of having their own card.
Your kids can use their prepaid cards safely online and in stores. Because the cards are prepaid, your child can never spend more money than what sits in their account, eliminating the risk of an overdraft or accumulating debt. When the money runs out, the spending stops.
Security for Your Peace of Mind
Security remains our top priority. FamZoo ensures your primary checking account stays completely protected. The system never stores your private bank account information or connects directly to your main funds for reloading.
Instead, you push funds to your parent funding card from your Decorah or Cresco Bank account. From there, you instantly transfer money to your kid’s card(s). If a child misplaces a card, you can lock it instantly right from the app. You also receive real-time text alerts for every single purchase or decline, keeping you entirely in the loop.
Connect Chores to Earning
Earning money is the first step to understanding its worth. The FamZoo app allows you to set up automated chore charts and checklists. You can assign specific dollar amounts to different household tasks.
When your child mows the lawn, does the dishes, or cleans their room, you simply check it off in the app. The system automatically transfers the payment from your parent card to their card. You can even set penalties for missed chores, teaching them that accountability matters. This direct link between hard work and reward builds a strong work ethic.
Build Lifelong Saving Habits
Saving money requires patience and planning. These skills take time to develop. FamZoo helps you nurture these traits by allowing your children to set up specific savings goals within the app.
Whether they want to buy a new video game, a bicycle, or save for their first car, they can track their progress visually. The app shows them exactly how close they are to reaching their target. You can also enforce split allocations. For example, you can set the app to automatically route 10% of their allowance to a savings account and/or 10% to charitable giving.
Show the Magic of Parent-Paid Interest
Compound interest is one of the most powerful financial concepts your kids can learn. FamZoo makes this abstract idea incredibly concrete through "parent-paid interest." As the family banker, you can set an interest rate that you pay out on your child's savings balance. You might choose to pay 5% interest every week to strongly encourage them to keep their money in savings rather than spending it immediately. Watching their balance grow faster simply because they chose to save is a thrilling and highly motivating lesson for a young saver.
Affordable for the Whole Family
Raising a family comes with enough expenses. We believe that teaching your kids about money should never cost a fortune. FamZoo operates on a simple, transparent pricing model that benefits families of all sizes.
Your subscription (starting at $5.99/month) covers the entire family. There are no hidden fees, no per-child charges, and no limits on the number of family members you can add to the system. You can order a card for every child in your household under one straightforward plan. Furthermore, families can take advantage of discounted pay-in-advance options to lower the monthly cost.
Start Your Family's Financial Journey Today
Giving your kids a solid financial foundation is one of the greatest gifts you can provide as a parent. The habits they form now will shape their financial well-being for decades to come. Through the partnership between Decorah and Cresco Bank and FamZoo, you now have the perfect toolkit to make those lessons stick.
Are you ready to turn everyday family life into an interactive financial classroom? We invite you to explore this exciting new service. Access FamZoo through our Online Banking. Simply login and then click “My Toolkit”, followed by “All Solutions”, then click on “FamZoo.” From there follow the prompts as directed.
Want more information?
Visit FamZoo's website to learn more about the family finance app and prepaid debit cards.