great point about type of acct. i would do either prepaid or tied to bank acct. depending on which offers the best fee schedule. i would like it to be easy for him in stores , atm machines, etc. but still be capped by the amt. of cash behind it.i went through the wiki many times and it mostly deals with credit cards. a credit card in an 18 year olds hand is like one in my ex-wifes.