Hi folks, I'm after some help please. Since the death of my parents I have sole financial responsibility for my sister who lives in a small 24/7 care home. At the moment her carers take her once a month to the bank to get cash for day to day spending and I cover any large expenditure by bank transfer. The care home manager has asked if my sister could have a card for contactless payments as so many places prefer cards to cash. This is a good idea but I don't want to give her a card linked to her bank account. I worked in retail banking for years and came across many situations where carers were helping themselves to clients money so I'm extremely wary. I've had a look online and think a card I could pre load every month would be ideal, like Go Henry but they only allow children to have them. Has anyone come across a way I could do this for my 60 year old sister but with limited capacity? Thank you so much. 😊
Day to day spending. : Hi folks, I'm after some help... - Mencap
Day to day spending.
hi,
I’m sorry I don’t actually know the answer but had some thoughts. There’s a card here in this link that maybe something to look into,
webflow.fairfx.com/currency...
Or the post office do a prepayment card I think, although maybe a small charge.
Best wishes to you, I understand your concerns totally
Have you looked at the chase card you have to preload it and then you could see all the transactions and ask for receipts as well
I use Fairfx. The account is in my name and I have a linked card for my son who lives in supported living, I transfer money onto his card weekly for his living expenses, (groceries, activities). There is never more than £100 on the card and it is managed by an app. I can check where the card has been used and how much was spent and the balance. The PIN number does need to be entered more often than on a normal debit card but my son has learnt the number. There is a charge for cash withdrawals so he still goes to the bank occasionally to withdraw cash from an account in his name which I also keep topped up.
I manage my son's main account transferring a monthly amount to Monza. When he buys anything or withdraws cash he has receipts every time. It works surprisingly well considering he has no understanding of money.
Hi, it might be worth looking at a Pockit Account.
I wanted a card my 31 year old could use, which would not allow him to go overdrawn.
It is free but beware it costs to take money from a cash dispenser. I have set up a direct debit from his main account ( which he doesn’t have access ) to the pockit account for his weekly spending.
Hi,
I am a Financial Deputy, appointed by the Court of Protection, for my daughter who has a learning disability. She is 30 and has been assessed as not having capacity to look after her own finances.
My daughter has a Monzo Card, which is an online current account. As a bank account, Monzo has won lots of awards and many people use it as their preferred current account.
What I have set up is a system where my daughter has no access at all (and no card) to her regular current account with Santander - which receives all her benefits and from which I pay all her regular bills.
We then transfer a set monthly amount, via standing order (from Santander), to her Monzo Account so that she can pay for day-to-day items like groceries. She has a "Monzo Card" but can even make payments using her smartphone!
Financial risk is vastly reduced because we have agreed a cap on the amount we transfer to it each month. Monzo also records each transaction, of course, and has a "visual traffic light system" which allows her to see how she is doing (green, orange, red) through the month after setting a monthly budget.
Hope that helps - good luck.
I have the same set up with my 37yr old daughter. All her benefits and bills are managed via a Halifax account that she doesn’t have access to. Then I set up standing orders for spending money to go to her metro account. She can use the card and now even uses her phone. It’s been quite liberating for her and we’ve managed to switch her from cash to card/phone over the last 12 months very easily. It also means she can track how much she has spent and has left via the app. It’s quite simple and relatively risk free. Sounds like your sister is in a safe environment but if she has days out with friends or people you’re not sure about it’s a good idea to scratch the account numbers off the card. We had a horrible experience years back with a “new friend” who took her into O2 and got her to sign a contract for a new iPhone. The phone and friend promptly disappeared. Without the bank account numbers she couldn’t have done this. Lesson learned. Good luck, your sister is lucky to have you looking out for her. 👍
You are right to be wary, although I'm sure some care homes are wary of families dipping into their clients' purses, so what's wrong with carrying on the current arrangement if it seems the alternative, having been put to you by the home, is more of a convenience for them.
What does your sister think and what does she want to do? Wouldn't it be better for her to be secure in knowing that her money is reliable and easily accessible the way it is instead of introducing something alien to her? To me, this sounds like the manager looking after their own 'best interests' (sorry!) than your sister's, because it would be less admin and staff-intensive for them.
I'm surprised that the Council Social Work Department can't present you with all the options open to you and others like you as they must have thousands of people under their wing who are in a similar situation. It would be much easier for them to do the legwork once and keep the information up to date and available to all in care, instead of thousands of families having to scrabble about trying to find the best option for themselves.
Hope you get something that works for you both 💗
Pockit works well
My son doesn’t have a bank account. Seems impossible to get one as he doesn’t have any ID so his money is paid to me which I then transfer into a separate pot within my bank account. I draw out cash for his care home and they send me the balance sheets regularly so I can see what his money has been spent on. Of course there’s not much left anyone once the LA have taken a huge Chunk of it.
So if anyone knows of a bank account I can get in his name without any ID except his birth certificate i would be interested to know. My advice to everyone who has a child under 18 is to make sure they have their own account before turning 18.
My son has a Santander debit card which I transfer money to every week by standing order. He can’t be overdrawn and it works on chip and pin but, not contact less.
Have you tried purchasing a prepaid credit card. I can get them in different amounts in Canada, $50, $25.
My 49year old son does not have capacity for finance and always used cash which has always been difficult. He has a debit card at his supported living accommodation which is used for bills and shopping and I've recently just got him another one from his bank for day to day personal spending. I transfer money onto this card as and when he needs it via an app on my phone.It works quite well and won't let him go overdrawn.
As a parent of two adults with a learning disabilities who have no concept of money, I am also looking for a watertight system. The major drawback from my point of view for the future is that I am now in my mid 60s and so I really want to find a solution that isn't reliant on me running something for them on an app - whilst I can do it at the moment I obviously won't be around for ever and would like there to be a safe option that doesn't need to be set up and operated by a parent or family member. I'm probably shooting for the moon, but if anyone knows of anything that works it would be great to hear about it!
My daughter's benefit goes to an account in my name. I opened a joint account for us at santander(I never used my cards) she got a cash card and a debit card I would set up standing orders Mon to Friday say £10 A day went on her cash card. Then on a Thurs a standing order put a fixed amount onto her debit card for her weekly shop. It worked ok except for fr and Mon bank holidays when standing orders get delayed til next bank day. I could set up alerts to my phone. I also get a weekly text detailing any debit card payments.
If she needed more. Say for a takeaway or to buy something for a gift shed call me and I'd do online or mobile instant bank transfer from mainLloyds acc to her Santander cash or debit card. I'd set up direct debits from the main Lloyds account in my name. I found transferring a larger amount once a week she spent all in a day or two.
My son is in a care home and they have a monthly cash top up from me. He has a set amount of daily pocket money and I get a call to authorise other non regular spends. Take always new trainers taxis. He isn't fiscally responsible. My son myself and the home found a system that works and is responsive to my son's needs and whims. This way he has a budget. It works and when he breaks his phone or PlayStation or staff spectacles the funds are there to cover it.
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