ANZ Bank and MySpace offer young people prepaid cards

Young Australians are being invited to take out a prepaid card on offer from ANZ Bank and a leading social networking website.

Young people are being offered the chance to take out an ANZ Bank prepaid card, it has been revealed.

Available to users of MySpace, the card allows users to make purchases online and buy prepaid phone credit, the Australian Associated Press reports.

John Harries of the bank - which also includes the ANZ Frequent Flyer Classic credit card and ANZ Low Rate Card in its portfolio of products - points out that the product comes as parents are increasingly looking for simple, convenient and secure alternative ways for young people to spend money away from cash.

Available to MySpace users between the ages of 13 and 18, the card has a maximum balance of $1,000.

Financial author Justine Davies states that by using the MySpace Recharge card, young people could learn about money management to use a traditional credit card responsibly by the time they are old enough to own such a product.

News of the plastic follows the Sydney Morning Herald's Australian banking news that an increasing number of teenagers are using their parents' credit cards to gamble online.

Written by Bret Clement