Flying Solo (Solo Card Services)

Member Name: GuruOnAMountain

Product:	Solo Card Services
Date:	09/09/04 (990 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good and useful debit card., Good for teenagers.

Disadvantages: No overdraft., Some shops don't accept it.

I started in my first Saturday job when I was 17, and although I already had a savings account, my parents told me they'd prefer me to open up a new account for my wages to go in. I can understand their reasoning, and we went along to the Halifax to set up such an account.

I sat feeling a bit overwhelmed as I was talked through everything and then told that I would receive a Solo card with the account. At the time I didn't think I would use it much, but I know much better now!

My elder sister had received a Switch card when she had been about 18 or 19, I think, and my mum and dad had to promptly hide it away from her as she wasn't the most careful person when it came to money. However, thanks to the way Solo functions, my card didn't have to be confiscated.

Solo is the baby brother of Switch. It's perfect for teenagers as they can only spend what money is already in their account and so their parents don't have to worry about them getting themselves into debt. However, it can't be used as a cheque guarantee card as far as I'm aware.

Solo has been around for long enough now that most shops accept it. More importantly (to me, at least) most online shops accept it although it is often not quoted specifically and you just have to click on Switch as your chosen form of payment. It can also be used to make withdrawals from cash machines.

I'm 19 now and still feel I haven't outgrown this card. I like knowing that I have the security of not having to worry about spending what isn't already in my account as my payments are authorised to ensure the money is there when I use my Solo card. I've certainly never encountered any problems with it myself, although I imagine it would have constraints for other people. I definately think this card
is most suited to us young 'uns who are only dealing with small amounts of money and aren't paying bills etc. with our cards, but it is definately a clever idea. I think Solo cards definately allow parents to give their older teenagers more financial freedom that they might not have been able to trust them with if it had been a Switch card they'd had and not a Solo one.
Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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