Teen Accounts

Last updated: July 24, 2026

Teen Accounts are a new membership type that lets applicants under 18 open a membership on their own, without requiring a parent or guardian as a joint owner.

Teen accounts are in development for Q3. Reach out to your DPM for more details on release timelines.

Why this account type exists

The Personal membership flow uses Plaid Identity Verification, which requires applicants to be 18 or older. The Minor account flow supports applicants under 18, but requires an adult joint owner on the account.

Teen Accounts fill the gap between the two: they allow eligible minors (typically 13-17 year olds) to open an account independently, with no joint owner required, if the financial institution allows for this.

Naming

"Teen Account" is the default name. Your credit union can rename this account type to match your own product naming (e.g., Youth Checking, Student Account).

How the member flow works

The Teen Account application follows the same structure as the Minor account flow, minus the parent/joint owner steps:

  1. Applicant information – All form fields are Glide native form fields. Your existing Minor flow configuration applies, including whether identification documents are required.

  2. Identification documents (optional) – If your FI requires ID from minors, the applicant uploads it manually. Uploaded documents are not sent to Plaid IDV.

  3. Age validation – You set the minimum age for this account type (e.g., 16). Applicants below the minimum see an error message directing them to a different application flow.

  4. Checking account step-up – Works the same as your other flows.

  5. Employment, eligibility, and disclosures – Standard steps, then submit.

If your FI has funding before submission required, it will also be available in this flow.

Verification and screening

Because Plaid IDV requires applicants to be 18+, full identity verification checks are not run on Teen Account applicants. Instead:

  • Watchlist screening (Plaid Monitor) – Always runs automatically on every applicant, including minors. This covers OFAC and related watchlists and cannot be disabled.

  • ChexSystems – Runs if your credit union has it configured.

  • Plaid IDV – Not run for applicants under 18.

Staff dashboard

Teen Account appears as an account type option when adding a member from the staff dashboard.

Key differences from other account types:

  • No joint owner required. Unlike Minor accounts, staff are not required to add a joint owner to submit the application.

  • No Fraud and KYC section. Scan ID and Run KYC Check are not available for applicants under 18, since these checks go to Plaid and will fail for anyone under 18. Watchlist screening still runs automatically in the background.

  • Collecting ID from the applicant. To collect a copy of the applicant's ID (e.g., a driver's license for a 16 or 17 year old), use an Applicant Task to request the document directly from the member.

Enabling Teen Accounts

Teen Accounts are configured per financial institution, including the account type name and minimum age. Contact your Glide DPM to enable Teen Accounts or adjust the configuration.

FAQ

Can applicants under the minimum age use this flow? No. Age validation blocks them with a message directing them to your Minor account flow, which requires an adult joint owner.

Does the ID upload get verified by Plaid? No. ID documents collected in this flow are a manual upload for your team's review. They are not sent to Plaid and will not cause an automatic rejection.

Can we still add a joint owner to a Teen Account? Yes. A joint owner is optional rather than required.

What happens when the member turns 18? Existing account handling is unchanged. New applicants who are 18 or older should use your standard Personal membership flow, which includes full Plaid IDV.