When students at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City, Missouri, need some cash, they can just head toward the cafeteria. CSD Credit Union, a not-for-profit banking institution, recently opened a student-run branch inside the school in hopes of providing young people with real-world skills. Student employees help their classmates get debit cards, make deposits, and apply for car loans. Many teens today rely on apps like Venmo or Cash App for banking, financial experts say, but it’s important they master other financial tools as they approach adulthood. Student employee Adam Magnuson, 18, agrees, noting that the credit union can help his classmates learn more about managing their money. “Making sure you use your dollars [to get] the maximum value,” he says, “is the most important part of what we try to do.”
For more on teen financial literacy, see “The Young Investors Club,” p. 10.