Can a 16 yr old get a business transaction account

Hi

Can a 16 yr old - sole trader small business owner get a bank account - business transaction bank account....
Being under 18 - do they HAVE TO have a parent guardian as co signatory or something??

or

Is 16yr old breaking any rules if they use their everyday savings transaction account to conduct their small business...

 

minors can enter contracts so as long as she can find a bank willing there are no issues.

 

Most banks offer great deals to kids... but for savings and base transactions and they can make a noise when volumes rise. Credit cards can be harder but almost all will give a 16+ year old a debit card. CBA give them as young as 9. But most "teen" accounts with bonus features exclude business style transaction volume and you wont get merchant facilites etc. CBA allow a kid aged 14 to bank in their own name - no parents.

 

My daughter happily traded using her old "Dollarmites" account when she started a little pet feeding/garden watering business at about 14 - but that was years ago and not a large volume of transactions.
I use my fee free pensioner saving account for wages (eight years before retiring) and now the small handyman jobs I do for people.

 

I dont believe a person under the age of 18 is able to enter into a contract, see your solicitor to clarify ...

 

When kids turn 14 they get control over their bank account and if parents are guardians/signatories that is automatically revoked (recently happened to our kids accounts). Medicare is another one.

 

Yes they can - in NSW at least the law is
http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/maca1970348/s19.html
[/QUOTE]

 

Contracts | Youth Law Australia

[In New South Wales, you may sign the contract and both parties will be bound by the contract as long as the transaction is for your benefit and not unfair to you. The other party to the contract may want a parent’s signature as well as your own in order to “guarantee” the payment.

In New South Wales, people under the age of 18 are bound to contracts, leases, and other transactions only if the contract is for their benefit. So you will not be bound by unfair or exploitative transactions, but you may enter into and be bound by an ordinary transaction that you choose to enter into and that is for your benefit (like renting a flat or buying something).

People or businesses entering into contracts with people under the age of 18 may want someone else (like a parent) to guarantee that the person will fulfil their half of the bargain. In New South Wales, this makes the person giving the guarantee responsible for the contract if the person under 18 cannot fulfil the contract. ]

 

best to look straight at the law

 

I dont believe the op asked about legal capacity and ultra vires. Just bank accounts.

 

IMHO both murky areas and leaves the under age person vulnerable ...

 

I can't see any vulnerability issues with a 16 year old opening a bank account.

 

OP was enquiring about a business transaction account ... that rings alarm bells for me ...

 

yes

 

To be honest if a sole trader you can just open a (separate) personal account. The only advantage a business account has is if you have a trading name, that name can be displayed on the statement. But legal entity wise a sole trader means you are trading as yourself anyways so it doesn't really matter. The fees will be lower with a personal account.