Google expands Wallet for children with Marqeta support

Marqeta has expanded its collaboration with Google to support a Google Wallet offering for children in the US. The service lets children and teenagers under 18 receive and spend allowances through Google Wallet.

Supervised users can tap to pay in stores with NFC-enabled Android phones and Wear OS devices without opening a traditional bank account. Marqeta's card issuing platform underpins the service, while tokenisation and spend controls give parents oversight.

Parents can view transaction history and notifications, set daily spending limits, and lock or unlock the balance. The service is aimed at families that want children to make digital payments while remaining under adult supervision.

The move builds on a longer relationship between the two companies. Marqeta has already worked with Google on tokenisation and virtual card features that support instant issuance for cards in Google Wallet, including Google Pay, across programmes run on Marqeta's platform.

The expansion gives Google a new family-focused payments feature as technology groups look for ways to bring younger users into their ecosystems earlier. It also adds another consumer-facing use case for Marqeta, whose business centres on card issuing infrastructure used by other companies.

Family payments

Google presented the launch as part of a broader push to build services for households, not just individual adult account holders. It is positioning the Wallet feature as a way for children and teenagers to learn how to manage money within controls set by a parent or guardian.

"Google is committed to building products that serve the entire family, and that starts with giving younger users safe, practical tools to learn about money," said Stavan Parikh, Vice President and General Manager of Payments at Google. "Marqeta has been a trusted partner for many years, and we're excited to build on that foundation with a new feature designed for families."

For Marqeta, the agreement highlights the role of card issuers and embedded finance providers in consumer products branded and distributed by larger technology platforms. Rather than offering banking services directly, it supplies the infrastructure that lets clients create payment products with built-in controls and digital wallet functions.

Its platform includes card issuing, tokenisation, programme management, and real-time spend controls. Google is using those tools to support account monitoring and payment access for supervised users.

Wider context

Products for children and teenagers have become a growing segment of digital finance, with providers focusing on allowances, budgeting, and parental controls. For large consumer platforms, the appeal lies in combining those tools with devices and services families already use, including smartphones, smartwatches, and mobile wallets.

Google's use of Android and Wear OS devices gives the service a direct link to hardware many children already carry. By enabling in-store tap-to-pay transactions, the product brings a model often associated with prepaid cards into mobile wallets.

That could increase competition in a market where specialist youth finance apps and some mainstream banks have tried to attract parents seeking monitored spending tools. Google's approach stands out for its integration with its existing wallet environment and device base.

Marqeta said it processed nearly USD 400 billion in annual payments volume in 2025 and is certified to operate in more than 40 countries. The company describes itself as a technology platform rather than a bank, lender, or money transmitter, with customers relying on bank or licensed partners for regulated financial services.

Investors have been watching Marqeta's efforts to broaden the range of programmes running on its platform as competition in payments infrastructure intensifies. Relationships with major technology brands can strengthen that position, particularly when a service reaches end users through a widely recognised consumer product.

Todd Pollak, Chief Revenue Officer at Marqeta, linked the latest work with Google to that strategy.

"With Marqeta's end-to-end platform, Google is leveraging our industry-leading payments technology to unlock new value for families across the country," he said. "This program reflects what Marqeta's platform is built for: helping the world's most innovative companies launch differentiated payment experiences at scale. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Google, empowering the next generation with smart, accessible financial tools."