How to approve a child transaction

When your child initiates a transaction — whether they’re paying for something at a local shop in Nairobi or redeeming a reward — KiddyCash holds it in a pending state until you approve it. This gives you full oversight without slowing down your child’s day-to-day activity.

This article covers what happens during approval, what to watch for, and how to handle edge cases.

Before you approve

Approval requests appear when a child-initiated transaction is waiting on parental sign-off. If you want to understand the full lifecycle of a transaction before it reaches this stage, see how to review a pending family transaction — it walks through what flags to look for and when to pause before acting.

It’s also worth knowing that the financial habits you’re reinforcing here go beyond the transaction itself. Research consistently links chore-based allowances to stronger money management skills — something we explore in depth in how chores connect to financial literacy for kids.

Steps to approve a child transaction

  1. Open the notification. When your child initiates a transaction, you’ll receive an in-app push notification and, depending on your settings, an SMS. Tap the notification to go directly to the transaction detail screen. If you missed the notification, navigate to Family → Transactions → Pending.

  2. Confirm the transaction details. On the detail screen, verify:

    • The child’s name and wallet balance
    • The merchant or recipient name
    • The amount in KES (or your family’s set currency)
    • The transaction code, which uniquely identifies this request

    You can also access the transaction directly at https://kiddy.cash/family/:family_id/transaction/:transaction_id — replace the placeholders with your actual family and transaction IDs, which appear in the URL when you’re logged in.

  3. Check the payment method. KiddyCash supports multiple payout rails. If your family wallet is linked to M-Pesa, confirm the M-Pesa number tied to the transaction matches the intended recipient. Mismatches here are the most common source of failed approvals.

  4. Review any attached notes or photos. Children can attach context to a transaction request — a photo of a receipt, a note explaining the purchase. If your family uses chore-linked allowances (a practice we dig into in why chores still matter in modern family life), this is where you’d confirm the chore was completed before releasing funds.

  5. Tap Approve. Once you’re satisfied, tap the Approve button. You’ll be prompted for your PIN or biometric confirmation. This step is mandatory — KiddyCash requires explicit parent authentication on every child-initiated transaction approval.

  6. Confirm the status change. After approval, the transaction status updates to Approved and the child receives an in-app notification. If the payment rail processes in real time (M-Pesa, for example), the funds move immediately. Bank transfers may take one business day.

If you need to decline

Tapping Decline instead of Approve cancels the transaction and notifies your child with the reason you select. Declined transactions are logged and visible in your family transaction history. If you want to initiate a corrected transaction on the child’s behalf, see how to create a family transaction.

Common issues

IssueWhat to do
Approve button greyed outYour KYC verification may be incomplete. Check your profile settings.
Transaction already expiredChild needs to reinitiate. Pending transactions expire after 24 hours by default.
Wrong amount showingDecline and ask your child to re-submit with the correct figure.