Did he have a credit card in his name? Is he eligible for one? Could he have a credit card, make you an authorized signer, give you sign-on permission to the account, and you get a text notification every time it is used? Or a debit card to his bank account, but just keep a limited amount in it each month, and, again, you have full access to view and receive text notifications?

I agree with Amy, set up a separate account with limited funds and a check card. If it's with the same bank, funds can be transferred quickly from one account to another usually without incurring fees.

I would set up a separate checking account with a card he can use. I would pick the same bank that I use, and them use zelle to transfer the money to their account on demand. It is easy to use Zelle transfers with family members. I recently saw a headline that mentioned the zelle app no longer being supported but I never used the app anyway. You can make a simple transfer, mine are free, right from your account using your own computer and security protocols. One and done or on demand.

I deleted Venmo, so did DH. They require access to all of your accounts and then they display them ALL on the screen. Why would venmo need access to a retirment account? Not recommended.

eta

Once you set up the transfer linked to your account, you can give it a nickname and it is easy to use in the future. Heck, both accounts can be yours and you can just give him a card and retain complete control, watching both sides.

The two companies you mentioned take Apple Pay, as do countless other businesses. Apple Cash can fund Apple Pay, and you can also use a virtual card number (Visa) for those that don't accept Apple Pay.

In your brother’s case (and mine, frankly) I don’t like the idea of him paying with Venmo or Zelle.

I was just pondering this and my elderly Mom gets her freedom by using my amazon prime account that has my credit card linked to it. She is beyond managing balances at this point, yet she can shop freely within her usual reasoning. You might just consider giving him a plain visa card attached to one of your accounts with a fixed spending limit. Everyone takes visa these days. No balancing required and fraud protection in place.

There are two money steps involved in the process that are unrelated. One is getting money into Brother's account. The second is what means does Brother use to pay for his purchases.

Some of you seem to be combining the two, they're separate and most easily are dealt with that way.

My first question is - is your brother able to track (by whatever means) his own spending and stick to a budget?

Next - whose money is he spending? Whose account is it coming from?

Third - do you want protection from his overspending due to mistakes or lack of careful attention?

First step, getting money into his account to be used for spending. If the money is always coming from the same source, making a transfer is a simple matter. It can be done by setting up his account as a "transfer to" recipient in the source account (whoever's it is). If the money is coming from Sister, this is a simple step to accomplish. Or if coming from a different one of his own accounts, ditto, but sister is a signatory on the account and can trigger transfers.

Second step, how he can make payments. Your choice. It can be a credit card linked to the Brother account, that's the simplest. It can even be done on an imprest basis, so that no credit is actually granted and the spending available is limited to the balance in the account. That way, you get the better protection of a credit card (compared to a debit card). Someone who helps him look after his money needs to look at his spending weekly or monthly to find errors or replenish the account.

Unless I've overlooked something, that's it.

I don't personally like Apple Pay or the Android equivalent. They seem like solutions in search of a problem. Zelle is okay, limited usefulness

I agree with what Elmer explained. Situations such as this are two money steps. When my mom lost her ability to budget / track / pay bills she was still able to use a credit card with ease. No debit card since PIN usually required & that was beyond her ability to remember & figure out the machine. Credit card solved that challenge. I was a signer on her bank account that her income stream auto deposited to. She bought / paid for her shopping, dining etc with freedom & dignity. I reviewed the monthly electronic bill sent to me & paid the bill online. I also had the usage alerts come to my cell number. This was a very easy process that allowed her as much independence as she could manage & saved me from worrying about her suddenly not being able to pay for something. I did keep her wallet supplied with a small amount of cash in small bills for incidentals one might want pay for without a credit card. An aside about the Apple Pay suggestion - I was in a Coldstone Creamery the other day - a gourmet ice cream shop - their sign said ”No Apple Pay / No Google Pay”. I think the old credit card method is the easiest to use for any person with compromised abilities.

And I was at a breakfast diner the other day that wouldn’t take credit cards at all. It happens. But the situation judidupi laid out was for online purchases. AppleCash/Pay makes payments and transfers very simple to my thinking, but of course it’s not the only solution. I do like the authentication and security. No lost or stolen cards to worry about.

'No debit card since PIN usually required'. Is that still the case? Perhaps it's different in the US but here contactless cards can be used up to a limit of £100 simply by tapping. No PIN needed. Many businesses will not take cash.

More and more one finds eateries that will not take credit cards. It must be easier than a surcharge.

Eateries, huh? Interesting that it’s more a problem for them to take credit cards, than any other business. I’m sure it has nothing to with paying taxes, huh?

Anyway, we’re talking about online here. They all take cards

If I am understanding correctly in this case, Jupidupi's brother only needs to do this online. I don't think he is going out from the assisted living residence to locations where cash is required.

Thank you for all of your input. My brother, M, only does purchasing online or maybe over the phone. My other brother, S, handles all financial matters, as well as other things M needs outside of assisted living. (I'm 1500 miles away.) S has been putting $100 a month on Netspend, and M mostly likes to watch the balance grow, making occasional small purchases. I think we're going to open a dedicated bank account at an entirely different bank so there's no chance of M (or the bank) getting confused.

Elmer, that term " imprest basis" is new to me and it's exactly what we want to do. M is free to use his spending money any time and on anything he wants. We don't need the details, but we want to guard his main assets against fraud, catfishing, etc.

Great advice given here.

Jupiupi, whatb a great caring family.. Kudos to you.

An "imprest account" is one that has a limited balance in it, is used for specific purposes, and is replenished periodically.

At one time there were Visa accounts that granted no credit and are based on an underlying compensating balance in a bank account. Such an account - if there's $300 in the account that the Visa card is attached to, then charges that cumulatively total more than $300 will not be accepted. The card will not be usable until more money is put into the account. My kids had such accounts when they went away to college. I put so much in it each month (bank transfer) to cover their "approved" recurring expenses. If more was needed, they needed to contact me in advance to explain what and why (the answer was almost always Yes for reasonable things they required or were reasonable, fluffy stuff of the don't ask, don't tell types were on their own dime). It was my technique to help them learn to budget and manage money on their own. It worked VERY well as a teaching tool

I don't think this is the same as a replenishable card but it may be and works the same way.

There's no charge to make bank transfers, even to accounts in the name of other people in other banks.

Read on for anyone interested, otherwise, stop.....

One kind of imprest account used by businesses are payroll accounts operated on an imprest basis. If this Friday's employee payroll has been calculated and the total money to be paid out in wages and taxes is $100, then the payroll account has $0 in it until Thursday, when $100 is transferred to it from an account with a much higher balance and limited authorized signers. The payroll is paid on Friday and the payroll bank account goes back to $0. That way, employees who have access to the payroll account can only pay wages and can't redirect money out to spend for any other purpose.

Adding my 2¢ to what others here have said: debit cards are problematic in many ways. Set up ApplePay or whatever wallet his phone has, linked to a credit card.