On paper this is the closest matchup in our teen index: two $0 app-first accounts, two partner-bank structures, two large user bases. The tiebreakers only show up in the public records — the credit-building feature one of them lacks, and a complaint-file gap wide enough to be the story of this comparison.
Step vs Current: same price, different records
At the sticker level these are twins: two app-first banking products for teens, both $0 monthly on the base tier, both running on FDIC-insured partner banks. The differences only show up in the records — which is exactly where our fiches look.
Step offers something structural that Current does not: a secured card that builds credit history before 18. It also advertises savings rewards up to 3.00% on its premium tier, per the official site snapshot in our records. Current counters with a polished parent-funding workflow — instant transfers, merchant blocking — that makes it feel closer to a family card for younger teens.
The complaint gap is the story
Our latest pull of the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database shows 2,059 complaints filed against FinCo Services, Inc. (Current) and zero under Step Mobile, Inc. Raw counts need context — Current has a large adult user base, and big companies accumulate complaints — but a four-digit versus zero gap on otherwise similar products is the kind of signal marketing pages never volunteer.
Ownership and what it changes
Step was acquired by Beast Industries in February 2026; the banking structure (Evolve Bank & Trust, certificate 1299) is unchanged in our records since. Current remains independent. For a parent, the practical takeaway is to re-check the fiche’s FDIC line and fee history once a year — both are tracked automatically on this site from official filings and dated snapshots.
Where Current still makes sense
The complaint gap decides the default, not every case. Current’s parent-funding workflow — instant transfers into the teen’s balance, merchant blocking from the parent app — is genuinely smoother for families managing a younger teen’s weekly money, and its paid tiers add features Step gates differently. A family that treats the teen account as an extension of the parent’s wallet may prefer it; a teen building toward financial independence gets more from Step’s credit history and savings rewards. Both fiches carry the full evidence trail — fee schedule, FDIC certificate, complaint breakdown by product — so the choice can rest on records rather than app-store screenshots.