How to create a smart approval rule

A smart approval rule tells KiddyCash when to automatically approve a spending request from your child — without you needing to tap Approve every single time. This is useful for predictable, recurring expenses like a weekly school lunch top-up in your city, a subscription your child uses regularly, or a fixed amount they spend at a trusted business.

Before you set one up, here is what you need to know:

  • Smart approval only triggers when a transaction matches all the conditions you define. If any condition is not met, the request comes to you for manual review as normal.
  • Rules apply per child and per wallet. You manage them from your family dashboard.
  • KiddyCash uses verified merchant and school data to power these rules. For background on how verification works, see What’s new in verification in KiddyCash and A closer look at verification in KiddyCash.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

  • At least one child added to your family on KiddyCash
  • That child’s wallet already set up and active
  • Your own KYC (identity verification) completed — KiddyCash requires this before smart approval rules can be saved

Steps to create a smart approval rule

  1. Open your family’s smart approval page. Go directly to your smart approval settings — replace :family_id with your actual family ID, which you can find in Family Settings. This is where all your rules live.

  2. Tap “New rule”. On the smart approval page, tap or click the + New rule button in the top-right corner.

  3. Select the child this rule applies to. A dropdown lists all children in your family. Choose the child whose spending you want to automate. Each rule belongs to one child.

  4. Set the amount limit. Enter the maximum transaction amount that can be auto-approved. For example, if your child’s school lunch in your city costs the equivalent of 150, in your local currency you might set a limit of the equivalent of 200 in your local currency to give a small buffer. Transactions above this amount will still require your manual approval.

  5. Choose a merchant, school, or business (optional but recommended). You can lock the rule to a specific verified business or school — for example, a supermarket branch or a school canteen. Start typing the name and select it from the suggestions. If you leave this blank, the rule applies to any merchant up to your set amount.

  6. Set a schedule (optional). If the spending only happens on certain days — like weekdays for school lunch — tap Add schedule and choose the days and time window. Outside those times, the rule will not trigger.

  7. Give the rule a name. Add a short label like “School lunch – Term 3” so you can find it easily later. This is for your reference only.

  8. Review and save. Check all the conditions on the summary screen. When everything looks right, tap Save rule. The rule is now active immediately.

What happens next

Once the rule is live, matching transactions from your child’s wallet are approved instantly — no notification, no waiting. You will still see them in your transaction history.

If you need to pause, change the amount, or update the merchant, see how to edit a smart approval rule. To see all the rules you have created across your family, visit how to view smart approval rules.