Here's the deal, OP: It verifies that the kid's parents know their card will be on their kid's account. If the kid swipes their parents' card without them knowing, their parents will notice the charge to their card and will wonder where it came from, hence the kid might be caught red-handed. Also, if they have to ask their parents to use the card on their account, their parents will be aware of their card being on their kid's account and will know if the kid tries to use the card without their permission if they notice they have been charged for something they didn't buy, hence the kid will be caught red-handed. It's that simple. P.S. You're also trying to suggest that Nintendo are fleecing us by doing this; that it will add up to millions if millions of people do it and they shouldn't be charging a ONE-TIME fee of $0.50 just after they bought a $300 system, FOR CHILD ACCOUNTS ONLY. The Xbox 360 came out for a comparable price and asked for a $60 RECURRING fee to use online FOR ANY ACCOUNT. Not only that, but you had to buy extra equipment if you wanted a wireless connection. That's far worse, yet you say nothing about it. Did you forget? For Brits like me, a quick visit to XE has revealed that $0.50 is 30p (£0.30). Wow, expensive. No problem with paying £40 for Xbox Live and £20 (I think) for a wireless connector after buying a £280 Xbox 360 though. Nope, no problem at all... [Edited on 11.18.2012 12:33 PM PST]