Absolutely. I didn't even realize it was currently legal for someone under 18 to have one now!

...and yes, if he has no savings, and no credit history, then he needs a secured credit card...or (appending my own rules, I realize) a VERY low limit. $200-500 MAX.

Am I going to come up with the plan to solve this issue, no...but clearly there are things that can be done. Within 5 minutes I came up with several ideas. All of which are in the broad sense, feasible.