A money-managing app for your munchkin
In September 2016, Standard Bank launched a first-of-its kind animated banking app for smartphones and tablets. The Standard Bank Kidz Banking App is designed primarily for children between the ages of 6 and 11, aiming to entertain and engage youngsters as their parents explain money management concepts such as earning, spending and saving.
It’s no secret that South Africa has a reputation for being poor at saving, so that app is intended to encourage financial education from a young age in an easy, fun and exciting way.
Many children and adults these days have access to smartphones, which provides an opportunity to pass on financial awareness and literacy skills to the greater population.
How the app works
The Standard Bank Kidz Banking App integrates directly into the parent’s banking app, allowing parents to retain a high level of control over the gameplay.
Set in an animated fantasy realm, the app uses each of South Africa’s Big Five animals to represent a different area of money management. Children navigate through the different habits to gain a practical understanding for the value of items and are shown the benefits of earning and saving. The four key concepts in the money management cycle are learning to bank effectively, the advantage of saving, the value of earning, and how to plan their spending.
The app can also be used as a way to give pocket money to children, with all transactions going through the game play of the app. For example, children can earn their pocket money while doing a chore prompted by the app, and then choose to save it or spend it. As pocket money is spent, the debits are noted and the balance of their ‘account’ is recorded, teaching children about the fundamental skills of budgeting.
It’s never too early to set your children on a good financial footing and foundation, and having a fun and interactive way of doing it takes the lessons from a chore to child’s play.
The Kidz Banking app is available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for download.
Leave a Reply