Pocket Money for the Digital age has Arrived
Yesterday saw the launch of PKTMNY, pocket money for a digital age. With PKTMNY children will take their first steps in managing their own money in a safe and secure environment controlled by their parents.
PKTMNY provides children with a contactless prepaid VISA debit card, which parents personalise for their child by setting controls on where and how much they can spend.
It is the first card to have such functionality and is linked to an online platform featuring interactive, age appropriate tools that make managing money, saving and spending fun, engaging and real for children.
As a parent, I know just how difficult it is to teach children about money, especially as the school curriculum focuses on using cash and visiting banks neither of which reflect how children see money
Dr Elizabeth Kilbey, leading clinical child psychologist, said: “Today’s children will live in a completely cashless world. Yet due to a lack of appropriate tools, they are forced to interact with money in a way even adults have moved on from.
"They must be given the tools to engage with money to help them learn in a way that works for them, through doing. It’s time for a dramatic change. By allowing children to start taking control of their money in a safe and secure environment they will be able to grow with money, learn from their mistakes and ultimately understand the value of money.”
PKTMNY has been developed by a group of parents who recognise that children have been left behind when it comes to using money in an increasingly cashless world. They identified the need for children to be able to learn about money in a controlled way that helps them understand its value.
It launches following a beta programme in conjunction with BritMums, the UK's largest parent blogging network. This will ensure PKTMNY best meets the needs of children and families across the UK and builds a community of mums who will help co-create the PKTMNY service into the future.
Mark Timbrell CEO and Founder of PKTMNY said: “As a parent, I know just how difficult it is to teach children about money, especially as the school curriculum focuses on using cash and visiting banks neither of which reflect how children see money being used.
"PKTMNY has been designed so that in using it, children learn the value of money and through doing, gain the financial skills that will prepare them for the world they will grow into.”
PKTMNY reflects how children access and want to learn using technology and the internet. Ofcom data shows 91 per cent of children aged five to 15 in the UK have access to the internet and, according to Future Foundation research, the main reason that seven to 11 year olds go online is homework.
Despite this, children haven’t had access to relevant and safe ways of managing, spending or learning about money online. PKTMNY research found while two out of three children have a positive association with money, only 14 per cent feel strongly that they are in control of it.
As well as helping children manage money, parents can use PKTMNY to make it easier for relatives to gift safely and securely towards savings goals set by the child. Parents simply create a Family Network for their child using the PKTMNY platform by inviting relatives to gift, for example at birthdays or Christmas, towards their child’s saving targets. By doing so, relatives are part of helping their loved one learn sound financial behaviour.
Over time, the PKTMNY Shop will develop to give families added value through special offers and discounts designed to help family money go further. This is integrated within the PKTMNY platform and offers families access to carefully selected age appropriate retailers including The Entertainer, Superdry, Hamley’s, New Look, Zaavi and more.
The launch is just the start of PKTMNY’s development. In the next months, PKTMNY will launch iOS and Android apps that allow parents to directly top up money into their children’s account and lets children view their balance on the go.
For more information or to register http://www.PKTMNY.com
What are your views on the PKTMNY? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
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Shabana Adam @Shabs_A
Tagged in Parenting Money children Parenting News