Not sure if you want to give your kids access to a full bank account and card to pay for things? There’s now an interesting take which is prepaid and wearable.
Giving kids control of money is something most parents will do with apprehension. On the one hand, it means they can learn the value of having money. And yet on the other, they’re kids.
Enough adults have problems with curbing how money is spent, and kids aren’t adults yet. As such, it doesn’t take much to imagine how easily it would be for a child to go through an account and practically wipe it out spending it on anything they want.
Teaching kids about the value of money is therefore a necessity, but it’s one that isn’t easy. While children can see little starter savings accounts, it may not necessarily be as easy to endow the child with a way to pay in a modernised way.
After all, cash is becoming a thing of the past, as plastic and mobile tap-to-pay services are taking over.
An Australian provider of prepaid cards has come up with a novel solution, however, launching a prepaid card for young people that will also work with a wearable band.
Launched as “Zapp”, it’s a payment card solution that will allow parents to transfer money via an app on their phone to the Zapp card, and then track where it’s spent later on.
Zapp cards are being launched by Zenith Payments, which has been providing prepaid gift cards in Australia for well over a decade, and this latest push applies the concept and technology to kids and teens, encouraging the little ones to become more aware of their finance, while also giving them a way to pay.
There are two ways to pay, actually, with a MasterCard that can be decorated or printed using a photo, as well as a wearable band, both of which include the NFC chip needed to pay by tapping to pay.
“Teaching young Australians about the value of money is more important than ever in our increasingly cashless society. Our goal was to create a product that resonated with a digitally savvy generation,” said Michelle Rowcliff, General Manager of Prepaid at Zenith Payments.
“ZAAP – which is a pocket money product and financial literacy tool rolled into one – enables parents to have an ongoing and interactive conversation with their kids about money while also giving them peace of mind as it is safer than cash and kids can access funds at any time.”
One thing you won’t get from Zapp is the ability to pay using the Zapp card using a phone or tablet. Representatives for the company told Pickr that there was no link to Google Pay or Apple Pay at this time, meaning no way of paying using a Zapp card on an iPhone or Android. At least not yet, as it could possibly come later.
For now, parents keen to help their children pay for goods and services, as well as watch where they spend, can find Zaap cards online at the Zaap website from $9.95.
