L86% of parents believe it is important to educate their children financially. But only 15% of these believe they have the necessary skills to do so. Pocket money, for example, is used as an educational tool by 20% of Italian parents. But still 80% cash deliveryto the detriment of the lower educational value and the lower practicality and safety compared to the digital version, or on a prepaid card. This is what emerges from the research Financial education of Doxa co-conducted with NEXI And FEDUF – Foundation for Financial Education and Savings.
Pocket money on a prepaid card? Why not
In a market where payments are increasingly cashless and where the use of digital media continues to grow, even for daily expenses, parents therefore struggle to free themselves from cash when passing financial information to their children. Limitate the amount of cash in the child’s pocket would instead be very useful, both from an educational point of view and because, in case of theft or lossthe money is protected by the rules on payment services (it can be blocked by calling Customer Service and in the presence of a code to be used, stealing it is useless).
The advantages over cash
Useful for the purpose, there are already different types of prepaid cards in our country, aka debit cards that can be used to pay and to withdraw up to the amount loaded on the card itself. They also work abroad and can be topped up remotely with money as needed. They are also granted to those who do not have a current account, therefore mostly also to a minor, provided they are authorized by a parent who assumes responsibility for them. Then there are also prepaid cards for minors with IBAN that have the functionality of a bank account (they can be topped up by bank transfer).
Pixpay, one card and two apps: one for parents, one for children
What’s new on this front is the launch also on the Italian market of the app teen banking Pixpay. It is a French startup that in just two years has reached 250,000 users in France and Spain and arrives in Italy with the support of Nexi. It is a prepaid account card, 100% digital, usable anywhere and co-managed in real time with two apps (one for children and one for parents). It costs 2.99 euros per month without restrictions and allows children, from 10 years oldOf pay independently everywhere, learning and managing a defined budget, gradually gaining more and more independence in monitoring their own expenses. Parents, thanks to the app on their mobile phone, can customize the limits on the use of the card based on the age and degree of autonomy achieved by their child. You can also activate one automatic pocket money attributed through paid “missions”, they allow you to teach the value of money in playful and innovative way. And the kids can also get paid for any chores they carry out thanks to the IBAN connected to the card.
Digital is better for the financial education of children under 18
There are also other card solutions specifically aimed at an under 18 audience (generally 12-17), linked to actual banking circuits or not. Like the traditional UniCreditCard Click, nominal and rechargeable prepaid, which can be requested even if you do not have a current account. OR Flowe Juniorlinked to the parent’s (Flowe customer) account, offering dual access, ainterface for kids and one for parents for monitoring and control (you can also set up automatic, weekly or monthly credit of the pocket money). Or Junior saddle, prepaid connected to a dedicated app that includes statistical functions to monitor expenses and money received. Or Postepay Green, rechargeable and biodegradable prepaid card dedicated to children aged between 10 and 17 years. While Yap it is above all a payment app, with IBAN, but on request you can also receive the physical card. In any case, before choosing, it is worth evaluating the fixed costs and features of each option.
Cashless Italy? She is still far away
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