Digital pocket money for kids in the new school year

September is a good time for opening a personal account for the kid. Accounts for young customers are becoming increasingly popular. In 2021 Bank Millennium saw an increase of their number by more than 40% y/y. Owners of Konto 360°Junior actively use their accounts, cards and the banking mobile app, with the average value of transactions made in payment terminals and cash machines in June and July this year amounting to no less than 300 PLN per month.

In Bank Millennium kids can benefit from proposals targeted at three age groups – for teenagers aged 13-17, for slightly younger persons aged 7-12 and for youngest kids aged 0-6. Apart from access to Konto 360°Junior customers in the first two age groups can use a payment card and mobile app to have access to their pocket money.

– More and more parents give their children [pocket money in digital form, at the same time treating the opening of an account as an important part of financial education. In May we modified the offering and the mobile app for children, adapting it to the 7-12 age group. We put a lot of work to prepare it, working together with parents and children to make our proposal best suited to the needs and capabilities of the youngsters. Thanks to the changes made, kids aged from 7 onwards can have a payment card, can use a special version of the mobile app and make contactless payments with a phone. Having their own account with such functionalities, in a natural way they learn to manage their budget and learn about the value of money and its significance in everyday life. – Magdalena Jaskóła, Head of Current Accounts Sub-unit in Bank Millennium, said.

Close to 95% owners of Konto 360o Junior aged 13-17 actively use the account and the payment card. In case of younger customers aged 7-12 who opened an account in the new offering with the app, 89% have a payment card. Owners of Konto 360°Junior make about 12 non-cash transactions a month with their card. 83% of the value of these transactions are contactless payments in payment terminals and by BLIK.

– It is interesting to note that according to our observations young people practically do not use cash machines at all. Most owners of Konto 360o Junior withdraw cash from a cash machine less than once in a month – Magdalena Jaskóła commented.

Konto 360OJunior may be opened already from the first year of a child’s life and this solution is becoming increasingly popular with parents.

– The opportunity to open an account for the child in the earliest stage of its life is still a unique offering on the market. Many people are positively surprised that such an account is available, which numbers confirm – last year we saw a 34% growth of the number of accounts in the 0-6 age group – Magdalena Jaskóła added.

Young customers make very active use of the mobile banking app. 75% of owners of Konto 360O Junior use it once a week, over half use it three times a week.

– We would like to make the app not only a helpful gadget, but also a valuable modern tool for introducing kids to the world of finances and safe use of technology. It boasts an attractive design as well as language and functions adapted to the needs of the youngest – Halina Karpińska, Director of the Electronic Banking Department in Bank Millennium, said.

Users aged 7-12 usually select the Ask for pocket money option in the app, which enables the child to send a quick request to a parent for a transfer to the account. All the young customer needs to do is to specify the amount and select a purpose from the standard list or write a proprietary one.

– We defined the list and wording of the message during interviews with users. Young customers also often change the wallpaper in the app, but above all willingly pay with the phone for small purchases – Halina Karpińska commented.

Parents themselves speak of the need for financial education of children. According to a survey* made for Bank Millennium Foundation, which for years has been running a financial education programme in kindergartens, 65% of parents of kindergarten kids are of the view that the earlier we start financial education of children, the better will they cope in adult life, also in crisis situations. Parents express the willingness to be personally involved in teaching finances to kids, however close to half of the persons polled (47 per cent) expect support in this respect from public and private institutions, and 14 per cent of parents point to financial institutions (banks). Bank Millennium Foundation responds to such needs.

In the current “Powrót do szkoły z Kontem 360° Junior – edycja 2” promotion new account owners can get a bonus of 50 PLN on a goodie gift eCard.**

More about Bank Millennium’s offering and activities of the Foundation on: www.bankmilennium.pl.

*The survey was carried out by GfK institute for Bank Millennium Foundation in May 2020 on a national sample of 1000 parents of children aged 3-7, with use of CAWI methodology.

**The “Powrót do szkoły z Kontem 360° Junior – edycja 2” promotion lasts from 17.08.2021 until 10.09.2021 unless the limit of 5000 accounts is exhausted earlier. In the promotion you can get a reward in the form of a goodie gift eCard worth 50 PLN. The condition of receiving such reward is to open a Konto 360° Junior account with a Konto Oszczędnościowe Profit account for your own minor child via the Millenet electronic banking system or mobile app by 10.09.2021 and by 31.10.2021 to satisfy following conditions: in the case of a Konto 360° Junior account opened for a child under 7 years of age it is required to deposit at least 50 PLN on the newly opened Konto 360° Junior account and in the case of a Konto 360° Junior account opened for a child aged above 7 – to deposit at least 50 PLN on the newly opened Konto 360° Junior account, to make at least 1 transaction with the account’s debit card or by Blik or pay-by-phone facility, as well as activate the mobile app. The reward will be sent by 30.11.2021. Detailed terms and conditions of participation are in the Regulations of the “Powrót do szkoły z Kontem 360° Junior – edycja 2” Promotion available from Millennium branches and on www.bankmillennium.pl.. How to use the eCard is described in detail in “Gift Card Regulations for goodie Customers” available on the goodie.pl website in the Regulations section

Details of the Konto 360O Junior offering as well as the Mobile app are provided in the General Regulations on Provision of Banking Services to Individuals in Bank Millennium S.A. (Regulations) as well as in price lists relating to fees and commissions, interest rates, debit cards as well as BLIK Mobile Payments, available in the Bank’s branches and on www.bankmillennium.pl. Konto 360° Junior is kept for persons aged under 18. The statutory representative and the account owner after turning 14 may dispose of funds accumulated on the account within the monthly limit specified in the Regulations. Upon request of the statutory representative the Bank enables the minor aged 7-13 to dispose of funds accumulated on the bank account with use of a debit card or mobile app to a limited extent only for the purpose of making minor daily matters (reduced transaction limits apply).

Author:

Bank Millennium