Using Mobile Apps for Pocket Money“移動化”的零花錢

隨著移動支付的發展，不少父母連給孩子零花錢都會通過手機來支付。有人說這能幫助孩子學會理財，但也有人擔心這會讓孩子養成過度消費的習慣。

Children may not be 1）stashing coins in piggy banks for muchlonger; with the move towards a cashless society， pocket money ismoving digital.

To reflect this trend， mobile budgeting apps for children has sprungup worldwide： GoHenry， Osper and Gimi to name a few.

These apps offer a simple money management service for children.Parents can add money to children’s accounts， set limits and 2）monitortransactions， while children can choose to save their money or spendit using a prepaid card that works like a debit card. The apps suggestminimum ages ranging from 6 to 9 for the prepaid card.

The companies behind the apps argue that in an increasinglycashless society， they can be a valuable way of teaching children aboutmoney.

Two thirds of adults globallyare financially 3） i l l i t e r a t e ，according to Standard & Poor’sGlobal Financial Literacy Survey，and one in four teenagers are unableto make even simple decisions on everydayspending.

These apps aim to overcome this， claiming to teach childrenfinancial concepts， such as budgeting， interest rates and income.

For instance， the Swedish app Gimi — with 1.2 million usersglobally — has virtual savings jars where children can deposMeOzuJu7QGToiRL37VDI06HQYd5ASufwCYpvvyL+wHw=it money;parents can pay children interest as they save; and there is a “chores”feature， where parents can pay children for completing household tasks.

“Cash was the best way to teach financial literacy， because it’s sotangible and so easy to grasp，” Philip Haglund says， CEO of Gimi. “Nowmoney is being transferred through some kind of cyberspace， which isreally abstract and hard for anyone to understand.”

Haglund believes the app can teach responsible spending habits，whereas schools tend to focus more on economic theory.

But Catherine Winter， managing director of financial capability atthe London Institute of Banking & Finance， warns that while digital toolscan help， there needs to be a more structured approach to financialeducation. The area should “have regular， dedicated classroom timeand ideally should be taught as a standalone subject”， she said. “Childrenwould then have the right context and foundation to get the most out ofboth the apps and their money.”

One concern is that introducing digital money apps to youngchildren could help to encourage irresponsible spending habits.

“If children don’t have a good foundation in financial capability，there’s a risk that money apps could be seen as just another game，”says Winter. “There’s a risk that they won’t learn about the real valueof money and might develop bad money habits.”

However， Haglund says children are protected from this asparents can monitor their spending habits and none of the servicesoffer an 4）overdraft so children cannot go into debt.

It is important for kids to learn and make mistakes， says AurelianGuichard， the product owner for Revolut Youth. “We want to help kidsand teenagers gain financial skills for life， and the earlier you do thatthe better， because if you’re going to make a mistake of ￡10 at 8， it’sbetter than making a mistake of ￡1，000 when you’re 28，” he says.

1） stash v. 存放；貯藏

2） monitor v. 監視；監控

3） illiterate adj. 了解不多的

4） overdraft n. 透支；透支額

孩子們今后可能不會再把零花錢存在存錢罐里了。隨著無現金社會的發展，零花錢也在數字化。

為了緊跟潮流，全球出現了多個兒童移動理財應用程序，比如GoHenry、Osper 和Gimi 等。

這些應用程序為孩子們提供簡單的理財服務。父母可以將錢存入孩子的賬戶，設定限額并監控交易，而孩子可以選擇存錢或使用類似借記卡的預付卡消費。這些應用程序建議預付卡的最低使用年齡為6～9 歲。

開發這些應用程序的公司稱，在一個越來越無現金化的社會里，這些應用程序可以成為一種教會孩子理財的寶貴方式。

根據標準普爾的全球金融素養調查，全球三分之二的成年人沒有接受過金融教育，四分之一的青少年甚至無法對日常支出做出簡單的決定。

這些應用程序旨在解決這一問題，聲稱能教會孩子們理財的概念，比如預算、利率和收入。

例如，瑞典的應用程序Gimi 在全球擁有120 萬用戶，它擁有虛擬存錢罐，孩子們可以在里面存錢，父母可以給孩子支付儲蓄利息。它還有一個“家務”功能，父母可以付錢讓孩子做家務。

Gimi 的首席執行官菲利普·哈格倫德說：“現金是教學金融知識最佳的方式，因為它是有形的，容易被人掌握?，F在，錢通過網絡轉賬，這真的很抽象，人們很難理解。”

哈格倫德認為，這款應用程序可以教學生養成負責任的消費習慣，而學校往往更關注經濟理論。

但倫敦銀行與金融研究所金融財力部門總經理凱瑟琳·溫特警告稱，盡管數字工具可能有所幫助，但金融教育需要一種更結構化的方法。這個領域應該“有固定的、專門的課堂時間，最好是作為一門獨立的學科來教學”。她說：“這樣一來，孩子們就有了合適的環境和基礎來充分利用這些應用程序和他們的錢。”

有人擔憂稱，向兒童推出數字貨幣應用程序可能會助長不負責任的消費習慣。

溫特說：“如果孩子們不具備良好的財務能力基礎，那么這些應用程序就有可能被視為另一種游戲。他們有可能不了解錢的真正價值，并養成不良的消費習慣?！?/p>

然而，哈格倫德說，孩子們不會受此困擾，因為父母可以監督他們的消費習慣，而且沒有任何一項服務能提供透支功能，這樣孩子們就不會負債。

應用程序Revolut Youth 的產品負責人雷利安·吉查德說，對孩子來說，學習和犯錯都很重要。他說：“我們想幫助孩子和青少年獲得終生的理財技能，越早越好，因為如果你在8 歲時犯價值10 英鎊的錯誤，總比你28歲時犯價值1000 英鎊的錯誤要好?！?/p>