Verizon is on a mission to improve financial literacy for families with a new app called Verizon Family Money. This new program allows parents to help their children save, spend and earn money, while learning about the power of money when properly used. Verizon and non-Verizon customers can try Family Money free for 30 days. After the free trial is up, the service auto-renews for $5.99 a month for up to five kids, which is debited from the parent’s Wallet within the app. Parents who do not want to continue the plan need to cancel the program before the end of the trial period.
Designed with kids in mind, the app features a spending account with a prepaid debit card and a savings Vault to save for future use. Parents can oversee and control their children’s spending while helping their children learn financial responsibility. Powered by fintech platform Galileo, the prepaid Visa card is issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Kids can use the prepare debit card to make online purchase and at retail stores.
The Family Money program helps parents and kids in three primary ways:
- Giving the kids the ability to track spending, complete chores, and grow their savings with features that encourage financial literacy
- Allowing parents to monitor spending, set up allowances, view purchases and let kids make their own financial decisions
- Putting parents in control by letting them set rules, lock cards and set spending limits for up to five prepare debit cards within the app
Special features for include a few safeguards that might help address parents’ concerns:
- Parents set chores, assign rewards and manage allowances in the app.
- Parents can instantly transfer money from the parents’ Wallet to kids as needed.
- Parents receive real-time alerts and spending notifications.
- Parents have the ability to lock or freeze a card if it is stolen.
“With Family Money, we’re showing what’s possible when tech and financial services come together. Building on the success of products like the Verizon Visa® Credit Card and the tools we already have for families as they grow with us, like the Verizon Smart Family service and GizmoWatch, Family Money provides even more value to our customers based on their unique needs. It’s the perfect way to help kids learn the ins and outs of managing money and yet another way we’re providing real benefits to our customers outside of the reliable connectivity they know and love us for,” said Todd Oberstein, Executive Director Product Management and Development at Verizon, in the company’s June 15, 2021 announcement.
To create a parent account, customers must be 18 years or older. Kids who are ages 8 to 17 are eligible to participate under a qualifying parent account.
Insider Take
More companies like Verizon are partnering with fintech to provide a broader range of products and services to their customers. In this case, Verizon is even going a step beyond that – they are reaching noncustomers too. This benefits Verizon in multiple ways. They are going to attract a customer base they are not already reaching (non-Verizon customers) and adults who want to empower their kids to use their money responsibly. Verizon gets a nominal subscription fee in return. Provided that the product is executed properly, this seems like a big win for Verizon and like retention for such a product could be strong. This is a creative way for Verizon to make itself indispensable to two generations of customers.
