With digital payments taking over, the days of physical money may soon be numbered. By extension, using traditional piggy banks to teach kids about money will increasingly become impractical.
Tomorrow’s generation will use digital money, and need to learn financial literacy with modern digital tools.
Platforms like POSB Smart Buddy, Revolut <18, FavePay, Hugosave, and even others can give children a chance to manage their finances from a young age, while still under the supervision of their parents.
Here’s what you need to know on how these e-wallets work, their unique features, and how your children can use them.
#1 POSB Smart Buddy
Source: POSB
Launched by POSB Bank, the POSB Smart Buddy programme introduces children to financial literacy and cashless transactions in a fun and secure environment.
This programme leverages wearable technology in the form of a smartwatch (which kids might be more excited about) or a contactless card, enabling primary school children aged 6 to 12 to make payments within their school canteens, bookstores, and even at NETS supported retail outlets outside school.
Parents play a central role in this system, as they can manage their child’s daily allowances, including setting spending limits and sending emergency funds, tracking spending habits in real-time, and monitor savings via a companion mobile app.
The programme also integrates a savings feature where children can see their unspent allowances and money accumulated through the “Smiley Stamps” programme — earned through consistent saving habits — automatically transferred to a linked savings account.
This encourages children to save regularly and even rewards them with bonus incentives such as a bonus dollar for every 20 Smiley Stamps ($10) collected in a month. For example, they can earn up to $11 Bonus savings when $10 of their allowance is saved every month as a reward for achieving savings goals.
Apart from financial management, the smartwatch comes equipped with health-tracking features, including step counters, heart rate monitors, and alerts for meals, fitness activities, and sleep, promoting a holistic approach to development of a healthy lifestyle at a young age.
Designed to replace the traditional pocket money model, the initiative eliminates the need for physical cash, reducing risks such as loss or theft, and it provides a seamless introduction to Singapore’s growing cashless society.
Read Also: Guide To Choosing The Best Child’s Savings Account In Singapore
#2 Revolut <18
Source: Revolut
Revolut <18 is an e-wallet designed to help children and teenagers between 6 and 17 years to get hands-on experience in budgeting and saving, while giving parents real-time oversight of their child’s financial activity.
The platform offers an easy-to-use interface for users to track their own spending habits, create personalised savings goals, and divide their money into different categories to encourage even better money management. This can be especially relevant as children grow into their teenage years.
It also enalbes them to send and receive money between friends who also use it, complete with notes or GIFs for a more personalised experience.
This system integrates seamlessly with a parent’s main Revolut account, allowing them to top up their child’s balance, set spending limits, and receive real-time transaction notifications.
Revolut <18 cards are accepted globally, making it an excellent choice for families who travel, as it provides multicurrency exchange and payment features at competitive rates, allowing children to make purchases without incurring high conversion fees or physical foreign currencies. One of its standout features is a default restriction with regards to specific categories and merchants which are deemed age inappropriate for them.
While Revolut <18 provides a robust set of features, some advanced options, such as their iconic customisation of cards, require a Revolut subscription plan (priced at $9.99 per month for premium and $19.99 per month for metal).
Users can personalise their cards with unique designs, such as doodles or specific colour schemes, directly through the Revolut app as part of the Premium and Metal plan.
#3 FavePay
Source: Fave
FavePay is another widely adopted e-wallet in Singapore, offering users a cashless transaction experience coupled with attractive cashback rewards.
By linking their credit or debit cards to the Fave app, users can make payments at a diverse array of merchants, including dining establishments and retail stores such as Subway, myEureka, Harvey Norman.
One of the platform’s standout features is its cashback system, where users earn a percentage of their spending as cashback, which can be applied to future purchases, effectively promoting cost savings over time. FavePay also provides eCards, functioning as prepaid vouchers, allowing users to enjoy additional savings at their favourite outlets.
FavePay can be the preferred choice for families looking to manage finances by leveraging on FavePay’s cashback rewards of up to 20% on everyday purchases at a wide variety of merchants. These cashback earnings are automatically applied to future transactions, allowing budgets to be stretched further.
Additionally, parents can use the platform to educate children on budgeting by involving them in purchases using prepaid or linked cards, encouraging them to understand the value of money and cultivate better spending habits.
By observing how cashback accumulates with mindful spendings, children can also learn an important lesson on prioritising needs over wants from an early age. While the app’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for young users to monitor their savings while enabling them to make cashless payments confidently and securely under parental supervision.
Despite lacking direct parental controls, the platform’s structure still allows for collaborative financial learning, making it a suitable e-wallet for children.
By using prepaid eCards or linking a limited balance card, parents can also encourage their children to make spending decisions within set budgets, promoting financial discipline in a safe and controlled manner.
#4 Hugosave
Source: Hugosave
Hugosave is a digital platform that promotes smarter spending, disciplined saving, and simplified investing, making it particularly effective for teaching children about money. It operates through a unique system centred around its Platinum Visa Debit Card, which is linked to the Hugosave app.
The app enables users to make contactless payments and save effortlessly using various features, one of which are the Money Pots, which parents and children can use to set specific financial goals.
This teaches children the concept of saving for a purpose, such as a toy, family outing, or larger milestone, reinforcing the values of patience and delayed financial gratification. Parents can involve children in the process by rewarding them for completing chores or other responsibilities, allowing them to see how small contributions can grow over time.
Another feature are the Roundups, which automatically round up purchases to the nearest dollar, with the extra amount transferred to savings. This demonstrates the importance of saving small amounts consistently, showing children how minor contributions can accumulate into substantial savings.
Hugosave can also take this a step further by investing Roundups into gold via its Gold Vault, introducing older children to the concept of investments in a tangible way. By explaining how their savings are being used to buy gold and even other asset classes, parents can teach their children about diversifying savings, the benefits of long-term investments, and protecting money against inflation.
Additionally, the Hugosave app also allows for transparent tracking of spending and savings, making the entire financial process visible to children.
The post POSB Smart Buddy; Revolut <18; FavePay; Hugosave: Complete Guide To E-Wallets That You Can Apply For Your Children appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
