PlayMoolah to help financial institutions engage better with their young customers
SINGAPORE, Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Local start-up company PlayMoolah announced today it is working with its first financial institution, OCBC Bank. Young customers from OCBC Bank's Mighty Savers programme will gain access to PlayMoolah's fun online platform, which teaches six to 12 year-old children how to earn, spend, save, give and invest their money. Through PlayMoolah, OCBC Bank will be able to engage better with its young customers and forge stronger lifetime relationships. It also allows PlayMoolah to reach out to a wider database of users, through the Mighty Savers programme. More importantly, it will help to boost the financial literacy of more children, empowering them to better manage their money.
"We decided to work with PlayMoolah, as there is a distinct meeting of minds between our Mighty Savers programme and their online platform. Both use similar methodologies to encourage good financial behaviour. With Mighty Savers, children can redeem gifts when they make a deposit of S$50 or more, and with PlayMoolah, their online platform encourages both online and real-world savings. Our 'Card and Sticker' game has been helpful for parents to teach kids the importance of saving, and as many children enjoy online games, we hope to continue to engage them in this space," said Ms Ng Li Lian, Head of Mass Segment, OCBC Bank.
The OCBC Mighty Savers programme is a savings programme to help parents educate their children on saving and the value of money. The number of child savings accounts doubled in the last two years. OCBC Bank now has over 200,000 child savings accounts under the Mighty Savers programme aimed at young savers below 15. These child savings accounts are separate from the Baby Bonus Child Development Accounts (CDA) that OCBC Bank manages as part of the government's effort to help families lighten the financial costs of raising children.
PlayMoolah's gamification tools encourage children to take charge of their money in a fun, engaging and safe manner. Children can make real financial decisions and actions, managing both virtual and real-world dollars. Parents can easily manage and stay updated on their child's activities, and get involved by setting chores, matching their savings goals, or helping them give to charity. Having kids make their own decisions about money is the kernel of the PlayMoolah experience, empowering kids to see how money can help them achieve their goals, and create value in the world.
"We founded PlayMoolah to inspire a new generation of young people to develop a healthy perspective towards money. We want them to be empowered by seeing it as a way to serve their dreams, personal growth and happiness, as well as to create value for society, rather than viewing money as an end in itself. Because of this, we are delighted to partner OCBC Bank, to help their Mighty Savers customers develop a positive relationship with money," said Ms Audrey Tan, Co-founder PlayMoolah.
OCBC Bank's Mighty Savers customers can access PlayMoolah from 1 October 2012 onwards. They can do so in the following manner:
PlayMoolah establishing mutually-beneficial partnerships with banks
In April 2012, PlayMoolah launched its online platform in Singapore, and has attracted thousands of children. In order to provide financial empowerment amongst more young people, PlayMoolah is now partnering with financial institutions around the world. OCBC Bank is the first financial institution to sign up, and through this partnership, PlayMoolah targets to educate some 50,000 children from Singapore.
PlayMoolah provides a unique way for financial institutions to start new lifetime relationships with their young customers, and better engage with existing parent customers, presenting an opportunity to make banking and financial services more relevant, and increasing life-time customer value.
"PlayMoolah has come at a time of need when banks are looking for new ways to engage their customers," said Eric Mattson, CEO at The Finovate Group, a banking technology research firm, based in the U.S. "I am excited by how PlayMoolah helps banks align their focus to serve their customers in a way that's fun, necessary, and ultimately good for consumers, going back to basics to build a solid foundation for the next generation of wealth customers," he added.
For more information about the OCBC Mighty Savers programme, please visit: www.ocbc.com/mightysavers
For the factsheet on PlayMoolah's online platform, please visit:
http://www.playmoolah.com/documents/PlayMoolah%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
About PlayMoolah
PlayMoolah is an innovation company that designs authentic experiences for children to learn about money. Partnering with their parents and financial / learning institutions, kids learn to earn, spend, save, invest, and give in a way that's fun, educational, and safe. PlayMoolah designs game mechanics to inspire real-world action, giving children the knowledge, skills, and tools needed for financial literacy. PlayMoolah is on a mission to empower the next generation to realize how money can help achieve their goals and create value in the world. PlayMoolah is supported by NUS Enterprise. www.playmoolah.com
Media enquiries may be directed to:
Chan Yiu Lin
Greener Grass Communications (For NUS Enterprise/ PlayMoolah)
Mobile: (65) 9-765 5897
Email: yiulin@greenergrass.com.sg
Dominic Ying
Group Corporate Communications
OCBC Bank
Tel: (65) 6-530 5875 or (65) 9-023 4650
Email: yingckdominic@ocbc.com
