Alex Strang is a senior insight editor at Canvas8 who used to be in a punk band that was signed, shaped, and spat out. He enjoys using his experience of being the product to help brands understand how to sell theirs. After studying philosophy and critical theory, he found his feet in the market research world and has been over-analysing consumer behaviour ever since, including his own. He can usually be found playing board games, watching 

, or trying too hard to make his daughter laugh.


Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience. 

Personal Worlds

Managing your money can be difficult, especially as the economy continues to recover from a global pandemic. Indeed, 62% of US adults reported having credit card debt between March 2019 and March 2020, and over a quarter (27%) aren’t paying all their bills on time. Much of this could stem from people just not having the skills and knowledge on how to manage their money, indicated by the 78% of US adults who say that financial advice would be helpful. 

These statistics highlight the importance of financial resilience, and many people believe that it should be taught as early as possible. 

 One platform that’s attempting to instill positive financial habits in young people is 

, which provides prepaid debit cards for children and their parents. Through the Greenlight app, parents can encourage children to do chores, achieve goals, and manage their money sensibly. Age-appropriate spending limits mean that there isn't a chance that months’ worth of allowance is gone in a flash, and real-time spending alerts and notifications for the parents mean that it’s easy to keep tabs on exactly where the money is going. 

The Greenlight app is as engaging for kids as it is reassuring for adults. As well as allowing them to make their own purchases, kids are offered the opportunity to donate to charity through the app – in just one month during the pandemic, giving grew by 25%. Kids can even dip their toes in the stock market with a kid-friendly investment platform, 

, designed to help educate children about how best to invest their money to help them achieve financial security. In 2021, Greenlight raised an additional $260 million from investors, valuing the company at around $2.3 billion. 

 As society moves further away from cash, apps like Greenlight are popping up to help ensure that children still understand the tangible challenges of personal finances.

It’s easy to think that money worries are sometimes confined to whether or not you can pay the bills, but considering that, as of 2019, 5.4% of US households (that’s 7.1 million households) were unbanked, the worries can run much deeper than that. 

 Indeed, 58% of Americans feel that finances control their life, and 68% worry that they won't have enough money to retire, two things that better financial literacy and planning could help with. 

 One global study found that just 13% of adults believe that they learned how to adequately manage their money at school, and this lack of know-how isn’t something people want to hand down to their children. 

 But that doesn’t mean people are talking about these worries. "Unfortunately, it's a taboo subject and parents would rather talk about sex than they would about money,” says Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of non-profit Next Gen Personal Finance which teaches kids about finances. 

 Companies and products like Greenlight could well be an ‘in’ for parents, or children, who want to open up the discussion around money.

There’s a desire from parents to help their children understand the importance of financial literacy. And considering that 59% of Americans feel uncomfortable talking about finances, platforms like Greenlight could prove essential in getting the conversation going. In fact, 82% of Americans say they’re actively seeking out resources to teach their kids about money, and 70% are trying to help their children develop good financial habits. 

 "When it comes to teaching kids about finances, it really is the sooner the better," says Ranzetta. "Even elementary school isn't too soon." 

 all aim to give parents the chance to help their kids learn these essential life skills, and starting early helps to build that knowledge.

Gen Alphas are set to be the generation that’s best equipped to navigate a digital financial environment thanks to being digital natives. But while platforms like 

 are aimed directly at Gen Alphas, parents are still looking over their shoulders worried about screen-time. "Gen Alphas are the generation that has grown up with apps and good UI," says Ranzetta, "And typically these organizations and banks don't serve young people well." It’s likely that Gen Alphas will be drawn to these apps and platforms, which are slick and easy to use. Ranzetta believes that these smaller challenger banks might not maintain that status for long. "I think you'll see large financial institutions acquire these companies because they don't have the marketing expertise, they don't have the UX that these companies do," he says. 

There’s an opportunity for brands in the financial space to not only provide education and assistance for those adults that need it but also to create an easier way for parents to talk to their kids about money – to attempt to ensure their children don't experience the same financial worries and anxieties that they do. "There's a ton of blind spots because parents are often not comfortable talking about money with their kids," says Ranzetta. "Parents are actively looking for ways to help their children understand finances, looking to companies to give them a reason, and a way, to talk about it." 

 Greenlight provides an example of a company arming children with the knowledge of how money works – how to save it, give it to those in need, and even invest it – as well as arming parents with the power to watch over their child's spending habits. By positioning itself as a platform that educates kids, Greenlight appeals to parents, and the financial independence it grants kids keeps them engaged.

For these financial companies, getting customers on board early could easily lead to having them as customers for life. One study finds that just 4% of Americans switched banks in the previous 12 months, and it’s estimated that around 96 million Americans have never switched banks in their life. 

 "One of the most powerful forces in the financial universe is inertia – people tend not to move banks," says Ranzetta. "Prepaid debit cards are an entry point, but in the long-term, these companies will have a road map that keeps these customers loyal and stationary." 

 By offering a platform that really talks to young people, Greenlight could reap the rewards for years to come as people remain loyal, or simply lazy.

Some argue that platforms like Greenlight are giving children access to too much financial independence too soon – that allowing kids to invest in the stock market is going too far. Despite there being strict spending limits and the 'investing' functionalities of such apps being rudimentary, they still might be enough to scare off some parents. "Investing could be daunting for young people, and potentially dangerous," says Ranzetta. "It could be a curated list of companies they’re familiar with and investment amounts are low – it could be great to expose young people to the market with guardrails." 

 Brands that offer stripped-back access to digital money and financial education might see more engagement than those that offer products that some parents might see as dangerous. Greenlight provides an example of a company that knows this, locking certain functionalities behind age restrictions of pricing plans so parents pick and choose what their kid has access to.

 of Americans feel that finances control their life and 

 worry that they won't have enough money to retire 

 of Americans say they’re actively seeking out resources to teach their kids about money, and 

 are trying to help their children develop good financial habits 

 of adults believe that they learned how to adequately manage their money at school 

Greenlight’s prepaid debit cards help Gen Alphas develop healthy money habits with spending limits for kids and real-time spending alerts for parents

Parents are looking for financial tools and services that empower their children with money knowledge but still give them the peace of mind of oversight

Americans feel underprepared to handle various money matters so they want to equip their children with the know-how to navigate their finances

After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim Ranzetta saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Gen Alpha (born 2011-present)

Gen Y (born 1982-1996)

North America

United States

Money

Education

Banking and payments

Apps and software

National Foundation for Credit Counseling

CNBC

Scary Mommy

Forbes

FDIC

Capital One

Nudge

Interview with Tim Ranzetta conducted by the author

Study Finds

J. D. Power

Deposit Accounts

Many adults say they weren’t taught about money at school so they want to give their kids the skills they didn’t learn until adulthood, and Greenlight offers just that. It’s a prepaid debit card with parent-set spending limits and transaction tracking that educates kids on money management.

Personal Worlds

Gen Z investors make their mark on start-up economy

Zelf’s money chatbot makes banking Gen Zer-friendly

gohenry: making Gen Alphas money savvy

SuperAwesome: making the internet safe for kids