Product Review - Bankaroo-Virtual Bank for Kids

Learn financial literacy and basic banking transactions

Overview

bankaroo aims to make kids “money smart” by helping them practice saving and spending money. The program was created by high schooler Dani Gafni. The baisc program is free for teachers and families to use, with additional features sold on a per teacher or per classroom basis.

IMPLEMENTATION

Using bankaroo, parents and kids keep track of money that kids save or spend - it is important to note that no money actually changes hands using the product. After creating accounts for their children, parents can add a deposit of money or set up a recurring deposit (e.g. for a weekly allowance.) Using the tool, children set savings goals for themselves, plan their upcoming purchases and deposits, and track when they use their savings to pay for real world items.

The school version of bankaroo provides these features, and includes bulk management features for teachers and administrators. Teachers can easily view balances and activity for all of their students, bulk import users and passwords, and set and manage goals for their students.

PRICING

bankaroo is available for free to any family and for a teacher with one class. Families can upgrade their accounts to bankaroo GOLD, which includes interest rates for savings, and money transfers among family members. this plan costs $4.99 / parent or teacher / year. A teacher, school leader or district administrator can purchase bankaroo for schools for $99 per classroom per year.

WHO IS USING IT

As of October 2015, bankaroo was being used by over 50,000 parents, teachers and students.