A bank and an indoor recreation center team up to teach children financial responsibility through fun and practical play.
BPI Family Savings Bank President Maria Cristina Go said KidZania, a place where kids learn through real-life role-playing activities, is the perfect place to make the concept of money more tangible.
Since 2016, over 800,000 children have learned the basics of banking and financial responsibility through BPI and KidZania.
“Financial literacy is very critical in order to survive and succeed in life. At an early age, children should already know how money works, how to earn and spend it, how to manage it, save it, and even how and where to invest it,” said Go.
KidZania is an indoor city run by kids, where they can earn and spend kidZos, KidZania’s currency, when taking part in activities, as in the real world. Children can fill over a hundred roles across 65 establishments such as publishing or pharmaceutical, or pay for services rendered in a beauty salon or training in a school.
“Ultimately, they gain financial awareness as they have the liberty to manage their own kidZos—from budgeting to spending and saving,” said Go.
“Kids learn that they can earn money by being productive and useful, that they can use the money for their needs and wants, and that they can save money for their future, to achieve bigger dreams.”
Inside KidZania, there is a special BPI branch where kids are given special accounts and ATM cards for their kidZos. Their savings gain interest over time, which the kids can spend in their next visit.
Go said an example of a very useful product for kids is the Jumpstart savings account which is available through BPI and BFSB.
Jumpstart is for savers aged 10 to 17 years old and requires only a minimum deposit of P100. A portion of the funds can be protected from unplanned withdrawals, and parents can easily transfer money to the account for allowances. The Jumpstart Debit Card can also be used for cellphone reloading.