Sprout
An educational mobile banking application for kids.
Designed to make learning about money engaging and practical in a ever increasing cashless society.
Client & Role
- Internship Startup Concept
- User Research
- UX & UI Design
- Illustrations
- Prototyping
- Usability Testing
Timeframe & Status
- Aug-Nov, 2022
- Ongoing project
Process
- UX Strategy
- Literary Review
- Competitors and Trends Research
- User Interviews
- Journey Mapping
- Information Architecture
- Treejack Tests
- Card Sorting
- User Flows
- Wireframes
- UI Design
- Prototyping
- Usability Testing
Digital money is invisible and unaccessible to children
For young children, understanding "digital" money is not easy. For them it’s just numbers on a screen.
From personal experience I know what a challenge it is to teach them in a visual way about finances at a time when we hardly use physical money anymore.
To help instil a sense of financial responsibility, many parents give their children a weekly allowance, but when this allowance is deposited straight into a bank account, it becomes less real to the kids, making it harder for them to grasp its value and learn practically how to work with their money.
A solution to empower kids for the future
I created a financial mobile banking application specifically designed for kids aged 6-11, and their parents. The app connects to a local bank account in the child's name.
It teaches kids the value of money and important life skills by enabling them to receive allowances, earn money through chores, set savings goals, create budgets, and earn interest, in an age-appropriate and visual manner.
How do we teach children about money if they can’t see or touch it?
I did secondary research by reading up on how children learn and how best to teach them about money. I learned some very interesting facts about Norway specifically:
No more cash
Access to devices
Blind spending
Money habits are formed by the age of 7
Habits can of course be changed at any time, but teaching kids at an early age will:
- Boost independence
- Prevent debt
- Help reach goals
- Build future wealth
- Improve happiness
Who doesn't want this for their kids?
Learn through hands-on experience
The main goal is to help kids grasp banking basics through hands-on experience. Mistakes are part of learning, and it's better for them to make “mistakes” with their money now, under the watchful eyes of parents.
Combining education, security, and fun
I gathered the following insights from secondary research.
Age-Appropriate Content
The app should cater to the varying cognitive abilities and needs of children, ensuring it adapts as the child grows.
Parental Tools
Features for parents to oversee and guide their child's financial learning journey.
Educational Foundation
Focuses on fundamental financial skills including saving, spending, budgeting, and introductory investment concepts.
Engagement Through Play
Utilises games and interactive elements to maintain attention and enhance the learning experience.
Safety and Legality
Prioritises security and adheres to financial regulations and KYC standards.
Practical Learning
Enable children to apply what they learn through real-life financial activities like earning allowances.
Uncovering the hurdles that parents face in teaching kids about money
I conducted 6 semi-structured interviews. I talked to 3 parents, as well as their kids aged 6-12.
I asked them open questions about how they receive their money, what they use it for and what they think about money.
My questions were focused on understanding participants' money management habits, as none had used mobile banking apps for children before.
I discovered the following hurdles that families face when it comes to giving and receiving money:
Pain points uncovered during interviews
Hard to keep track
Both parents and kids find it hard to remember chores done, payments owed, and how much money the kids have or spend.
Losing interest
Kids often lose interest in doing chores or saving money.
Learning gap
Some parents struggle to teach their kids about money because nobody taught them.
Struggle to understanding value
Kids find it hard to understand what money is worth, i.e. what they can do with the amount they have.
Different ages - different abilities
Kids grow and learn at their own pace, which can make teaching them about money tricky..
Quick spending
Some kids want to spend their money as soon as they get it.
There's a gap in the Norwegian market
I did a competitor analysis of other banking apps for children to identify market trends, gaps and opportunities.
I did both a heuristic evaluation and feature analysis on two direct competitors and one indirect competitor. I focused on the child's interface for each app and evaluated phone and tablet solutions where applicable.
The opportunity
I discovered that although a few such applications exist, there’s a definite gap in the Norwegian market for a well-designed product that teaches specifically younger children about money in a fun and age-appropriate way.
Make it memorable
I used a customer journey map to help better understand my users.
It gave me a holistic overview of how people interact with my business, beyond just using the application.
I incorporated elements called "Moments of Service, Intimacy, and Truth" into the map. These elements helped me focus on:
- Moment of Service
Steps that should run seamlessly - Moments of Intimacy
Opportunities to personalise the user experience to delight users - Moments of Truth
Identifying critical points in the journey that shape customer opinions about the product
Customer journey map insights
- Prioritise the physical and mental well-being of children.
- Allow users to explore the app before paying a subscription.
- When teaching young kids the value of money, it is important to prioritise trust and security.
- Provide parental controls and settings like notifications and spending limits.
How might we set the kids up for success?
After the interviews, I sat down to brainstorm ideas on how I could use the insights from the interviews and secondary research to inform my designs.There were a few themes that kept coming up, so I knew to focus on them.
Pain point
Difficult to keep track of money and chores
Both parents and kids find it hard to remember chores done, payments owed, and how much money the kids have or spend.
Solution
Dashboard
Create an easy-to-understand dashboard that shows the child's current balance, money spent for a certain period, the amount saved, etc.
Notifications & reminders
Use notifications for both parents and kids to remind them of chores to be done and purchases made.
Transaction history
This allows users to view the history of all transactions, making it easier to track money, see what they spend money on and learn from the data.
Pain point
Kids don’t understanding the value
Some parents struggle to teach their kids about money because nobody taught them.
Solution
Simplify, relate and compare
Include a feature that helps kids convert their money into what they can buy, like "Your savings can buy you 5 ice creams" and show what else could be bought with the money spent on a particular item.
Visualise goals
Allow kids to set goals for larger purchases and show them how long it will take to reach that goal based on their current saving rate.
Pain point
Quick spending
Some kids want to spend their money as soon as they get it.
Solution
Budgeting Tool
Introduce a simple budgeting tool that helps kids allocate money for spending and saving.
The design
I now felt I had a good understanding of the what and the why, and I could begin with the next steps of figuring out the flow, content and architecture of the application. My primary focus was ensuring that the content, hierarchy, and categories were easy enough for a 6-year-old to understand.
The user flow
The key with the user flow was to lessen the mental effort needed to navigate the app.
I divided the sign-up into small, easy-to-handle steps and allowed users the flexibility to complete some tasks later on.
This approach helped streamline the process and make it more manageable for our users.
The signup still has quite a few steps. Even though I initially thought of doing away with onboarding completely, I realised that with a banking application there are certain information and steps for security I have to ask for to make the application functioning.
Visual design
My aim for the UI was to be clean and colourful, with a few illustrations to support the copy and tasks.
I made sure to use at least 16 pixels or larger and made sure the colour contrast was at least 4.5:1 and made use of large touch targets to make it easier for kids.
I chose a colourful palette for the illustrations while keeping the colour palette for text and buttons limited to simplify the visual design and make sure the colours were accessible.
Testing and feedback
I ran remote usability tests with 5 parents, recording the sessions after getting their approval.
All 5 participants were able to complete all 5 tasks. The feedback was positive, but I also found areas to improve.
Test results
- One mom noted her young kids don't have emails or phone numbers, making it not possible to add them in the current flow. This was the only blocker issue.
- All participants were unclear about the purpose of the piggy bank.
- 3 participants raised security concerns.
- Some were unsure whether they were linking to an existing bank account or creating a new one.
- Participants expected to see a list of their bank accounts to choose from after identity verification.
Suggestions for improvement
- Allow kids without an email or phone to use the app under their parent's profile, secured by a passcode.
- Add helpful hints to explain the piggy bank feature.
- Use one-time passcodes to confirm phone numbers and email addresses.
- Clarify the steps for linking a bank account.
- Display a list of all the bank accounts for easy selection.
Iterations
Switching profiles
I added a simple switch with a passcode. I don’t know if this is the best way to do it and further testing is needed.
Adding tooltips
To clarify any confusion, I've placed small info icons next to the Piggy Bank and Bank Account headers. If users are curious about the difference between these two sections, a simple tap on the icon will display a helpful tooltip.
List of bank accounts & improved copy
The main change I made was to add a step to show the parents a list of all the bank accounts in their name to choose from. I also consulted with a UX Writer to help me improve the copy to make the wording clearer to avoid confusion.
What I learned:
The importance of age-appropriate designing
Working on this project taught me the importance of responsible design, especially for children.
As designers we must ensure that what we create serves people and solves their problems without negative impacts, particularly when designing for kids. I enjoyed learning about this new domain and the significance of creating valuable and safe online experiences.
When designing digital experiences for children, it’s important to follow these principles:
- Simplicity and intuition
Simple gestures, big touch targets, feedback after an action, lead with important content at the top of the page. - Age-appropriate design
Create fun and enriching experiences tailored to their age and abilities. - Educational value
Focus on skills that are age-appropriate and beneficial for the child's development. Be aware of overstimulation and keep the child’s mental and physical health in focus. - Safety measures
Comply with privacy laws and implement parental controls.
What's next?
I plan to continue working on the UI, because I'm not happy with it at the moment.
I also plant to run additional tests to make sure the recent changes have solved the initial issues. While the app shows promise, it still needs fine-tuning.
I'm excited to continue developing it.
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