ATM for kids (Round 2)

At the beginning of my UX course, we were asked to design an ATM for kids. I did my job but I think I created more problems than solutions when I suggested making it a toy.

This is my second round/revision. I went through the design process and took a completely different approach to the problems I’m solving and the solutions I’m giving.

I first started sketching and writing down everything:

Once my ideas were written down I started researching a little bit more. Here’s my thought process:

STEP 1: Empathize

So I need to create an ATM for kids. This would help kids understand finances and being responsible with money. This is not a toy but rather something functional to help kids learn the basics of finances to prepare them for the future.

Assumptions:

• Ages will range from 7 to 12 years old. The reason why I’m assuming this is based on experience. I started to get an allowance when I was 7 years old. I’m also assuming kids older than 12 won’t be interested in this and rather on getting a real account or just handle their own money.
• An ATM for kids would be a good opportunity to teach kids about money and math.
• Kids will enjoy the experience of an ATM since they enjoy feeling like grown-ups.
• Parents will want to have control over their kid's accounts
• Kids will use allowance money and birthday and holidays money
• Kids will use this service to save up for toys, games, and trips (Disney for example)
• Kids will lose their debit card if they are given one.

Problems:

How to make it functional yet easy to use for the kids?

How to give parents control over their kid's accounts at any time?

Kids will likely lose their cards if given one. What form of verification can we give them to access their account?

How to make this more inclusive and accessible for kids with disabilities?

Ideate:

How to make it functional yet easy to use for the kids?
We can create a version of the interface that is kid friendly. Several companies are already doing this. Take as an example: Youtube, Facebook, Spotify, and Netflix.

How to give parents control of kids finances?
We can add an option within the banking app that shows kid’s accounts and the ability to check transactions, expenses, deposits, etc.

I created a quick and simple low fidelity wireframe to better illustrate this:

Kids will likely lose their cards if given one. What form of verification can we give them to access their account?
I went back to where I was a kid. At my school whenever there was a parent meeting they would give us a notice paper to give our parents. But when they realized parents were not showing up they started to investigate.
Turns out we were forgetting or losing the paper slips and parents were not aware of the meetings. The solution? THIS:

They started to give up paper bracelets with the message written on them. This solved the problem and increased attendance.

Then I thought of my grandma. She has this medical bracelet with a chip on it in case something happens. The hospital scans the chip and they can identify her. Music festivals also do this and after a little research I found out this is called RFID. They look like this:

I think this would solve the problem and also make it more accessible for every kid. I also know that some stores have this technology where you can pay with your phone or with this bracelets. This would make it easier for the kids to pay for the things they want without having to carry a card.

How to make this more inclusive and accessible for kids with disabilities?
When I was younger I remember one kid from my grade had paralysis and he couldn’t move much and had a wheelchair. He was very restricted when we were doing activities. I don’t want any kid to feel left out. I think the bracelets solve this since they don’t have to make much movement with their hands other than scanning the bracelets.

But then it came to my mind how would they access the ATM? if it's too tall? what if they can’t reach?

Then when I was driving here (to the coffee shop I'm working right now) I connected my phone to my car and I was able to control everything from there. Music, maps, Spotify. It was like a little remote control. What if we add the same technology to ATM machines? A little connection for phones allowing kids in wheelchairs to access them and use the machine without having to move much.

The next steps

Now that I have my solutions the next steps are to test them and validate my assumptions. For this user, interviews would be good. Market research is also a good way to test this and get more information on what banks are doing when it comes to kid’s accounts.