Who are we:
We are a new-age bank in India, our goal is to introduce a child-friendly ATM to promote financial literacy among children from a young age. We believe in making learning fun and interactive, and we want to equip the next generation with the skills they need for a financially secure future.
Objective/Goal:
To Increase the number of Financially transacting users; User Acquisition/Growth
User Persona/s :
Need of an ATM for a 5- year Old:
- Saving Money: Rohit needs to save money received from his parents & grandparents. This is a primary need for the child
- Spending Money: Rohit wants to use his pocket money to buy toys, candies etc.
Need of a child-friendly ATM in Parent’s view:
- Understanding Money: Rohit needs to understand the value of money, how it is saved, and how it is used for buying goods and services.
- Hands-on Experience: Using the ATM gives Rohit a first-hand experience of conducting a financial transaction.
- Building Responsibility: Learning to manage his own money can foster a sense of responsibility in Rohit.
Current Scenario- Existing Alternatives
Bank/Post Office Visit with Parents: Deposit Money into the joint account, though this gives a firsthand experience, it is not a practical everyday solution. It’s also less interactive and engaging for a child.
Educational Apps: Virtual Bank apps for learning money management, while they are interactive and engaging, they lack the hands-on experience that a real-world ATM can provide.
Kids Digital Account: Parents can open a joint digital account for Kids and send money to this account, this will not help the child learn money management.
Pain Points- Summarizing
- Money is usually saved in piggy banks which is not a safe way to manage money
- The Money received needs to be deposited in the bank it is cumbersome. Here Money is received occasionally
- The Money cannot be accessed while Shopping (Specific to Kid’s Shopping areas)
- The Money does not earn interest if not saved at banks
- The Existing solutions are not holistic in terms of learning Money Management.
- Limited attention span.
- Difficulty in understanding financial concepts
- Existing ATM's are built for Adults and height is not convenient for a 5 year old.
User Journey- First-time user
User Journey- Repeat user
Proposed Features (High Level)
Features on the App- To be used by Parent/Guardian
Joint account creation- create the joint account for the kid by submitting the KYC details
Authentication- Face- recognition capture via Smartphone
Transaction Limit settings- Amount which can be withdrawn/ per day, per month, etc.
Report Generation for Transaction History- Generate reports for transactions done in the past
Issue Reporting- in case of any mishap, to be able to report the parent
Features on ATM- To be used by a kid under supervision of Parent/ Teacher/ Guardian
Onboarding- To explain the available options
Minimal UI functionality- Withdraw/Check Balance/Deposit
Face recognition- To authenticate the 5-year-old for the Transaction
Proposed Advanced Features (High Level)
Features on the App- To be used by Parent/Guardian
Financial Goal Setting- Post Consulting the Kid, Goals can be set for Kids to use in the future
Features on ATM- To be used by a kid under the supervision of a Parent/Teacher/Guardian
Rewards- For Saving Money, the System can award badges to develop a sense of achievement
Distress Tracking- To Identify if there is any distress through the video capture and hold the transaction (Machine Learning to identify patterns)
Financial Learning Modules- Engaging way to learn money management
School-based Learning- Virtual Learning as a curriculum in schools
Assumptions
1. Rohit is interested in using the ATM and eager to learn about money management. — (Riskiest Assumption)
2. Parents will be supportive and guide Rohit through his learning journey.
3. Regulatory authorities will permit the deployment of child-friendly ATMs.
4. Rohit’s school and community are open to hosting these child-friendly ATMs.
Challenges
1. Ensuring the physical and data security of the child.
2. Balancing between child-friendly design and the basic functionality of an ATM.
3. Keeping the ATM interface engaging while considering children’s short attention spans.
4. Regulatory compliance, given the unique nature of the initiative.
5. Addressing parents’ concerns about the appropriateness of ATM access for their children.
Considerations
1. Child psychology experts’ insights to inform the interface and interaction design.
2. Compliance with all banking and data protection laws.
3. Inclusivity to cater to children with different abilities and language proficiencies.
4. Addressing parental concerns through features like parental control.
5. Existing ATMs cater to Adults, so Hardware also needs to be built accordingly, this will be a costly aspect and time taking-
6. The Validation needs to be conducted in Tier 1 Cities
High-Level Plan- Prioritized order
1. Research and Validate the riskiest assumption: Perform user research and understand if this is a viable need which will meet the objective
Minimum Viable Product Launch: Manual creation of Kids' account(Joint) at the bank and add money. (Already few banks offer this creation on app/website)
A Manual setup at Shopping malls to accept cash and add to the account or to allow Withdrawal post verification.
Risk: Trusting a Person at a shopping mall will be lower compared to a Bank as a Location
2. a)Design of Hardware: Post User research and validation. Basis the details of the Physical Hardware need to be designed which would suit the height of the kids. Also, it will be completely touch-enabled to reduce difficulty.
b) Develop App screens for Kid’s Joint account creation, set limits, etc. This will be in the existing Banking app
3. Deploy ATM Software: Minimal UI Functionality for ATM: Guiding the Screens, Withdraw, Deposit and check balance, Face recognition, Success Screens
4. Iteration 1: Deploy at Popular Shopping mall: To test its adoption, take feedback on the additional requirements
5. Iterate and Full-scale Deployment: Deploy at the Proposed ATM locations. Improve on the suggestions- majorly for security
ATM Placement
- Shopping Malls: Opportunities for parents to teach children about money management in real-world scenarios.
- Schools: Regular use becomes part of their daily routine.
- ATM Branches: Popular ATM locations where markets are nearby
Is it okay to build?
Typically, ATMs are not profitable entities
The Cost of an ATM depends on multiple factors:
- ATM machine cost (In this case; it will be more as we would need more R&D cost)
- Rental of the Location
- Security guard
- Maintenance (Machine, Electricity, miscellaneous)
The Benefits include:
As these kids when they grow up, Majority of them stick to the Bank account ~ Low Customer acquisition cost
Though the amount deposited by each kid might be lesser, because of the quantum of deposits, they also withdraw occasionally, which will increase the lending capability of the banks
Parents would want to open accounts in these banks, increase in customers and lesser customer acquisition cost
The Benefits are long-term and will help the banks; Also helps in creating a digital transacting ecosystem, minimizing manual costs, Hence it needs to be built