London financial institution NatWest has acquired youth-oriented FinTech startup RoosterMoney for an undisclosed amount, according to a press release.
The pocket money app launched five years ago in London has roughly 130,000 customers in the U.K. and focuses on helping children learn about finances in a user-friendly way that’s connected to rewards, chores and other parental-decided metrics.
NatWest’s acquisition of the company is part of the high street bank’s wider strategy to extend money management assistance to families and young people.
“We want NatWest to be the easiest and most useful bank for families and young people. Rooster has built a brilliant app with best-in-market features,” said Simon Watson, in Retail Banking at NatWest Group.
He added that the new tool will give NatWest’s customers more ways to stay on top of the fast-changing technology surrounding money and extend those lessons to their children and other family members.
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RoosterMoney works with parents to freeze a debit card and block merchants, and also offers real-time spending notifications.
“When considering what help they needed to build confidence with money management, 88 percent of parents felt support to help their children practice new skills in a safe space would be helpful. 76 percent agreed the ability for them to unlock more powers for their children as they learn and 80 percent felt the option for them to practice together with their child would be helpful — needs which will be better served through RoosterMoney,” according to the release, citing NatWest research.
RoosterMoney CEO Will Carmichael said that the company believes early financial capability is connected to resilience in taking “on the challenges that life throws at you.”
He added that together with NatWest, they can “help more parents and kids to build their financial confidence.”
