Nestlums Pocket Money Training [iPhone]

“Apps We Love” – Apple, July 2020
No.1 in Finance – UK App Store, July 2020
“Cute creatures help kids learn good financial habits” – Creative Review, June 2020
“It’s an absolute GAME CHANGER” – Honest Mum Blog, June 2020

Nestlums helps kids under ten grasp the fundamentals of modern money through a game-like experience on their parent or guardian’s phone, without connecting to any real money at all.

Created for people who want their little ones to develop good financial habits early in an increasingly cashless society, Nestlums harnesses the power of play to make a typically uninteresting subject engaging and rewarding.

Charming creatures in cowls – the Nestlums – encourage kids to earn ‘money’ through the successful completion of real life tasks such as teeth-brushing and bedroom-tidying, using empathy to motivate good behaviour and solidify lessons about earning, saving, and spending.

Two virtual currencies exist within Nestlums – coins and gems – coins representing a tally of pocket money promised to the child by the parent or guardian in real life, and gems enabling educational games in the app to be unlocked and played, as well as items for the child’s Nestlum to be ‘bought’.

Key features:

+ Lives on the parent or guardian’s device
+ Unique game-like experience designed to entertain and educate
+ Character-driven to elicit empathy and encourage good behaviour
+ Safe to use, does not connect to a bank account or card, and no actual money is touched
+ Two virtual currencies: coins as a tally of pocket money in real life, and gems to unlock in-app games
+ Tasks to be set by adult and completed by child in order to earn ‘money’ (coins, gems, or a combination)
+ Multiple children can be set up in the app and each can pick and style their very own Nestlum helper
+ No limit to the amount of tasks that can be set, rewards given, and games played
+ Progression encouraged via ascension through levels and exploration of a map

Nestlums is made by celebrated games company Glitchers, known for Sea Hero Quest, in collaboration with Cauldron, the creative arm of Fintech pioneers Thought Machine. The app was born from a desire to help people with young children manage the tricky business of pocket money, and teach their little ones the basics of financial literacy in a fun and safe way. There may be other pocket money apps, but none feature adorable creatures in cowls whose antics and expressions communicate the importance of earning money honestly, saving it carefully, and spending it wisely. All made possible through the power of play and without connecting to any real money at all!