New digital piggy bank helps Swiss kids save

[ZURICH] In Switzerland, one of the world's wealthiest countries, financial planning starts young.

The country's number two bank Credit Suisse on Tuesday unveiled a piggy bank with built-in apps allowing children under 12 to set savings goals, check their balance and make payments.

"The financial education of children is a concern to people in Switzerland," Credit Suisse said in a statement, citing a recent study showing that 90 per cent of parents in the wealthy Alpine nation want their children to learn how to handle money.

The study, conducted by the amPuls market research firm on behalf of Credit Suisse, also found that most children in Switzerland not only receive pocket money but "are frugal with it".

According to the research, Swiss parents have asked questions about how to teach children about money when it increasingly exists in digital form instead of coins and notes that can be stored in an old-fashioned piggy bank.

Named Viva Kids, the piggy bank "provides a wide range of options for teaching kids in a simple way how cash and digital money work and how to use them," Credit Suisse said.

AFP