New Delhi. We are using various UPIs from Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay. Their popularity has increased further during the Corona period. But when it comes to paying for children’s expenses, cash is given. Ankit Gera understood this problem.
During the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, Ankit inculcated the habit of online transactions in children through the Junio app. This was an app in which children could spend online, but the power of payment was with the parents. For every transaction, the OTP had to be entered by the parents. News18 spoke to Ankit Gera, co-founder of the Junio app. Here are selected excerpts from the conversation with him.
You get a chance once in a year, if you want to earn money then do this work immediately
Question: How did the founders come up with a unique concept like smart card for children’s pocket money?
answer : A lot of online transactions were being initiated by children, but the power to make payments was still with the parents. Kids did not have a dedicated payment tool and parents did not have the necessary tools to pay their children without any hassle while monitoring their digital transactions. All these things helped us come up with a concept like this.
Question: How does it work?
answer : In simple words, Junio is a way for parents to give pocket money to their children digitally. For children, there are multiple payment tools like cards, UPI, QR code scanner, etc., which can be used both online and offline. Parents can order the card on the Junio app by paying a subscription fee of Rs 99. The Junio card resembles and functions like a debit card, but without the hassle of opening a bank account. It can be recharged by parents.
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Q: How has the journey been from conceptualising the idea to now launching it?
answer : Junio as an idea was conceived in October 2020. We launched it a few months later in March (2021). We understood that there was always a need for such a concept as Junio. Meanwhile, the change in behavior due to Covid further increased this demand. We believe that apart from e-learning and gaming, in the future, the child will have the idea of becoming the owner of his own payments and transactions.
Question: How can financial literacy be brought to children through fintech like Junio?
answer : Our platform focuses on the basic concepts of financial literacy, earning money and managing it. Parents can assign household chores to children on the app and reward them with some money upon completion. The Junio app also teaches children the basics of money while encouraging interactive activities so that they understand how difficult it is to earn money. It is important that children are taught good financial behavior early on.
Question: What challenges and opportunities have come in the last one year?
answer : Digital has expanded significantly during the pandemic and has become the most common mode of transaction. Just like demonetisation pushed people to make digital payments in a big way, the pandemic has also boosted edtech, online shopping and even mass transactions. Generation Z, which was always more inclined towards digital, has become more digital during the last 12 months.
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Question: What could be the future of fintech for children?
answer : The future of Fintech for kids is promising. At an early stage, when kids learn how to plan their finances along with other simple and essential banking tasks, it gives them a good start and also prepares them for the future. On the business side, Fintech holds a significant promise for kids by bringing in more and more digitally aware kids. It is currently a greenfield space. Also, there is a lot of investor interest and additional funding provides more help for product development, distribution and marketing, etc.
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Question: What did you people learn from Paytm?
answer : At Paytm, we have learnt that there is power in collaboration. We have collaborated with over 100 brands on consumer promotions in the form of Paytm Cash Redemption. It is a win-win for all, not a zero-sum game. The biggest advantage of being a part of Paytm’s journey is that we have seen scale in close quarters. Unless one is a part of this journey, one cannot even imagine that scale. We have seen the growth and seen how a brand name can grow to be a big name, like Paytm or Google for example. For that, many elements need to come together like branding, growth, technology and relationships. But that still does not guarantee success. For the same inputs, sometimes the outputs can be extremely different. But what this does is make the odds better for us. A past experience helps us see opportunities that can potentially become big in the future. Another important learning from Paytm is that there is no substitute for strong technology and product. Uptime plays a vital role and the transaction success rate should be close to 100 percent. Otherwise, users will abandon it.
Tags: Mobile Apps, Startup Idea, Success Story, Success Tips and Tricks
FIRST PUBLISHED : April 20, 2021, 06:03 IST