Gen Z Is Already Using Fintech, But That’s Not What They Call It

The Atlantic ran a piece yesterday on whether parents should pay their kids for chores or not, and also confirmed our thesis that “fintech” is not a consumer word at all.

Read this paragraph for a case in point:

Parents’ preference for this setup has spawned an array of apps that let them dole out allowance money once chores are completed, and even pay for an individual chore. Homey, an app that’s effectively a digital chore chart, allows parents to issue payouts upon visual confirmation of finished chores and is used by 100,000 families. A similar app called BusyKid, which launched earlier this year and is used by 25,000 families, also lets children invest in the stock market with their allowance money. (These apps are just two of many new digital tools, including RoosterMoney, Current, and goHenry, for managing children’s money and teaching them about personal finance.)

This paragraph mentions five fintech companies, but doesn’t call them that.

Why?

Because it wouldn’t explain anything about what they do. But calling Homey a “digital chore chart” completely explains what it is, and I’m even gonna mention the app to my mom because it sounds like something she’d use.

This goes to show about how close finance and technology are to daily problems for millions of people, and how the endless chatter about “fintech” doesn’t get us closer to solving these consumer problems.

If you’re in fintech startup marketing or PR, you’d kill to be mentioned in an Atlantic piece like this, right?

The takeaway: relentlessly refine your consumer message and never lose sight of the end user.

Another closing thought: think about those kids who are growing up getting their allowance on an app. Imagine the financial services they’ll demand when they’re full-grown adults. If you’re Stash or Robinhood, these parents are training your next generation of customers for you.

That’s the future of finance right there.

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Reference:

– The Way American Parents Think About Chores Is Bizarre (The Atlantic)

– The Most Overused Financial Technology Word of 2018