Digital bank for teens Copper Banking has secured $4.3m in its seed funding round, which was led by PSL Ventures.
Additional support came from Snap director of product Jack Brody and Western Technology Investment.
Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development claims that nearly 20% of American teens fail to meet the level considered financially literate. Furthermore, a survey from Merrill Lynch claims that 72% of adults said they would benefit for more financial guidance.
It was this lack of financial education in the US that led Eddie Behringer and Stefan Berglund creating Copper Banking.
Copper Banking CEO and co-founder Eddie Behringer said, “Schools have traditionally struggled to provide teens with a practical financial education leaving parents frustrated and teens unprepared to manage their money after leaving high school.
“We founded Copper to teach teens the fundamentals of money to keep them out of debt, afford the things they want, and ultimately set them up for long term financial success.”
Copper, which includes a mobile app and a debit card, helps to connect parents and teens to inform them on smart financial decisions.
The platform launched in 2019 and is empowering teens to spend money how they wish, while encouraging savings. Teens can earn extra cash by meeting savings goals, answering a pop quiz about finances or paying owed money to friends and family.
Users can also request more money from their parents when needed.
Behringer added, “We have seen first-hand that teens are capable of doing incredible things from starting businesses and nonprofits to raising money for teams and schools, and yet, we also know that most teens leave high school without knowing the basics about managing their personal finances.
“We founded Copper to give teens a practical education in finance that will keep them out of debt, afford the things they want, and ultimately set them up for long-term financial success.”
There have been a number of teenager-focused banking apps to launch in the US to help improve the financial savviness of the younger generations.
Earlier in the year, fellow teen challenger bank Greenlight closed a $54m round to support its growth.
Copyright © 2020 FinTech Global
