60% of Italians under 18 receives weekly or monthly pocket money from his parents, a percentage that exceeds 70% in the age group between 15 and 18, with figures ranging between 40 and 70 euros per month: according to a recent research by Facile.it, the estimated value of the pocket money of Italian 10-18 year olds is equal to more than 150 million euros per monthof which over 15% travel on methods other than cash.
This is somewhat of a novelty in recent years: just under 20% of under 18s receive and prefer receive money through a prepaid cardwhether physical or digital. The phenomenon is so vast and present that since February even the Italian one Satispay offers a similar service: the daughter or son downloads the app and connects the account to that of one of the parents, who can then set up a recurring payment. An allowance, in fact.
Moreover, even in the adult world the use of cash is continuously decreasing: according to data from the Bank of Italythe use of banknotes fell from 82% of transactions in 2019 to 69% in 2022. As for minors, in our country there are at least a dozen different prepaid cards dedicated to them: there are those from Hype and of RevolutPoste has its own, many credit institutions have them as well I connected and Enel X. For our test we chose that of startup PixPayespecially because it is one of those that is talked about the most and about which there is greater curiosity online, on Facebook, on TikTok and on other social networks.
Tutorial How to control your children’s phone: definitive guide to operators, Android and iOS by Emanuele Capone 07 December 2023 The home screen of the parent’s PixPay app (with the Reload button) The home screen of the daughter’s app (with the button Ask)
What card to do at 14 years old: the PixPay test
The French PixPay was taken over in 2022 by the British GoHenry, which in turn was acquired last year by the American Acorns and offers preferred cards for 10-18 year olds who rely on the circuito Mastercard. The service is available on two subscription plans, from 2.99 or 5.99 euros per month: in both, there are no commissions either on payment transactions or on money top-ups made by parents; the 5.99 one also removes the cost of withdrawals (1 euro each, starting from the second) and allows you to choose personalized graphics for the card.
To activate the plan is It is advisable to initially register on the site of PixPay, provide the adult’s telephone number and email address, connect an ATM and choose a password; subsequently both the parent and the child will be able to download the app each on their smartphone and then connect one with the other. Once this is done, all that remains is to wait for the paper to arrive at your home, which in our experience was the most tiring operation of the whole process: we activated the account on January 26th, then we received 4-5 alerts, including emails and notifications, saying that “the card has been sent” or “the card is in transit” or “the card should have arrived”. Which though it wasn’t true until February 16ththat is exactly 3 weeks later.
How to top up your PixPay card
Received the card, which an IBAN is also associated which however we have not made any use of, you can top it up from the app by choosing any amount or even schedule a periodic sending of money, just as if it were a weekly or monthly allowance. On the parent’s account, all operations take place as if you were using an ATM: Every money you send corresponds to a real-time money withdrawal.
Again from the app, which seemed to us neat, well made and with graphics that are a bit reminiscent of social networks (but which often forgets the user’s credentials and asks to log in again), you can also decide whether to allow contactless payments, online payments, payments abroad and cash withdrawals from branches and any monthly limits both on spending and on withdrawal.
Having done all this, the paper is ready for use and the daughter or son can exploit it exactly like any adult card: for every operation, the parent receives a notification immediately, sees the amount spent and where it was spent (but obviously not the details of what was bought) and can also decide whether to block the merchant, making the card unusable in that specific point of sale. In the event of theft or loss of the card, and therefore of operations to be contested, the invitation is to contact PixPay customer service, but fortunately it is not an experience that we were forced to have.
Month after month, the app also provides a expenditure frameworkhow many money have been used, dove and for which typology product category and also gives an estimate of the CO2 emitted, in relation to the objects purchased (books, clothing, make-up and so on). This aspect is perhaps the most interesting one, if you intend to educate your daughter or son on the use of money, on the relationship between income and expenditure and give greater awareness of the environmental impact of one’s choices in the world: perhaps it is a something that can also be done with cash, but undoubtedly in a more complex and less rapid manner. This efficiency obviously comes at a price, which takes the form of yet another monthly fee to pay and which tends to be higher with PixPay than the average of its competitors. But no one forbids deducting it from your pocket money: this is also a way of teaching younger people that comforts and services have a cost.
google trends: interest in PixPay in the last month in Italy
The news Social and minors, from TikTok the idea of a Youth Council to increase digital well-being by Emanuele Capone 25 March 2024
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