We ’ re excited to speak with Charles O ’ Neil , Co-founder of Sunshine + Kittens , about their new venture in children ’ s banking . Partnering with MasterCard , The PayFirm and SaaScada , Sunshine + Kittens is launching a unique bank account aimed at financial education for kids . This full-service account combines gamified learning with AI personalisation , original characters by Star Wars ’ Jake Lunt Davies , and music by David Arnold , delivering a fun , impactful financial experience for young users .

What inspired Sunshine + Kittens to create a bank account specifically for children , and how does it differ from existing options like GoHenry ?

I got the idea for Sunshine + Kittens when I started to look for a childrens ’ bank account for my daughter . At the time , I was working for a large investment bank , so I understand that finance can be an uninteresting topic for kids . However , like most parents , I also understand the importance of children learning financial literacy at an early age .

Crucially , children aren ’ t being taught basic financial skills at school , and this financial illiteracy often continues to the point that most young adults would fail a simple financial literacy test – and many are incapable of , or uninterested in , managing their finances .

This drove me to look at the high street banks and the incumbent brands that reportedly teach kids about money . All I could think was , ‘ how dull ’. Across the industry , there is an understanding of money , but not of education – and what kids engage with .

I have worked with my co-founder Paul Jason for years after we met in a leading global ad agency . We have been good friends ever since and he is now the godfather to my son . We share a similar worldview and belief that creativity can connect with people and change behaviour . We had been toying with the idea of a FinTech product for some time whilst I was simultaneously lamenting the poor state of financial literacy tools . Paul and I got chatting and now we have Sunshine + Kittens .

Can you elaborate on how the gamified experience is structured to teach children financial literacy while keeping them engaged ?

These experiences are the secret ingredient for Sunshine + Kittens – the platform has taken the learnings from mobile free-to-play games and from Web3.0 reward mechanisms , whilst transposing these into an educational experience . The user interface isn ’ t black text on a white background with some multiple-choice questions

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