Forget piggybanks how about a pennybox?

By Oonagh Reidy

Tech entrepreneurs Adam Naor and Reji Eapen are on a mission.

That mission, which they have eagerly chosen to accept, is to teach children the all-elusive skill of understanding money. And how it works.

Saving, investing and, ahem, working for their dollars are all part and parcel of Pennybox’s financial education syllabus.

Former Google executive and US native Naor, along with his Aussie co-founder, Reji Eapen, have created a clever app called Pennybox, which teaches kids to do exactly what it says on the tin – how to save money and financial literacy. The app teaches kids by ‘doing’ just like Snapchat, Naor told Yahoo7 Finance.

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Children can assign themselves household chores – say cleaning the car for $10, which are then sent to parents for approval, who then pay them once the task is complete. “Kids feel empowered to earn money in a unique way,” Naor believes.

“Its extremely important to educate kids about money but its also important to make it interesting,” and there is also an increasing push for financial education in schools, he added.

It’s also something that is currently not heavily featured in the school curriculum.

But the app is not just for kids, say its founders, it is actually for anyone who wants to learn about personal finance, including families.

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The startup is also working with schools in New South Wales to use the app in the classroom.

The duo have been working on the app since 2015, which is currently in closed beta testing but looks set to go live within weeks.

Pennybox, which will be sold as a free app, is set to be launched around April time – on Apple iOS first, but will go to Android soon after.