PETALING JAYA: Debit Circle Sdn Bhd via its fintech brand Vircle aims to grow school participation to 100 this year and to increase to two million subscribers by 2028, driven by Malaysia’s cashless trend and need for financial literacy among children, according to founder and CEO Gokula Krishnan Subramaniam (pix).
He noted that Malaysia transitioning towards a cashless society, which is a trend promoted by Bank Negara Malaysia. However, he pointed out that most financial institutions are focused on adults, which leaves children below 18, “largely unbanked in Southeast Asia”.
He said that the general challenge on getting children banked are the parental consent required by banks and even then, a child account has numerous limitations. As the country is moving at a fast pace to become a cashless society, he believed that the platform is able to assist the new generation of children into the future, with the close guidance of parents.
“Nobody prepares children for a cashless world and at the same time, nobody is teaching children financial literacy. We want to make sure that our children are better prepared for their financial future. We do it in a way that we give control and the tools to the parents to guide their kids, to be better prepared for the financial future,” he told SunBiz.
Gokula said that the company built the first child-safe and money platform for families in Malaysia, where parents are able to open an account through an app and onboard their children. The app allows parents to manage their children’s pocket money digitally, whereby the former is able to oversee as well as control the latter’s spending.
He said that the app also includes a “mission” feature, whereby parents are able to reward children for completing chores or homework. Gokula pointed out that children in Western countries have a culture of receiving an allowance for doing their chores since a young age.
“In Asia, we don’t have that habit, we don’t make our kids learn that they need to work for money and we provide the tools to allow parents to give (incentive to) kids to start doing work and earn some money. Now when they earn that money... they will think twice to spend it because everything they spend will come from their own pocket,” he said, adding that it will teach independence as well as prudence.
The app also features a school cashless platform. He explained that due to the pandemic, there was a demand among schools for cashless solutions because of the risk of Covid-19 infections through physical exchange of cash in school canteens.
Last year, Vircle has attracted participation from more than 40 schools, which grew to more than 50 schools, comprising private and international schools. This year, it plans to onboard public schools and increase school participation to 100. Of the amount, it reckoned 80 schools will be from the private and international sector, while 20 will be from public.
Gokula disclosed that the company experienced a triple growth rate last year compared to the year prior. By Q4 this year, the company expects to announce its expansion to a second country located in Southeast Asia.
Source: The Sun Daily
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