Singapore’s OCBC bank has become the world’s first partner for financial literacy educator startup, PlayMoolah, in a bid to better engage with children.

Through OCBC’s Mighty Savers program, children will have access to an online portal with games designed to build good financial literacy. According to Ng Li Lian, Head of Mass Segment, OCBC, the partnership between the organisations is valuable by boosting the bank’s available resources for engaging with children in ways that interest them.

“With Mighty Savers, children can redeem gifts when they make a deposit of $50 or more, and with PlayMoolah, their online platform encourages both online and real-world savings,” Lian said. “Our card and sticker game has been helpful for parents to teach kids the importance of saving, and as many children enjoy online games, we hope to continue to engage them in this space.”

Gamification has been identified as a critical opportunity for financial services organisations to engage with a younger customer demographic. In a prior interview with FST Media, Vipin Kalra, Country Manager, Visa Australia, said the risk with failing to engage young customers on their terms is to lose the customer in the longer term.

“Brand loyalty is not huge in their mind, and because of that nature we need to make sure we can customise products to their needs and deliver them the way they want. If you don’t, the risk is that not only will they stop using your product but also the whole world will know why they didn’t like it,” Kalra said. Visa has developed a number of game applications to address similar financial literacy issues that OCBC/ PlayMoolah tackles, like a ‘financial football’ game that tied into the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The PlayMoolah games encourage children to take charge of their money in an entertaining environment. Children can make real financial decisions and actions, while managing both virtual and real-world dollars. The program also engages parents, who can be updated on their child’s activities, while helping them reach their savings goals.

The PlayMoolah application aims to educate around 50,000 children throughout Singapore in partnership with OCBC.