The piggy bank is a classic in many homes to store the pocket money that minors usually receive each week from their parents. In the Netherlands, they are still one of the first gifts for children, but things are changing. Between the ages of eight and nine, 28% already receive their pay through a bank account opened in their name. Five years ago it was 15%, and the transfer is made digitally. The little pig loses its endearing presence in children’s rooms from that age onwards, but, in exchange, the little ones learn to manage their capital better. They can know what they earn and how much they spend without having to break the bank. The problem with this change in savings habits is the security of secret codes in inexperienced hands.
The data was published in October by the National Institute for Budget Information (Nibud, in its Dutch acronym), which has investigated the way in which parents teach their children – between 6 and 14 years old – to deal with money. The survey that supports the work was carried out between last April and May in collaboration with the Rabobank bank. Of the 1,468 parents consulted, 87% consider teaching good monetary management an important part of their task. On the other hand, 93% pay regularly, the amount of which has increased since 2018. While seven-year-old children receive between 1.40 and 2.30 euros per week (five years ago the maximum was 2 euros), 11 years old have between 2.30 and 3.50 euros (previously they did not exceed 2.30 euros). “The study shows that minors with pocket money worry more about financial matters and develop more skills in this area than those who do not have this type of loose money,” according to Nibud.
The danger of this new habit is the possible lack of care with which minors handle their bank cards and secret access numbers. In 2018, 72% of parents were sure that their children did not let other people access the PIN code. Now only 57% believe it. However, only 21% of parents emphasize to their children that they should be especially careful with this data. And only 22% alert them to the possibility of being the target of fraudulent requests for money that may not be discovered in time. Some unwanted offers that, if necessary, can even lead to fraudulent transactions through minors’ accounts. They receive a sum in exchange, without realizing that it is a form of cybercrime that could turn them into so-called “money mules.” At this point, Nibud underlines the importance “of explaining these types of dangers to children as soon as possible, because now only one in five parents does so.”
How to ride a bike
The phenomenon of bank accounts from childhood is not new in the Netherlands. If before they used to open at the age of secondary school, in 2017 the trend was already visible from primary school. “Parents keep less and less cash at home and giving a weekly payment digitally is very convenient,” Gabriëlla Bettonville, from Nibud himself, explained to Dutch public television (NOS). It is possible, however, that bank card holders are too young to do calculations or understand receipts well. Already then, Nibud itself—an independent organization—advised that minors be taught, from basic education, the use and care of a card. They compared it to riding a bike, a gradual learning process that does not throw the cyclist onto the street until he maintains balance.
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