LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release dated April 10, 2018 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.
The corrected release reads:
A PIGGY-WALLET, NOT A PIGGY-BANK: PIGZBE BLENDS CRYPTOCURRENCY AND GAMING TO TURN MONEY INTO AN ADVENTURE.
Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur Filippo Yacob, the man behind the Zuckerberg-backed coding toy Cubetto, and Jon Marshall, designer of the Kano Computer, are launching a digital piggy-bank for children with a big difference.
Unlike traditional apps for family finance, Yacob’s latest innovation blends cryptocurrency with gaming and hardware to teach children the power of earning, saving and spending in a cashless society.
Pigzbe pairs a physical device with an app that turns gifting and saving into a game, while allowing families to transfer as little as 1p between one another globally, and within seconds.
More than a piggy bank, Pigzbe is a ‘piggy-wallet’ for children, parents and families, powered by its own family-friendly cryptocurrency called Wollo, designed to be suited to thousands of tiny transactions as parents reward chores or give pocket money.
Cost of transfers between families is not only over 1,000 times cheaper and faster than competitors like Go-Henry, Ernit and Osper, but it is also the first digital piggy-banking product that is completely borderless, unlocking families’ potential as micro-financing networks.
‘Playing’ with Pigzbe also stimulates the development of good money habits and its ease of use means children can start using it from as young as six years old.
In addition, Pigzbe will also launch a payments card connected to the app, which will enable families to spend their Wollo in multiple currencies.
Filippo Yacob, CEO, said:
“Learning about money early is key to developing positive financial habits, but it will be impossible to do in an increasingly cashless society, and with current banking products.
When I looked for digital piggy-bank apps for my own son, I couldn’t find anything that would allow me to make small payments – even 1p or 2p at a time – let alone cross-border.
Most digital piggy bank apps would charge me 50p just to send 50p! And it seemed wrong to me that cross border transfers were not possible at all.
Families today are globalised. It is common to have grandparents, uncles and aunts living in separate countries. They should all be able to partake in the “piggy-banking.”
When I created Cubetto in 2013, I did it because I couldn’t find an adequate coding toy for my son, and we turned that into a multi-million $ global brand that has now introduced coding to over 1m children globally with offices in Tokyo and Seoul. Pigzbe in a way is now driven by the same need to make something great for myself and my family, with potential for enormous impact globally.”
Pigzbe has been designed and developed by an international award-winning team, including Jon Marshall, designer of the renowned Kano Computer and Pixel Kit, Matt Brown who spent five years in the experimental interface design department at Apple in Cupertino, and developer Ian McGregor who has worked for the likes of Nike, Google and Pokemon Go. Between them, the senior team have experience from among the most innovative and successful companies in the world including Apple, IBM and NASA. At the heart of their design concept, they wanted to ensure that it completely simplified the ideas of blockchain and cryptocurrency for families.
Jon Marshall, Chief Experience Officer, added:
“What
really excites me personally about Pigzbe is the combination of the
Internet of Things (IoT), gaming, and teaching kids about something, in
this case, digital money, saving, microfinance and the potential of
cryptocurrencies, which is something everyone is going to have to learn
about. Combining these into one single product, and being involved in an
ICO that offers hardware + tokens as a world-first, is very exciting.
Many people don't understand blockchain or cryptocurrency, and the reality is that we probably don't need to understand it, we just need to understand the benefits. Pigzbe is one of the first products that is going to build on the benefits of blockchain in a way that feels trustworthy and friendly for families and hopefully that will lead to more people not just understanding more about it, but feeling comfortable using it.”
Yannick Naud, Economics Advisor
“Today cryptocurrency is
a mainstream instrument. In terms of market capitalisation, the top 25
cryptocurrencies are worth more than $300 billion. Right now, we’ve only
seen the first part, but the most interesting thing is how the industry
will help make finance more innovative and more comprehensive for
people. Going forward, we will start to see the applications of these
cryptocurrencies in the real world, be it in healthcare, banking or
international transfers.”
Pigzbe privately financed by an undisclosed number of private investors that also include a former derivatives boss at Sturgeon Capital, and a former MD of Goldman Sachs, and will be launching a crowd-sale in May and June 2018 that will allow early adopters to acquire a Pigzbe wallet and a small amount of Wollo to kick-start their experience. For investment updates, join the Telegram group at https://t.me/PigzbeICO.
About Pigzbe
Pigzbe is a London-based fintech company that enables micro-financing for families worldwide by giving parents and children access to products and services that accelerate financial literacy. We are a team of award-winning designers, thinkers, and makers who have delivered products and services to millions of people for brands like Apple, Google, NASA, Primo, and Kano. We know the world is changing and our mission is to give families the tools to help children become financially knowledgeable, confident, and independent. For more information visit https://pigzbe.com/ and join us on Telegram t.me/pigzbeico.
About Filippo Yacob
A Forbes 30 under-30 class of 2017 honouree, Filippo founded Pigzbe with a simple mandate: Find a better way to introduce money and finance to his son. Filippo is also the creator of Cubetto, the most heavily crowd-funded ed-tech project in Kickstarter’s history ($1.6m). He is also an award-winning creative (Cannes Lion Gold, Red Dot Award - Best of the Best) with a passion for design, technology and education. Filippo Yacob is a social entrepreneur’s who’ ambition is to create innovative products that allow families to come together over new technologies.
