The piggy bank was a great idea, but it’s had its day.

It helped countless kids learn the importance of saving, but for the latest generation, that old slotted toy encourages them to think about money in a way that simply won’t exist when they grow up.

The 21st century’s acceleration towards a cashless society needs an alternative that’s smarter and more forward-looking. It needs to give our kids the grounding they need in a world of financial apps, cryptocurrencies and the token economy — buzzwords today that will be the essentials of our kids’ lives tomorrow.

Which is why we created the piggy-wallet — one product that guides kids onto the nursery slopes of all the above in a safe, fun way. All the good habits of the piggy bank, but reimagined and expanded to take in a new financial future.

Giving pocket money a new life

Pop coins into a piggy bank and they disappear (and die… at least until you take out a hammer). Pigzbe — our piggy-wallet — makes money come alive. Part hardware, part app, it enables kids to play with and learn about their money, watch it grow, and model what happens in real-world tasks.

Because it works with digital tokens, not cash, the whole family can make contributions to a child’s growing piggy-wallet, wherever they are, whatever country. It’s not hampered by currency issues across borders. You can send small sums that feel right for kids and without paying exorbitant fees to do it — quickly, securely.

Young minds learn money habits fast

Educating children about money needs to start early. University of Cambridge research has shown that our approaches to it form young. By seven we’ve already developed good — or bad — habits that will shape our financial behaviours for the rest of our lives. Money education in a family context also delivers lessons that mean more and stick better than classroom teaching.

Meanwhile, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has shown that even in mid and high performing countries, one in five students struggles with the simplest of financial responsibilities — from recognising the value of a budget to understanding a bank statement or pay slip.

“Young people today face more challenging financial choices and more uncertain economic and job prospects, “ said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria. “However they often lack the education, training, and tools to make informed decisions on matters affecting their financial well being.”

In short, with the concept of money undergoing one of its biggest ever transformations, there’s never been a more important time to help kids get to grips with it. And remember, the financial decisions of the 2.2 billion 0–18-year-olds alive now could dictate the direction of our world for the rest of the century.

Our Pigzbe piggy-wallet has been specifically designed to establish and reinforce the behaviours that turn into smart financial practice. It takes 60 days of repeating an action to form a habit, and the game mechanics of our app are tailored to hit that learning sweet spot.

A chance for everyone to understand new digital currencies

It’s also a family-friendly way to explain cryptocurrencies. Business magazine Forbes recently dubbed cryptocurrency the ‘email’ of this decade. For years just a ‘specialist’ subject that abruptly explodes in the public consciousness. Suddenly everyone needs to understand it, and we can’t imagine what life was like without it.

Our new cryptocurrency Wollo perfectly dovetails with our piggy-wallet and gives kids a tool rooted in the future that they can play with and learn through today. You can manage your children’s pocket money allowance with regular Wollo transfers. Family and friends can gift Wollo tokens. Kids can watch their savings grow in a fun game environment.

Why now? Why Pigzbe?

“I’ve always been aware that physical money was slowly going to disappear,” says Pigzbe founder Filippo Yacob. “But there was no alternative to the traditional physical piggy bank for the digital world; no way for that family microfinancing to happen in order to educate our children.

“Pigzbe fills that gap. It caters for globalised families. It works across boundaries. It’s instant, taking just a few seconds to send a Wollo token from one parent to a child. And it’s extremely cost-effective, perhaps thousands of times cheaper and faster than other systems out there.

“When I had my own children it really changed my mind about what I wanted to do — and that was to build products that empowered them and introduced new technologies to them. Pigzbe is their route to confidence with the money of tomorrow.”

The future is coming. Help your kids get ready.

Cashless economies have already arrived. Barely 1% of the value of all payments made in Sweden in 2016 were in coins or notes.

By 2020 it’s estimated that the crypto economy will exceed US$3 trillion. By 2022 it will represent 10% of the world’s GDP.

Follow Pigzbe and the Pigzbe ICO & Wollo token sale, by heading over to pigzbe.com and sign-up to our newsletter. Join the conversation on Telegram t.me/PigzbeICO. And watch this space.