Has the cashless society roasted the piggy bank?
The piggy bank has long been a symbol of saving and for many children it is the first foray into managing their finances.
In the good old days, children would put their pocket money in a piggy bank sitting on their bedroom shelf to save for the latest toy or computer game.
Often banks would give them away to encourage saving.
But like most things these days, pocket money is moving online with a range of apps and contactless cards that let parents send and manage their child’s spending through their smartphone.
A child can now use an app to see rewards for chores or good behaviour go straight into their account and can often use prepaid cards to spend their money.
This means the good old piggy banks are now sitting on the shelf gathering dust.
Research by Halifax has found that two years ago 80% of children said they still owned a piggy bank, but this has fallen eight percentage points in 2019 to 72%.
In line with this drop in porcine penny gate-keepers, the number of children receiving some of their pocket money into a bank account has slowly increased over the same period, from 19% to 23%, and the number of children with bank accounts has held steady at 35%. A further 4% of children now ask their parents to pay their cash into specific pocket money apps.
Halifax suggested much of this is due to a move toward a cashless society.
Whilst 82% of 8-year-olds were able to identify a one pence coin, just 69% of 15-year olds, were able to do the same.
The trend continues with paper money – 79% of 8-year olds were able to pick out a ÂŁ10 note – compared to 72% of 15-year olds.
Overall, children performed worst when trying to identify a cheque, with just over half (59%) able to do so. Unlike cash and coins older children performed better in this test.
HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen.
The value of an investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and should not be relied upon
