PennyOwl pocket money app to launch

Irish startup PennyOwl is

to launch its first app in the coming weeks.

The company, which aims to teach children about money management through a pocket money app, is also close to closing a seven-figure seed-funding round that will allow it to expand its team.

PennyOwl’s app will launch on Android and iOS in the US.

Parents can “lodge” pocket money into a child’s PennyOwl account through a linked credit card and the balance can be spent on toys, books or games in PennyOwl’s curated store, which is a controlled, age-appropriate environment.

Children only see content that is suited to their age group and over a certain threshold, the parents must approve the purchase. The money is only taken from the credit card once the child spends it.

Parents can also deduct money spent on real-world items from the balance, allowing children to use them as an ATM of sorts.

Penny Owl is the brainchild of Séamus Matthews, who heads up the company as chief executive.

Formerly employed with Cisco Systems as a sales manager, he came up with the idea for PennyOwl when trying to find a platform that would help teach his three young children about

“As a parent of young children I could see kids were becoming far more tech savvy than we ever would have been growing up. In a way, kids are getting older younger,” he said.

“They were getting into a position where they needed to make financial decisions at a much younger age as well. The digital generation is growing older faster. We need to start the conversation about money at a younger age.”

Although there were some apps out there, they weren’t quite what he was looking for which was a more mature option.

“Kids are using iTunes and Netflix from an early age. They don’t need to be treated like kids to use the technology and apps,” he explained.

His brother Gene, who previously worked with JP Morgan, is chief technology officer, and CFO Paul Hennessy is also a former Gamesworld partner.

Among PennyOwl's supporters are MasterCard, Silicon Valley Bank and Enterprise Ireland, which has named the firm as one of its High Potential Start Ups. Angel investor Kevin Neary, who set up Gamesworld in 1993 with Michael Finucane before selling the business to Gamestop, has also been an early backer of PennyOwl and is chairman of the company.

Super angel

“Every company when they’re in prelaunch mode need a super angel investor behind them; Kevin has been that for us and he’s encouraged other investors to come on board with us,” he said.

Former head of global ecommerce for Toys 'R' Us Michael Scharff is also involved as a strategic advisor to PennyOwl.

Mastercard got involved through its Commerce Innovated programme, which launched in April last year. Six startups took part in the initial programme, one of which was PennyOwl, the only non-US start-up in the line-up.

Although an Irish launch isn’t initially on the cards, Matthews said PennyOwl will be available to Irish users in the future.

The company currently employs three people on a full-time basis, bringing in up to 12 contractors to help with specific projects when needed.

The app will be free for parents to use, although a subscription model is expected to be added before the end of the year.

“We want to make sure PennyOwl is available to families across the spectrum, and then we will deliver premium services,” he said.

Among those services could be the ability to set up a real bank account for children through PennyOwl.