Tangible Interactions to Promote Financial Planning

Tangible interactions help kids learn the value of money, even when transactions are electronic.

Today, many financial transactions take place through digital channels, transforming the ways in which children learn about money. Concepts such as earning, saving, and spending are challenging concepts for children grasp without tangible interactions.

Through ethnographic research and user experience scenarios, this project explored how new technologies could help children learn about money. For example, in one concept, a tablet was used in conjunction with small tokens, or “toys”. Children would use the tablet to distribute their money into these toys, which would then act as a digital wallet, allowing them to pay for things electronically at vendors approved by their parents.