The challenge
Traditional kids banking products were functional but uninspiring. They focused on parental control and financial safety, but failed to engage children in a meaningful way. The challenge was to design an experience that genuinely appealed to young users, while remaining secure, educational, and trusted by parents.

The ambition was not to simplify adult banking, but to rethink banking entirely through a child’s lens. The product needed to teach financial literacy without feeling like a lesson, and encourage healthy money habits through play, progress, and reward.

My role
I was responsible for bringing the entire concept to life, from the initial idea through to execution and launch. This included defining the core experience, shaping the narrative world, and leading a multidisciplinary group of external specialists across illustration, animation, 3D, game design, and mobile development.

I worked closely with stakeholders to balance creativity with security and compliance, ensuring the experience felt rich and imaginative while integrating safely with a parent’s bank account. My role sat across strategy, creative direction, and hands-on design leadership throughout the project’s lifecycle.

What we made
The experience was built around a fictional island made up of five distinct areas, each representing a different aspect of money management. These areas were brought to life through five characters inspired by the Big Five animals, which also appear on South African banknotes.

Each character played a clear functional and educational role within the app.

The rhino represented the child’s bank balance, giving visibility and context to how much money they had.
The cheetah focused on earning, allowing kids to complete tasks and chores to earn money.
The lion introduced goal setting and saving, helping children plan and work towards rewards.
Spending was handled through a dedicated area where children could manage how they used their money within the app.
The elephant rewarded engagement, encouraging consistent use and reinforcing positive behaviours through badges and achievements.

The world was fully animated and interactive, using storytelling and progression to keep children engaged over time. Parents could securely connect the app to their own bank account, giving them oversight and control while allowing kids to feel a sense of independence.

Beyond the core app, I also directed and designed a range of supporting launch assets. These included character design, app iconography, badge systems, introductory animation sequences, marketing posters, emailers, a bank card generator, and a dedicated microsite designed for both desktop and mobile.

The impact
Kidz Banking was widely adopted and resonated strongly with the youth market in South Africa. It stood apart from typical banking products by treating children as active participants rather than passive account holders.

The app helped normalise conversations around money between parents and children, while giving kids a sense of ownership and understanding over their finances. For the bank, it demonstrated how financial products could be both responsible and genuinely engaging, setting a new benchmark for youth-focused digital banking in the region.