In today's day and age, it is essential for young adults to develop financial awareness in order to navigate the world. Discussing personal finance and money management around the dinner table is a wonderful idea, however, allowing the learning to reach your teen directly through the apps on their gadget is even better.

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Our Gen Z has a maximum attention span of about 8 seconds. In order to capture their attention, teen-focused money applications simplify difficult financial ideas into digestible, bite-sized morsels of information. Or by giving teens the option to do-it-yourself as a way for them to pick up some money management skills.

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Here are 6 popular money and allowance apps for teens in UAE:

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1. Xare - For parents, Xare is the digital equivalent of handing over physical cash to your teen. This can be for paying him pocket money or a weekly allowance, giving him rewards for doing chores, or simply asking him to pay utility bills or do the grocery shopping. The teen doesn’t need a bank account to use Xare – just a smartphone will do. 

- Xare allows parents to share their credit or debit cards with their teens

- Teen gets to make money choices using the parent’s card as their own 

- Parents share cards safely without sharing the card details

- Parents can monitor the spend by setting limits, approving each transaction and picking the stores where the teen can shop. They can increase the spending limit or even take back access, if needed’

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2. Leap -  The Leap app encourages a transparent, fun, and engaging education in money management. The app shines light on the importance of youth financial literacy by incentivizing responsible spending and saving habits - nurturing the next generation's ability to be financially responsible and contribute meaningfully to the economy, targeting the unbanked population of under-18s.

Its features include :

- Instant transfers

- Real time notifications on card and app activity

- Digital account top up using Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Bank Transfer.

3. Zywa -  Zywa offers a prepaid card for teenagers and an app for them to manage and save money. It allows parents to send money to their children, which they can spend securely in the safe environment of their parents’ oversight. It allows your child to make digital payments online and in-store. Zywa saves you the headache of worrying about your child running out of cash and at the same time helps your children enhance their financial literacy through a learning-by-doing approach. 

Its features include :

- Children can track their expenses in real-time and receive instant money.

- Win cool gadgets and experiences by earning zems (zywa gems) & zyons (zywa coins) with every interaction in the app.

- No subscription fee - free for life!

4. Cashee - Cashee offers a Visa prepaid card and banking application for teens in the UAE. Their aim is to improve financial literacy levels among the youth by providing teens aged 13 years and above their own digital banking platform and VISA card. Cashee cards are Internationally recognized Prepaid Cards. The app is engaging, interactive and geared towards how young people learn. The fun interface make learning about money a positive, exciting experience.

Its features include :

- Send your kids money safely via the app, to avoid outside merchants that may be untrustworthy.

- The app facilitates ongoing, normal and age-appropriate conversations around money at home - without imparting fear, guilt or avoiding the issue.

- No subscription fee - free for life!

5. Edfundo - Building good financial habits needs to start early, and the best way to learn this is by experiencing it in the real world. Edfundo is committed to encouraging a healthy relationship with money from a young age.

Its features include :

- Automatically schedule allowances

- Control how much and where they can spend (in-store & online).

- Real-time analytics, reporting saving, spending, and earning.

6. Verity - Check off giving weekly pocket money and going to the ATM from your ‘To Do’ list for good with Verity. Manage your child's spending limits and get notifications for activities you want to monitor.  Add Tasks and Chores for them to earn. Help them set Saving and Giving goals and guide them to manage their spending.

Its features include :

- Easily turn cards on and off.

- Verity card can be added to Apple Pay and Google Pay.

- No subscription fee - free for life!

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Hence, there are a number of smartphone apps available that can help your kid learn appropriate money management while simultaneously enabling you to keep an eye on their spending to determine whether or not they're on track. Speak to your young adult so you can come up with a compromise and assist them in managing his money effectively through spending, shopping, and saving.

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