Verity Kids Bank app goes live in UAE

The Verity app and prepaid Visa card enable children 8+ to start developing their personal finance skills in a real-life setting.

The platform allows parents to control the entire family account while giving each child the option to create and manage their profiles. Parents can top up their digital wallets directly from their bank accounts and then allocate a certain amount to each user in the household through pre-arranged monthly or weekly allowances or one-time transfers. Children can also choose to “make money” by completing chores and tasks set by their parents. Once funds are received, children are prompted to decide how much they are willing to contribute to personal or family savings goals, career or charitable programs, or spending budgets.

Omar Al-Sharif, co-founder of Verity, said: “While it’s great to see many financial institutions begin the transition to youth banking, which remains an underserved sector, we’re proud to be the first to launch a truly A comprehensive offering is available for our community to download and start using immediately. The Verity app is built for families in the region – in the UAE alone, there are over 200 ethnic groups with vastly different lifestyles, which means there is room for an extremely diverse Audience. We took the time to create a platform tailored to the needs of our target users, and the positive feedback we received from our test group (who were the first to experience the app) showed us that this was the right approach. “

Verity partners with Visa and MENA Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider NymCard to facilitate the digital banking experience, issue personalized debit cards that are fully integrated into the app, and allow children to shop online and in stores, at parent-set within the parameter range. Parents can then gain a comprehensive view of their child’s every transaction and receive real-time reports on household and personal spending, allowing them to guide their child’s financial journey in a more informed way.

Alex McCrea, Vice President and Head of Strategic Partnerships and Ventures, Central EMEA, Visa, said: “We believe our partnership with Verity is particularly important in the UAE, where a cashless society is fast becoming the norm. As young people begin to enter the workforce, they Must have the knowledge and tools to make sound and responsible financial decisions. We are delighted to be working with Verity to provide safe, innovative payment solutions for young people in the UAE and their families, and look forward to supporting their efforts in the region expansion.”

Dina Shoman, co-founder of Verity, commented: “We are witnessing a true digital transformation in the region, with financial services leading the way, with 69% of MENA transactions predicted to be cashless by 2023. In reality, very few next-generation Interacting with banknotes or coins means parents have to be the first to help them understand the value of money.”

Omar Onsi, CEO and Founder of NymCard, said: “Verity is building a valuable use case to address a real pain point for families in the MENA region. We are proud to have played a role in this milestone and we look forward to seeing Verity in our Scale their offerings seamlessly on a banking-as-a-service infrastructure.”

The launch comes on the heels of Verity’s latest bridge funding round, backed by strategic global investors, which brings its total raised, including its seed round, to more than $1.2 million. The additional funding will be used to develop new app features and facilitate customer acquisition activities, while also driving the company’s expansion into new markets in the MENA region.

Kamal Al-Samarrai, co-founder of Verity, commented: “Over the past 18 months, the Verity team has worked tirelessly to develop a comprehensive, intuitive home banking and financial literacy app – something that has so far not been achieved is available in the UAE. Despite the challenges we may face, we are proud to cross the finish line in the first phase of our roadmap and demonstrate that we can indeed do it. This would not have been possible without the support of our investors Yes, they’ve supported us in all of this, and we’re delighted to have them by our side as we enter this new phase of our growth journey.”