With Bling, the fintech startup revolution spreads itself into pocket money • TechCrunch
Today, banks and fintech startups tend not to offer products dedicated to families in particular, and this has emerged as something of a gap in the market. Meanwhile, the general lack of financial education and financial literacy means families are missing out on securing financial prosperity for their families.
GoHenry (which raised $121.2 million), which bills itself as “smart banking for kids” has tried to crack a piece of this market, but is aimed at kids, not families, per say. Meanwhile, others chew on Gen Zs and parents, such as Greenlight (US), Spriggy (AUS), Ruuky (DE), Step (US), Current (US), Nosso (UK) and Unest (US).
Into this battle has entered Bling, a startup founded by a 20-year-old that offers a financial platform aimed specifically at families, designed to allow parents to do financial planning for their children, from pocket money to first investments.
It has now raised a €3.5 million seed round with funding from Peak (based out of Amsterdam); La Famiglia; angels such as Lea-Sophie Cramer, Verena Pausder, Felix Haas (co-founder IDnow), Jakob Schreyer (co-founder Orderbird), former ING-Diba CEO Ben Tellings, soccer World Cup winner André Schürrle, family “influencer” Carmen Kroll, Angel Invest and Prediction Capital.
The startup says it addresses the estimated €3.3 billion in pocket money given out in Germany each year, just for children aged six to 13, along with €35 billion spent on the domestic market in Germany alone (German census ).
The Bling product has teaching modules for parents, offers payment cards for children and can, for example, cover extras via housework.
Founder Nils Feigenwinter started Bling at just 20 years old, creating it because, he says, he became frustrated during his high school years to see classmates already going into personal debt: “After twelve years of school, I looked back and realized: Fine, I can now recognize the Pythagorean theorem and boulders, but I have no idea how to save or manage money responsibly,” he said in a statement.
With Bling, parents register, but no KYC is required because it only operates with an initial amount of less than €150. They create a family account, receive a card and set up the child’s account. Children learn via modules, set up savings pots, can earn money via errands and tasks, and customize their cards.
After that, family members and the community join Bling via links, thereby contributing to savings pots and investment plans, managing household expenses and preparing for critical financial events.
Bling claims it now has over 10,000 kids using a Bling card as their first personal payment experience six months after launch, as it eventually reaches grandparents, godparents and friends, using network effects for growth.
The business model for Bling is direct subscription, transactions and fees from financial products, partnerships (first mobile subscription, insurance etc.).
Before Bling, Feigenwinter founded three other companies in the youth segment, including Switzerland’s largest student magazine, family goods and a licensing house, as well as a consulting agency specialized in topics for young adults, which led him to be described as a “fintech wunderkind” by the German media. He is joined by CTO and co-founder Leon Stephan.
