A remedy for the dry and didactic, new approach kicks off with native “Animal Crossing” integration
Only a third of Americans can answer four out of five basic financial questions, down from 42 percent 10 years earlier, with the biggest drop among young people ages 18-34, according a study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation1. In an effort to reverse these trends, leading digital financial services company Ally Financial is embracing gamification as a powerful new strategy to make learning about money easy, fun, and above all, effective.
Ally’s approach features interactive programming designed to engage teachers and parents of elementary, middle and high school students, as well as Generation Z and Millennial consumers, through play. It recently kicked off with an Ally integration inside Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing,” a video game popular among Gen Z and Millennials and includes a number of financial interactions embedded in the game play. Concepts such as currency, interest rates, stock prices and real estate are all part of “Animal Crossing,” and the new “Ally Island” will give players the opportunity to improve their financial positions in the game while gaining a deeper understanding of these concepts.
“Financial health plays a central role in our overall well-being yet, as a society, we haven’t put nearly enough emphasis on teaching our kids about responsible spending, saving and investing to help them lead happy, financially stable lives,” said Diane Morais, president of Consumer & Commercial Banking Products at Ally Bank. “It’s time for a new approach — one that sows the seeds of financial understanding early and helps it grow in ways people will embrace. As a digital-only bank, we understand the power of using technology to make things simple and enjoyable. By taking a similar approach to learning, we can bring lessons about money to where the new generation spends its time, helping them absorb, understand and master these lessons through fun, digital game play.”
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