The White Agency creates Commbank’s ‘Coinland’ to develop financial literacy of youth

Building on the Commonwealth Bank’s commitment to improve the financial literacy of one million Australian children by 2015; the Bank today launched ‘Coinland’, a fun and engaging online game for children, parents and teachers to further develop the financial literacy of young Australians.

WATCH COINLAND VIDEOS

According to Mark Murray, general manager Consumer Marketing, Coinland has been developed specifically to build the financial literacy skills of children, creating a virtual world where they can have fun while starting to build their knowledge about money: “For nearly 80 years we have taught children about money and have seen first-hand how our School Banking program has helped generations of Australians become financially confident.  We know that by establishing and building good saving habits early on with children, these skills will stay with them for life.

“However the once simple lessons of personal finance have grown more complex, and the ways children learn has evolved.  So with this in mind we have created Coinland which reinforces the principles of saving taught in the classroom through our School Banking and StartSmart programs.  Coinland teaches children in a format they can easily relate to and have fun along the way,” said Murray.

The underlying lessons in Coinland are the importance of earning money, saving and setting savings goals. Children learn through challenges and engaging games, visiting eight different zones with the aim for each player to earn and save coins.

Children create a personalised avatar which represents them in the game, alongside their guide Platy, who shows them how their actions impact their savings goals. The Bank’s saving super heroes, the Dollarmites interact with players to bring money management to life. They also meet Mr Save-a-lot who teaches children about money, while Gobbler – Platy’s nemesis – entices them to spend!

As children progress through Coinland their efforts are recognised through Merit Awards – from earning their first coin and opening their first bank account, to recognising their contributions as a regular saver. Parents are also kept informed of their child’s progress through regular emails from Mr Save-a-lot so they can stay involved.

 “With Coinland, children can have fun learning money management skills – including how to earn money, saving and the consequences of spending – in a safe, virtual world, and then start applying their new found skills as they start to use money in the real world,” added Murray.

“We’ll also be regularly refreshing content to ensure that children have a reason to return.”