Maui County Federal Credit Union this week announced a partnership with an app that it hopes will drive engagement with teenagers.
Zogo, developed by a group of Duke University students, is a free app that offers a series of colorful, financial-themed stages, or modules, that players progress through. They can eventually earn rewards like $5 gift cards to stores like Starbucks, Target or Amazon.
Denise Thayer, Maui County FCU chief development and communications officer, told Pacific Business News that it is a three-year partnership. There is no direct incentive to join the credit union on the app, but Maui County FCU has its own benefits for teens 13 to 17, such as rewards for good grades, free coin machine access and the ability to get a debit card, Thayer said.
"Our teen account members also have their own 'leaderboard' in Zogo where members could receive checking account bonuses for learning on Zogo," Thayer said in an email.
MCFCU cited a study by Junior Achievement that showed 84% of teens say they look to their parents for information about money, and pointed out a survey by EVERFI that showed only 43% of parents felt they were "well prepared" for money conversations.
"Our members told us financial education isn’t something kids are consistently learning in school," said Gary Fukuroku, Maui County Federal Credit Union CEO and president, in a statement. "We loved that Zogo combines a digital approach with insights from Duke University behavioral scientists to actually engage future generations."
Zogo tries to offer helpful tips with each lesson. A sample lesson question is, "What is more likely to return greater profits in the long run, saving or investing?" If players select the correct answer, "Investing," they gain points toward advancing to the next lesson, akin to language-learning apps like Duolingo.
Said Bolun Li, CEO and co-founder of Zogo, in Maui County FCU's release: "Growing up, we didn't have good experiences learning about personal finance. With Zogo, we wanted to create a financial education experience our peers would actually use. We are excited to partner with Maui County Federal Credit union to bring this vision to life."
Maui County FCU is Maui County's largest credit union at over 50 employees and nearly 20,000 members.
