NatWest has acquired FinTech RoosterMoney as part of its strategy to help families and young people more easily manage their money.
Launched in 2016, the London-based startup makes it simple for parents and children to learn about earning, saving, giving and spending money.
The app has a five-star rating from users and has been growing quickly, adding new features such as reward charts, chore reminders, and customised interest rates that can be set by parents to encourage the saving habit.
RoosterMoney allows parents to immediately freeze a card if it is lost and block payments to specific merchants. It also gives parents and children real-time notifications on their spending and comes with a ‘contactless counter’ so children know how far away they are from having to next use their chip-and-pin.
“We want NatWest to be the easiest and most useful bank for families and young people,” said Simon Watson, Retail Banking at NatWest Group.
“Rooster have built a brilliant app with best-in-market features that we’re excited to offer to NatWest customers.
“We know that the world of money is changing, and we want to help parents, carers and young people feel confident and capable – Rooster helps us do just that.”
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Rooster has over 130,000 UK users and following today’s announcement existing customers can continue to use the Rooster app as they normally would.
NatWest will be working to offer Rooster as part of its existing products and services in the coming months.
RoosterMoney CEO Will Carmichael said: “We’re delighted to be joining NatWest Group at such an exciting time.
“At RoosterMoney we believe that if you build financial capability early on, you’re better prepared to take on the challenges that life throws at you.
“That’s totally aligned with the bank’s purpose and we’re very excited about working together to help more parents and kids to build their financial confidence.”