Highlights:

  • Junio, the kids’ smart card venture, looks forward to raising USD 3 million.
  • The funds will be deployed to improve Junio’s product development and customer acquisition plans.
  • The primary idea behind Junio is to digitize pocket money for kids between grade 4 to grade 10.

Junio, a kids-focused digital smart card that allows kids to make digital and physical purchases, recently announced its plan to raise USD 3 million in a seed round.

The fundraising event is supported by marquee institutional investors. The event will also witness angel investors. Funds raised from the event will be spent to enhance Junio’s product development and customer acquisition initiatives.

Founded by former Paytm alumni Ankit Gera and Shankar Nath in September 2020, the concept behind establishing Junio was to digitize pocket money for children between grade 4 to grade 10 while cultivating financial knowledge and discipline in children at an early age.

Ankit Gera, Co-founder, Junio, mentioned, “Junio acts as a smart card and allows kids to make physical and digital purchases. Our aim is to create a community of financially smart and empowered young generation. The target is to deploy 2 lakh smart cards pan India by the end of 2021.”

What does the app offer?

Designed for children to understand the value of money at an early age, the app, along with instant pocket money transfer, helps parents to keep a check on their child’s spending and also allows parents to create in-app daily tasks for children and associate them with perks.

Additionally, the app is incorporated with features like setting withdrawal limits for ATM and gives parents the flexibility to cancel the card at any time using the app.

Dib Chaudhuri, a Singapore-based serial entrepreneur and angel investor, shared his thoughts and stated, “Kids-focused fintech is a new concept in India and a space that is unexplored. What’s most impressive is Junio’s approach to meet the needs of the millennials who are inclined towards the digital world, shopping online using their parent’s debit/credit card. The new-age fintech startup aims to nurture financial literacy among children and empowers them to grow into financially independent adults.”