Nas and Will Smith have invested in a new banking app for teens that will help them gain financial literacy.
According to a report in TechCrunch, the startup company behind the app is called Step, which builds mobile-based banking services for teenagers
The round includes Will Smith’s Dreamers fund, Nas, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Wndrco, Ronnie Lott, Matt Rutler, Kevin Gould, and Moat founders Noah and Jonah Goodhart. Crosslink Capital, Collaborative Fund, and Sesame Ventures also participated.
The app will be attached to a MasterCard, and parents will be able to monitor their child’s transactions, and add money to their account, and set limits. The app’s services will also change as teens get older.
The app will start with a rollout in the U.S. market.
“Schools don’t teach kids about money,” CJ MacDonald, the CEO and co-founder of Step told TechChrunch. “We want to be their first bank accounts with spending cards, but we also want to teach financial literacy and responsibility. Banks don’t tailor to this, and we want to be a solution teaching the next generation of adults to be more responsible with money in the cashless era. It was easy with cash to go to the mall but now everyone is using their phone for Uber and more.”
