Russians told about spending on pocket money for children

In Russia, 67% of surveyed parents transfer pocket money to a card to their children, while 33% prefer cash. These are the results of a joint survey conducted by Roskachevo and Moifinance.rf, a project of the National Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, which were presented to Izvestia on December 4.

According to statistics, most often children's bank card is opened at the age of 11-12 years old, this age was named by 33% of respondents. At the same time, the decision to issue a plastic for the child is usually made by the parents themselves (59%), less often the reason is the desire of the children themselves (41%).

"Our research emphasizes the importance of early education in financial literacy. Involving children in money management through debit cards and regular discussions of financial issues can significantly improve their understanding and attitude to money," Olga Shanaeva, deputy head of Roskachchestvo, explained to Izvestia.

According to her, it is important to explain to children the difference between what they really need and what they just want. This will help them make more informed decisions when spending.

"Create a tradition of regular financial discussions in the family. This could be discussing the week's expenses or planning a monthly budget. Being open about money is what promotes financial literacy. As a result, such discussions not only develop financial culture, but also help create strong family relationships and improve the quality of life for the whole family," Shanaeva added.

According to the survey results, the most popular reason to open a bank card for a child was the convenience of issuing funds for the child's pocket expenses (71%). The second place is occupied by the desire to teach the child to manage money independently (66%). In third place is the ease of control over spending (57%).

At the same time, as experts found out, 56% of parents together with their children regularly analyze their spending on the bank card, 92% talk to the child about the rules of financial security and the risks of fraud. In addition, 58% of respondents reported that they do not know what dropships are.

From the age of 14, a child has the opportunity to draw up his or her own card, Mikhail Sergeichik, head of the NIFI project of the Russian Ministry of Finance's Moifinance.rf, reminded.

"The account that is linked to it will no longer be on the parent, but on the child. It will become more difficult to track transactions on this banking product. The risk of fraudulent actions in relation to the young owner of the bank account increases. Drops are one such risk. A child may become an unwitting accomplice to fraud, and such experience, unfortunately, will be criminal," he explained.

Sergiychik noted that children often do not realize the consequences of their actions, so the line between the weakening of parental control and its complete loss is very thin. The expert expressed the opinion that ideally, freedom of action should be given when the parent is convinced that the child at least at the level of theory has learned all the necessary rules, that he is warned about the major risks and ready to discuss their financial decisions with adult close relatives.

Earlier, September 18, it was reported that 31% of surveyed parents give their children up to Br500 a week, 27% - from Br500 to Br1 thousand, 14% - from Br1 thousand to Br3 thousand, 3% - from Br3 thousand to Br5 thousand and more. This is stated in the results of a study of analysts of fintech company YuMoneu.