At FinovateSpring this year, Virtual Piggy took the stage to demo its online payments platform made for consumers under the age of 18. We wanted to check it out, so we signed up for an account.
Overview
- Headquartered in Hermosa Beach, CA
- Founded in 2008
- Publicly traded company (VPIG)
Over 35 merchants have signed on with the Virtual Piggy platform, including:
Product Highlights
1. Account dashboards
The parent’s homepage displays 5 categories:
- Payment Accounts
- Child Profiles
- Guest list
- Merchant list
- Reports
There is also an Alerts section highlighting items that need attention.
The child’s homepage is much simpler, and displays a dashboard that details:
- Spending
- Saving
- Giving
- Wishlist
2. Child settings
Parents customize an account for each child and select details, such as:
- Limits on transaction dollar amount
- Allowed merchants
- Parent approval requirement
- Savings requirements
Next, the child is prompted to enter their username and password to login, then confirm the purchase. Since the parent already entered payment and shipping information, shipping is automatically calculated.
What’s New
Since demoing at FinovateSpring, Virtual Piggy began supporting monthly subscription payments. With this update, teens and tweens can purchase subscriptions within games and other online digital media services by using their Virtual Piggy accounts.
To learn more about Virtual Piggy, watch its FinovateSpring 2012 demo.