HKMB Hong Kong Means Business

Hong Kong Means Business Hong Kong Means Business
  • Login / Register

Languages

  • EN
  • 繁
  • 简
  • Events
  • My Feed
  • Contact HKTDC
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe

Section Menu

  • Market Opportunities
  • Tech & Innovation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Sustainability
  • Creativity & Lifestyle
  • HKTDC Updates
  • Featured Topics

Languages

  • EN
  • 繁
  • 简
  • HKTDC.com |
  • About HKTDC |
  • My HKTDC |
  • Login / Register |

HKTDC.com About HKTDC My HKTDC

Login Register

Hong Kong Means Business

Section Menu

  • Market Opportunities
  • Tech & Innovation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Sustainability
  • Creativity & Lifestyle
  • HKTDC Updates
  • Featured Topics

https://origin.hkmb.hktdc.com/en/1X0AI56F

Tech & Innovation
SAVE FOR LATER
SHARE / SEND

"Scan QR Code" in WeChat and tap "..." to share.

Budgeting for beginners

App makers aim to give children a good grounding in money management by starting from a young age.

15 August 2019



Teresa Chan (left) and Chester Szeen
Mellow App Co-Founders Teresa Chan (left) and Chester Szeen

Hong Kong techpreneurs Teresa Chan and Chester Szeen believe in an early start when it comes to managing money, and have developed an app to do just that.

The business partners founded their fintech start-up, Mellow App Ltd, in July 2018 and launched its first iteration in late March 2019. Targeting the mobile generation, Mellow was developed as an all-in-one personal finance solution helping parents teach their children aged six to 18 the cycle of goal-setting, saving, earning and spending in a habitual, practical and educational way.

Incorporating game-like features to make learning fun, the app allows children to record their income and expenses, such as pocket money and transport fares, and plan their savings goals.

If a child wants to buy a particular item, “they input the price, and the date they hope to purchase,” Mr Szeen explained. The app will calculate how much they have to save every week, and alert them if they are spending too much and the target may not be reached.”

As an interactive element, parents can set tasks for their children in order to earn rewards, and top up their savings for tasks completed.

Digital money lesson

Mellow app
The Mellow app helps children as young as six learn to manage money

The app is based on real, not virtual, money. In its beta (early) stage, transactions were cash-based. From mid-August 2019, Mellow App will be connected to a MasterCard debit card, which parents and children may top up either by direct debit, through an automated teller machine (ATM) or the Faster Payment System.

Giving young users direct access to their money – with parental oversight – is the next step in their learning journey. “Parents can freeze the card if they see anything suspicious,” Mr Szeen said.

Ms Chan said: “We think digital money is the future and there’s no way to avoid this trend. It’s best that people learn to deal with it early.”

The app is free at present but Mellow’s business model going forward will involve a monthly subscription. Marketplace referral fees will add to the start-up’s revenue stream. 

“As children add products to their wish lists, like Amazon, we can charge a referral fee from the merchants,” Mr Szeen said. He expects the start-up to break even in 2021.

Mellow itself does not hold the user’s money. “The money handling part is done by a licensed firm,” Mr Szeen said, adding that the app’s robust cybersecurity was developed with input from AngelHub, Hong Kong’s first licensed start-up investment platform.

Leveraging strong support

Mellow is part of the Cyberport Incubation Programme, which supports Hong Kong entrepreneurs and start-ups with resources that aim to accelerate their growth. In addition to a range of business and professional services, incubatees are given access to as much as HK$500,000 in support over 24 months.

Cyberport is a partner of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) Start-up Express start-up development programme.

The two entrepreneurs find such support vital in taking a new business off the ground. They also view Hong Kong as a good place to test a fintech product.

“Hong Kong is good for proof of concept because of its diverse culture, robust infrastructure and solid fintech regulation,” Mr Szeen said.

The Mellow team has learned, though, that a start-up needs to be agile. “We are always responding to what the market tells us, and that’s why start-ups are exciting,” Ms Chan said.

To Mr Szeen, Mellow “is not just a fintech solution”. “It’s also a Hong Kong start-up story of two young co-founders following their dreams,” he said.

The fintech start-up world will be well represented at the 2020 edition of the  Asian Financial Forum as well as such events as the HKTDC International ICT Expo.

Related links
Cyberport
Mellow App

BACK TO TOP ^
CONTENT PROVIDED BY
    Topics:
  • Finance & Investment,
  • Education & Training,
  • Hong Kong,
  • start-ups,
  • Fintech,
  • asian financial forum,
  • education,
  • Accelerators,
  • e-business
  • Finance & Investment
  • Education & Training
  • Hong Kong
Home

Article Topics

ARTICLE TOPICS

FINANCE & INVESTMENT24664
EDUCATION & TRAINING24643
HONG KONG36026
START-UPS98715
FINTECH110810

ARTICLE TOPICS

FINANCE & INVESTMENT24664
EDUCATION & TRAINING24643
HONG KONG36026
START-UPS98715
FINTECH110810
ASIAN FINANCIAL FORUM85064
EDUCATION80836
ACCELERATORS131867
E-BUSINESS80889

Innovation terms banner block

interest_article

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

12 January 2023

Closing the fintech gap

15 December 2022

Sharing economy in toy room

05 December 2022

Asian Financial Forum returns

13 October 2022

A safe haven for digital assets

Related Events

RELATED EVENTS

2 - 5 February 2023

HKTDC Education & Careers Expo 2023

26 October - 6 November 2023

Eco Expo Asia 2023 (Click2Match)

26 - 29 October 2023

Eco Expo Asia 2023 (Physical Fair)

9 - 11 November 2023

HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair (Physical Fair)
FIND AN EVENT

Social Share

FOLLOW US

GET WEEKLY UPDATES

newpaper-img

GET OUR WEEKLY EMAIL UPDATES

banner-img


I acknowledge that the above information may be used by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) for incorporation in all or any of its database for direct marketing or business matching purpose (and may therefore become available to the public within and/or outside of Hong Kong for use by them), and for any other purposes as stated in the Privacy Policy Statement; I confirm that I have the consent and the authority of each individual named in this form to release their personal data for the purposes stated herein.


*For non-EU/EEA customers, please skip this box which is solely for EU/EEA customers as required by the relevant data protection law in the EU.

THANK YOU

Thank you for registering.

SHARE THIS STORY

EMAIL
LINKEDIN
WeChat
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
WHATSAPP

ID: HKTDCofficial

Don't have an account?

Create An Account

successfully added on your preferences.