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Find out about our latest NZBC Plus member’s business

Marketing Team | Published on 11/30/2021

Introducing Cashee, our latest NZBC Plus Member. Brad Whittfield, a native of Wellington, New Zealand, has been living in the UAE for over 10 years now. As a father of two boys, Brad made a foray into the world of tech startups as a co-founder of a neobank for teens in the UAE called Cashee. Cashee empowers teens to make their own money decisions now, so they can grow into financially responsible adults. Cashee offers a free banking application and VISA card for teens 13 and above in the UAE. Brad and his co-founder Smeetha Ghosh set up the company during COVID19 lockdown.
SG: The Cashee app is set up to teach teens the concepts of Earning, Saving, Spending (wisely) and Giving. The VISA card is a prepaid card that empowers teens to spend and save digitally and manage their own finances without constantly needing to check with the parentals. The parents however can keep tabs on their kids’ activities at any given time though their app interface and notifications.



So why Cashee? What was the motivation?
BW: I couldn’t believe that teens are unable to open their own bank account in this region. I recall walking to Postbank as a young kid in Wellington with my bankbook in hand about to deposit my 50-cent pocket money. So it was very clear to us that this space was underserved in the region which was contributing to a low level of financial literacy.
It was during this ideation stage that I came across something a bank in NZ was doing in the space of kids and financial literacy. Smeetha instantly resonated with the concept as someone who wasn’t taught a lot about money growing up and I wanted my kids to grow up learning the basics of money management here in the UAE.
SG: I think for me it was a no-brainer and I thought to myself “I wish I had this app growing up!” and funnily enough that’s what almost all parents we have spoken to about Cashee have said too. So we realized that there is a real need for this solution among families here in the UAE.
What did you learn in your discussions with parents?
SG: We’ve spoken to over 250 parents in the UAE, and teens as well. Over 80% of parents we spoke to said they struggled to teach their kids about money and we know schools are not teaching about personal finance either. There has been very little progress around personal finance education for kids and teens and somehow the system (schools, colleges, government, financial institutions) are only just waking up to the importance of this.

Who is the team behind Cashee?
BW: Cashee was founded by Smeetha and I last year and we have grown into a 10-person team! We have a third co-founder who has close to 30 years of payment experience including over 20 years at Visa. But there is a wider team behind this product – we have partnered with Bank FAB and with Visa (as part of their Fintech program) and Microsoft.
SG: My professional background has been in B2C (business to consumer) marketing , heading product and communication for business units for over 15 years, in companies like Philips, Electrolux and Logitech, and bring that expertise to Cashee. When is Cashee launching and what are your plans in the region?
BW: Cashee is launching in the UAE very soon! We’re hoping to go live in December. Our plan is to launch in the UAE and then expand quickly into KSA & Egypt in 2022.