As cashless payments increasingly become the norm in the digital economy, many parents are facing a new question: How can children understand the value of money when everyday transactions are reduced to just a tap on a screen?
This is the gap that Vietnam International Bank (VIB) aims to address with VIB Junior Banking, a pioneering banking solution for children in Vietnam.
More than a card or an application, Junior Banking is designed as a digital financial ecosystem for Vietnamese families, where parents’ everyday spending can become part of their children’s journey toward developing financial awareness and personal money-management skills.
Making financial education more practical
Gen Alpha, the generation born from 2010 onward, is growing up with smartphones and digital payments. While children may become familiar with the idea that “a tap gets it done,” they have fewer opportunities to understand how money is earned, managed, and spent.
For many parents, teaching children to save and manage money is easier said than done. Traditional methods such as piggy banks offer limited interaction, while financial apps designed for adults can be too complex for young users.
VIB Junior Banking is, therefore, designed to walk alongside parents and children build modern and proactive financial habits from an early age. Rather than learning about money only through theory, children can experience the process of earning, saving, and spending through everyday activities.
Instead of taking a control-based approach, VIB built Junior Banking as a companionship model, where parents act as guides while children take the lead in experiencing and practising financial behaviour.
From completing tasks to earning rewards and setting savings goals for things they want, to making their first payment with a card in their own name, children can gradually develop financial habits through small, meaningful decisions.
The 1-2-3 formula: A financial solution for the whole family
What sets VIB Junior Banking apart is its interconnected ecosystem rather than a collection of separate features.
The 1-2-3 structure consists of Maxtopia — a digital financial space for children integrated into VIB’s Max app; the Family Card Set, comprising Family Link for parents, and Junior Smart Card for children aged 6–15, or Ivy Card for older children who are university students; and three core skills: Understanding Transfers, Building Savings, and Spending Smart.
Under this model, the family serves as the central financial unit.
Parents provide guidance, while children learn through hands-on experience.
Instead of separating adult and children’s finances into two independent worlds, Junior Banking connects parents’ financial behaviour with children’s financial learning experiences.
Parents spend, children save: Turning everyday spending into financial learning
One of the notable features of Junior Banking is the direct connection between parents’ spending and children’s savings journey through the family card set.
Transactions made with parents’ Family Link cards, particularly spending on education and healthcare, can earn reward points, with total cashback of up to VND 12 million per year.
Meanwhile, children can experience managing their own spending through the Junior Smart Card or redeem reward points for shopping vouchers on MAX Shop.
The Junior Smart Card also features an automatic earning mechanism on every đồng held in the Max Account, with returns of up to 6%, exclusively for Max customers.
In this way, everyday expenses such as tuition fees, books, and healthcare are no longer simply transactions.
They can become opportunities for children to understand the value of money and develop saving habits through real-life experiences.
Maxtopia: Gamifying financial learning for Gen Alpha
Unlike traditional financial education models, Maxtopia uses gamification to turn financial learning into an interactive experience designed for Gen Alpha.
Children can complete tasks assigned by their parents, take quizzes, or learn through flipcards to earn rewards.
They can then use accumulated points to redeem gifts or spend through their Junior Smart Card.
More than a simulated financial app, Maxtopia provides a digital space where children can experience financial behaviour in ways that connect with everyday life.
Importantly, rewards are linked to actual effort — from completing tasks to reaching savings goals.
This helps children gradually understand that money is connected to effort, value, and priorities.
Future Saving: An online piggy bank for a new generation
Traditional piggy banks can make it difficult for children to see how their savings grow over time.
Future Saving, an online piggy bank feature within Maxtopia, is designed to make that progress more visible.
Parents can help children set their first savings goals, whether for a favourite item or a longer-term plan, and track their progress through a digital savings record.
Rather than simply putting money aside, children can see their goals grow with each small contribution, helping reinforce the motivation to maintain a saving habit.
Parents can also assign tasks through Maxtopia and reward their children by transferring money directly into their savings account.
When the savings mature, children who have reached the age of 15 can take over management of the funds themselves — marking a transition from learning about financial management to taking ownership of their finances.
According to a VIB representative, financial management skills are increasingly becoming a fundamental capability for the younger generation.
Through Junior Banking, VIB aims not only to provide financial products, but also to contribute to children’s financial capability from an early age.
Rather than approaching finance passively, children are given opportunities to experience earning, saving, and making everyday spending decisions for themselves.
As digital payments become increasingly widespread, VIB Junior Banking reflects a shift in financial education — one that is no longer separated from everyday life, but instead develops through the small financial experiences children encounter within their families.