Desert Financial Credit Union, based in Arizona with over 480,000 members and more than $9 billion in assets under management, has launched Kickstart, a youth engagement platform powered by Incent, designed to educate younger members on financial management and foster long-term loyalty.
Since its launch in Fall 2024, Kickstart has sustained upward growth and received positive member response, particularly among teens. The program allows parents or guardians to open a free savings account for a minor. For children aged 6 to 17, a free checking account, debit card, and access to a youth-centric digital banking app are also available, encouraging the development of strong financial habits.
Kickstart is designed with parental involvement, offering features such as paying children for completing parent-assigned tasks (e.g., chores, good grades), assisting with savings goals, providing customizable “loans” with interest rates, sending allowances, and setting spending limits. Additionally, the platform rewards kids and teens with digital trophies for demonstrating financially responsible behaviors, including balancing a budget, achieving savings goals, or engaging with educational videos to enhance financial literacy.
Michelle Murray, AVP product management at Desert Financial, stated, “We were looking for a youth banking platform that would not only attract younger members, but more importantly, would also engage and build long-term loyalty to the credit union. Incent was the only provider that shared our vision and together we built a modern youth banking solution that is interactive and advanced, yet simple and intuitive to navigate. At Desert Financial, we were proactive in our search for a partner that could help us better engage with our younger members and Incent had a much stronger offering than the alternatives.”
Incent’s youth engagement platform, a leading provider of family and youth digital banking solutions for banks and credit unions, integrates with an institution’s existing digital banking infrastructure, providing a secure, real-world digital banking experience for children and teens. The white-labeled solution enables financial institutions to build brand awareness, maintain ownership of the account holder relationship, and seamlessly transition the child to an “adult” account upon turning 18. The platform also ensures deposits and interchange revenue remain within the client institution rather than being diverted to third-party fintech sponsor banks.
Murray added, “With Kickstart, children can learn how to manage money firsthand using their own checking account, debit card, and/or Online Banking login. The ability to transact and manage money is an important element of financial literacy, and Kickstart empowers young members to build these skills early. We’ve already seen a 32 percent increase in total youth accounts opened, and the volume of debit card transactions per account is more than expected – averaging 8.5 transactions and $150 spent each month.” She continued, “Parents and children are actively engaging with their accounts as well, with an average of 14 transfers into each youth account monthly via chore and allowance features, simulating the experience of earning an income. Together with the Incent platform, Kickstart firmly supports the financial well-being of our members and promotes long-term growth and loyalty.”
Marcell King, president and COO of Incent, commented, “Beyond delivering solutions that involve the families and drive financial wellness, Incent’s priority is to empower credit unions like Desert Financial to strengthen relationships with the next generation of account holders. They understand the importance of nurturing these younger consumers which ultimately leads to their sustainability for the foreseeable future. We look forward to growing with them on their journey.”
