Otly!

Otly!, a fintech startup founded in the Netherlands, operated as a digital allowance manager before ceasing to trade in October 2021. The company cited that continuing was no longer “economically feasible”. The concept was developed by co-founder and CEO Lior Bornshtain, who experienced the challenges of giving his children pocket money in an increasingly cashless society. This personal pain point led to the creation of a virtual banking experience to teach children financial literacy in a controlled environment.

The company's core offering consisted of two mobile applications: 'Otly!' for parents and the optional 'Otly! Jr.' for children. Through the parent app, adults could set up automatic weekly or monthly allowances and monitor their children's virtual earnings and spending. The children's app, 'Otly! Jr.', was designed to engage kids with their finances by allowing them to create savings goals, visualize their financial growth through graphs, and see a countdown to their next allowance. This dual-app system provided a comprehensive overview for the family's allowance management.

A key feature of the platform was the ability for children to request to spend money, which required parental approval. However, the function to connect the app directly to a bank account for online spending was only available in the Netherlands. For users in other regions, like the UK, parents would pay for items with their own money and then manually deduct the amount from the child's balance within the app. The business model was distinct in the pocket money app market; instead of charging subscription fees, Otly! was free to use. It planned to generate revenue by charging partner companies a small commission on transactions made through the app, a feature that was not fully rolled out. The platform also included features like creating virtual savings jars and 'Otly! Give', which enabled children to donate to charities. Despite its novel approach and winning accolades such as the Dutch FinTech Awards in 2017, the company could not achieve a sustainable economic model.

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