FamZoo Family Finance app for iPhone and iPad
4.2 (
9472 ratings )
Finance
Lifestyle
Developer:
FamZoo.com
Free
Current version:
3.1, last update: 4 years ago
First release : 27 Oct 2010
App size: 14.5 Mb
“Thank you for the FamZoo service! It has really helped my kids understand money, budgeting and saving. It’s also way more convenient than cash for me and for them!”
~Matt H., Derby, Kansas
FamZoo helps kids, teens, and parents develop good personal finance habits without the hassle. FamZoo is a collection of prepaid cards for your family. The cards are linked together by our award-winning app filled with family finance features that reinforce good money habits. (If your kids aren’t quite ready for our cards, you can use FamZoo’s IOU accounts to track money held elsewhere.) Use FamZoo to manage your family’s spending, saving, charitable giving, allowances, chores, budgets, goals, loans, and much more.
IT’S EASY TO GET STARTED
Sign up for a free trial by visiting FamZoo.com in your browser using any device. Register your family and order your prepaid cards or set up your IOU accounts in just minutes. No credit check required. Easy online verification.
After initial setup, your registered family members can use this app or any browser (mobile or desktop) to access FamZoo anytime, anywhere.
FAMZOO IS PERFECT FOR:
• All ages — preschool through college.
• Avoiding credit card debt, overdraft fees, and other hidden fees.
• Moving money instantly between family members (like in emergencies!).
• Purchasing items safely online and in stores.
• Managing your child’s allowance.
• Tracking chores and odd jobs.
• Keeping kids (and parents) on budget.
• Maintaining parental control, while empowering kids.
• Handling money requests, reimbursements, and IOUs between family members.
• Teaching your children the power of compound interest, the dangers of debt, the rewards of hard work, the importance of staying on budget, and the wonders of charitable giving.
• Customizing your virtual bank to emphasize your family’s own unique values.
SEE OUR FULL LIST OF FEATURES: famzoo.com/faqs
NOTE: FamZoo cards are only issued in the United States. IOU accounts are available everywhere.
WHY PEOPLE LOVE AND TRUST FAMZOO
• Winner of the Finovate 2011 and 2013 Best of Show Awards
• Winner of the FinCon 2015 Judge’s and People’s Choice Awards
• Featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TIME, NPR, PBS, Headline News, Money Magazine, and Family Circle.
• Featured in the New York Times bestselling book “The Opposite of Spoiled” by Ron Lieber, personal finance columnist for the New York Times.
• Featured on top personal finance podcasts including “Stacking Benjamins” and Farnoosh Torabi’s “So Money.”
• “No one has attacked the issue more thoroughly than FamZoo.com...Everything I wanted.” ~Dan Kadlec, TIME
• “A wonderful app that enables you to teach your kids financial management in a way that fits with your busy life.” ~Caren Merrick, women2.0
• “Among FamZoo’s many clever teaching tools is the ability to pay (and automate) interest on savings balances at whatever rate the parent sets. This allows a parent to demonstrate compounding and growth in a fraction of the time it would take a bank savings account.” ~Kimberly Rotter, Credit Card Insider
• “‘Let’s check FamZoo’ has become a common phrase in our house.” ~Danielle Beerli, The Well Organized Mom
• Your most sensitive data like SSNs and card account numbers are never stored on FamZoo servers; it is managed by our MasterCard® Network certified, PCI DSS compliant, SSAE 16 compliant, and Regulation E compliant card processing partner, TransCard.
• FamZoo prepaid card accounts are FDIC insured.
• FamZoo cards can be used anywhere MasterCard® is accepted, in stores and online.
• FamZoo has been serving families since 2006.
• “I truly appreciate your customer service. It’s above and beyond expected from today’s business. Keep up the brilliant work.” ~Maricio D.
GOT QUESTIONS? famzoo.com/faqs
NEED TO TALK? famzoo.com/contactus
Pros and cons of FamZoo Family Finance app for iPhone and iPad
FamZoo Family Finance app good for
Set up was a synch, service is great, my kids love having this card
We use FamZoo to hand out allowances. Its great not having to remember to come home on Friday with cash to dole out, and theres never a question of "did I remember to pay her already?" Our kids love having the power to check their balances at any time, and were thrilled that theyre learning how bank accounts work while theyre young enough that mistakes dont really hurt them.
Customer service has been top notch the few times when weve needed help (always because of mistakes on our end, not FamZoos). Ive recommended the service to multiple family friends.
I love FamZoo. This tool has been amazing. It has helped my kids learn to better handle money. They feel confident about how theyre earning and spending with access to the app even at age 9.
This app allowed us to move from the physical to the digital domain pretty seamlessly. As founder, Bill Dwight, points out, it’s important for kids to understand that digital money is as valuable as physical money and this app is a great way to do that. We also like that it’s not tied to any spending platforms. This is just good, solid allowance and goal-setting training. It’s simple and easy-to-use.
Best intentions are laid to waste if not executed upon. As my kids were younger, I planned on giving them a weekly salary and the opportunity to earn bonuses. If they earned $x.xx in a week, I wanted to split their earning to be designated for three categories spend/save/give. Additionally, I wanted to help my youngings understand the benefits of savings with a matching dollars (I call it the 401Dad program) and aggressive interest paid on savings.
The complexities of my plans made it difficult if not impossible for me to execute consistently.
FamZoo has helped me set it up and has been there for every step of the way. Their FAQs answer most questions I may have but their customer support crew regularly returns e-mail inquiries within hours.
This is my first app review ever but I took the time to write this because I feel that strongly about FamZoo and the need to provide kids with financial education.
My oldest just bought his own first car with his own money and my 10 year old just bought $500 in stock with some of his savings.
Use FaZoo and take the time to dig into it and do it right. If you are looking for a simple allowance managment system, FamZoo will meet your needs too but I call all but guarantee you will do more with it than you anticipated.
Ive used Famzoo for many years with each of my three kids. Its awesome for teaching financial acumen and responsibility, including things like saving, budgeting and charitable giving. We use it with the Famzoo debit card to manage the kids allowance and lunch money. Its super easy and allows parents to instantly transfer money when its needed. And I can just as easily take money off their cards when the leave their dirty underwear on the floor
Some bad moments
Not a good option for anyone over 15 yrs old. Setup is tedious, requires all parties to be on the phone for verification.
Beware: Not easy to cancel or terminate card(s).
Great tool for managing and tracking allowance for kids. Teaches them valuable lessons about spending, saving, and charity. Easy to use!!
Would like to see an iPad/iPad2 version... Especially since iPad/iPad2 apps tend to have more form & function to them...
This app is only a browser which will only point to this applications web site. You can view account balances but no functionality that I would expect in an app like this such as allowing a child to mark off completed chores as is done by competitors. Note that this low review is strictly for the iPhone app and not for the actual services provided by the web site. Much more functionality there. Just dont expect anything from the app.
Note that support for mobile access to FamZoo checklists was added in Fall of 2013. You can now create checklists, add/edit/delete items, and check them off from the app with screens that are specifically optimized for mobile interaction.
Screen isnt scaled for iPhone 5 and its still an HTML-based UI so its not optimized for the device.
