AUGUSTA, Maine–Maine State Credit Union has launched a new financial education offering for younger members, Marty the Mountain.
It is designed to create a foundation for future financial savings success, the credit union said.
“Marty the Mountain was the brainchild of one of our member services representatives in Waterville, Randi Gurski,” said President and CEO Stephen Wallace. “Randi noticed that she did not see a lot of kids coming into the branch to make a deposit, nor did she see a lot of youth accounts being open. She spoke with several of our leaders and got the green light to build one.”
Key Features
According to the credit union, key features of Marty the Mountain include:
- Provides financial service representatives and tellers the opportunity to engage kids in financial literacy.
- Makes learning about money management simple and fun for kids. “As we know, most kids these days are more digitally savvy, but at the end of the day, money management and sound financial practices come down to learning to set goals and saving for what you want,” MSCU said.
What Account Includes
Maine State CU explained that Marty is a fictional character who teaches children about setting financial goals, earning money, and the importance of saving. Each account comes with a workbook that contains helpful tips, charts, and fun activities. Children will receive a prize for every five deposits they make, as well as a sticker each time they come in and deposit to their account, MSCU said.
“This account is basic, but fun,” said Gurski, who is a financial services representative in Waterville, Maine, and product creator. “The aim was to create a product that teaches kids the importance of saving. The development of this product was a collaborative effort. I learned a lot, and if I had not taken the risk, I never would have understood how complex and how many steps it takes to build something like this.”
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