Greenlight and Tropical Smoothie Cafe Join Forces to Reward Kids and Teens for Learning About the World of Money
New program brings industry-leading financial literacy game, Greenlight Level Up, to more families nationwide
ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greenlight® Financial Technology, Inc. (“Greenlight”), the fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially-smart kids, today announced a new rewards program with Tropical Smoothie Cafe®, to bring financial literacy game Greenlight Level Up™ to more families for free.1 Starting today, families can download the Greenlight app and play a selection of Level Up challenges with no Greenlight subscription required, while earning fun rewards for a limited time.
93% of teens believe they need financial knowledge and skills to achieve their life goals, and 97% of parents agree.2 Still, only 35 states require a personal finance course for students, and teens score an average of 64% on the National Financial Literacy Test, showing a clear gap in financial education that is accessible and effective. Parents also rank personal finance as the #1 most difficult life skill to teach their children with 81% saying they wish they had more financial education tools and resources.3
Greenlight Level Up is an in-app financial literacy game with a best-in-class curriculum that goes beyond the National Standards for K-12 Personal Financial Education to empower young people with money skills and confidence. Built by academic and game design experts, Level Up challenges are packed with bite-sized videos, quizzes, and minigames that keep kids and teens engaged.
Over the past year, kids and teens have played more than 2 million Level Up challenges with an average score of 88.4% across all personal finance subjects, including spending, saving, earning, investing, and managing credit and risk. Level Up has also empowered kids and teens to practice healthy financial habits — players are twice as motivated to save, six times more likely to set a savings goal, and six times more likely to research stocks and ETFs before proposing an investment in the Greenlight app.
“At Greenlight, we’re always looking for new ways to empower young people to learn about money,” said Jennifer Seitz, Director of Education at Greenlight. “Level Up has been a tremendous success in helping kids and teens develop healthy financial skills in a fun, engaging way. Thanks to Tropical Smoothie Cafe, we look forward to bringing best-in-class financial education to even more families across the country.”
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is the first brand to reward kids and teens for completing Level Up challenges in the Greenlight app. The program is designed to motivate kids to improve their financial knowledge and skills by rewarding them with a free 12 ounce kids smoothie4 when they or their referred friends complete 10 Level Up challenges in a learning quest.
“Our collaboration with Greenlight aligns with our mission to Inspire Better® and help all kids shine bright. As the first brand providing rewards that are integrated into the Greenlight Level Up game, we look forward to the opportunity to reward hard working kids with a free 12 oz. kids smoothie,” said Deborah von Kutzleben, CMO of Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC. “Tropical Smoothie Cafe hopes to enhance Greenlight’s mission to improve financial education among kids by offering an incentive to learn about money.”
Families can download the Greenlight app today to start playing a selection of Level Up challenges for free and earn rewards. The full suite of Level Up challenges are also available for free through Greenlight’s partner programs with banks, credit unions, and employers.
To learn more, visit: greenlight.com/level-up-financial-literacy-game.
About Greenlight
Greenlight Financial Technology is the family fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially-smart kids. Its product, Greenlight, is an award-winning banking app, complete with a debit card for kids and teens and safety features for the whole family. Parents can automate allowance, manage chores, set flexible spend controls, and invest for their family’s future. Kids and teens learn to earn, save, spend wisely, give, and invest. Together, families can also stay safe and connected with location sharing, SOS alerts, and crash detection with 911 dispatch.
Greenlight partners with more than 50 leading banks, credit unions, and employers to bring its family finance solution to more families through the Greenlight for Banks, Greenlight for Credit Unions, and Greenlight for Work programs.
The Greenlight Debit Card is issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Greenlight Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, provides investment advisory services to its clients. Investing involves risk and may include the loss of principal. Greenlight is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Greenlight app facilitates banking services through Greenlight’s bank partners. For more information, please visit: greenlight.com.
About Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national fast-casual restaurant brand built on a mission to Inspire Better®, a commitment that starts with our better-for-you food and smoothies and extends to inspiring better in the communities we serve. Born on a beach in 1997, today Tropical Smoothie Cafe has more than 1,350 locations in 44 states. For the fourth year in a row, the brand was ranked #1 in the Smoothie/Juice Category by Entrepreneur Franchise 500. For 11 consecutive years the brand has received the Franchise Times Fast and Serious award, and for 2023 the brand received the TopScore FUND Award with a score of 920, the highest in the QSR segment by FRANdata, for the third consecutive year.
1Requires the downloading of the Greenlight App and acceptance of Level Up terms. Does not require subscription to Greenlight prepaid debit card plan.
2Survey insights were collected by Greenlight through a Researchscape survey fielded between March 18 and March 20, 2022, among 1,096 respondents in the U.S., split between teens ages 13-18 and parents of 13-18 year olds.
3Survey insights were collected by Greenlight through a Researchscape survey fielded between February 9-12, 2023, among 1,034 U.S. respondents, all of whom were working parents of 8-18 year olds.
4Users must complete 10 challenges in a Level Up quest or refer a friend who completes 10 challenges in a Level Up quest to receive a redemption code for free 12 oz. kids smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe®. Must download the Tropical Smoothie Cafe app and join the (free) Tropic Rewards® loyalty program to unlock redemption code. Must be 16 years or older to use app and join Tropic Rewards. Must unlock redemption code in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe app by 03/31/24 at 11:59pm ET. Must redeem free 12 oz. smoothie reward within 14 days of unlocking redemption code. To redeem, must use Tropic Rewards account to order ahead online at tropicalsmoothiecafe.com, via the Tropical Smoothie Cafe app or by scanning the app in-cafe at participating locations at time of purchase. Free 12 oz. kids smoothie reward will be applied to lowest priced 12 oz. kids smoothie ordered. Exclusions apply. Modifications, fresh add-ins, supplements and tax extra. May not be valid with certain offers or discounts and is not valid with other rewards or third-party services. Limit one free 12 oz. smoothie per order. One time use only. Valid only at participating locations. See additional terms.
Contacts
Jessica Tenny
[email protected]
