The bind
Pocket money is where they learn what money is worth. Most of it vanishes.
The cash disappears into pockets and into memory. Children's debit cards teach tapping, not thinking. And the IOUs in a parent's head — "I'll pay you back", "I'll sort it at the weekend" — are invisible to the child who is owed them.
Nobody sees the same picture. So nobody can plan, and nobody can learn from it. Kinterest puts the whole of it in one place — a ledger you can both open, not a number in one person's head.
How Kinterest works
Four promises, one shared ledger.
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One ledger, two signatures.
You and your child look at the same ledger. Every entry is co-signed and can only be added to, never rewritten. No silent edits: a correction is a visible reversal, with a reason you can both read.
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They ask, you answer.
Your child asks to spend. You see what for and how much, and you approve it — or not this time. Only then does the ledger update.
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Saving you can watch grow.
You set the interest and pay it on a weekly interest day. Projections show the point of waiting — "leave it four more weeks and…" — and you can add a match on what they put in.
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No real money, ever.
No card. No bank link. No payments. Not in the first version, not ever. It's a ledger: you hand over the actual money however you already do.
The ledger
Ask, answer, and watch it grow.
A week with Kinterest looks a lot like the pocket money you already give.
Every choice, on the record — for both of you.
Sam finds a book and asks to spend. Mum sees what it is, what it costs and what's left, and answers from her own phone. Approve it and the ledger updates for both of you. Say "Not this time" and nothing moves — and Sam can see that too.
No "I'll pay you back". No sums in anyone's head.
Ask to spend
Mum sees what it is and what it costs.
Kinterest
Sam asks to spend £4.50
The Wild Robot (book)
Balance after: £18.20 · Interest day: Saturday
An interest day you set
Pick the day of the week and the rate you're happy to pay. Interest lands on the same day every week, so it's something to look forward to.
Projections
"Leave it four more weeks and…" — they see what waiting looks like before they decide to spend or keep.
An optional deposit match
"Every £1 you save, I'll add 50p." Switch it on if you'd like to, leave it off if you wouldn't.
An account for each child
Every child has their own balance, so two children can have two very different weeks.
Child mode on your phone
Younger children don't need a phone. They can ask and look at their ledger on yours, in child mode.
Your controls, behind a PIN
Approving, correcting and setting rates sit behind a separate PIN, and lock again the moment you leave the app.
No date of birth
It never asks for one and never keeps one. A name and, if you choose, a contact photo — nothing more.
Encrypted family backup
The whole family ledger is backed up encrypted, so a lost phone doesn't mean a lost history.
A week on the ledger.
- 1
Hand it over. Pocket money, birthday money, a gift from Gran: it goes on the ledger, and the actual cash changes hands the way it always has.
- 2
They ask. A book, a toy, a trip: Sam names it and the price, and you answer when you're ready.
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Interest day. On the day you chose, interest is added and the projections move. Waiting has a visible shape.
Interest is paid on what's on the ledger — which makes handing the cash over the sensible thing to do.
What it is, and what it isn't.
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A shared ledger. Yours and your child's, with every entry co-signed and every correction in plain view.
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Coming soon, Android first. There's no date to give you yet, and we won't invent one.
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Not a card, a bank link or a payment. No real money touches it. Not in the first version, not ever.
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Later, not now: savings goals, chore schedules, more than one guardian, and export. They're on the roadmap, not in the first version.
Side by side
What changes when it's written down.
| Question | Kinterest | The IOUs in your head* |
|---|---|---|
| Who can see it | Both of you, on the same ledger | Only you |
| Who agreed each entry | Both of you — every entry is co-signed | Nobody was asked |
| Can it be changed? | Only by a visible reversal, with a reason | Quietly, by memory |
| Can it be forgotten? | No — it can only be added to | Easily. Everyone does |
* Our reading of how pocket money usually works at home, not a study.
The rest of the family
Kinterest is one of four.
Each Kindred app is named for what your child walks away with.
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Kintrinsic Live
Trust, in time.
Screen time and web filtering that loosen as your child shows they're ready.
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Kindependence Coming soon
Parachute, not helicopter.
Consent-based family location: there for the landing, out of the way the rest of the time.
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Kinclude Coming soon
We're all family here.
Messaging with no way in from outside — everyone in it is someone you both chose.
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Kinterest Coming soon
Spend, save, or learn.
Pocket money on a shared ledger — every choice visible to you both.
Questions
Straight answers.
Does it hold real money?
No. It's a ledger, not an account: no card, no bank link and no payments, now or later. You hand over the actual money however you already do — cash, a transfer, a birthday card — and the ledger records it.
Can I change an entry?
Only with a visible reversal and a reason. Entries are co-signed and can only be added to, so there are no silent edits — your child can see exactly what was corrected, and why.
Where does the interest come from?
From you. You set the rate and you pay it, on the interest day you choose. It's a lesson in what waiting looks like, not an investment — and the lesson matters more than the number.
Does my child need a phone?
No. Younger children can use child mode on yours, to ask and to look at their own ledger. Your controls stay behind a separate PIN.
What does it know about my child?
A name and, if you choose, a contact photo. No date of birth is asked for or kept.
Is it ready?
Not in the app stores yet, and there's no date to give you. The code is open on GitHub, so you can build the Android app yourself today.