Building stronger connections (and collaborations) with kin2kin

The brainchild of Wanaka based entrepreneur Hamish McGregor, kin2kin is about connecting loved ones – across generations, distance and time zones. They’ve created a solution that sits between photo libraries and chat apps to keep memories close and families closer.

Focusing on strengthening family relationships through photo sharing and organising, the goal is to provide a safe and private place online where families, including grandparents and grandkids, can communicate freely.

kin2kin organises family networks by connecting households. This makes it possible for children to have their own, parent-managed accounts, and the parents know who is connected to and able to share with their household.

“Traditional social media models are based on selling your personal data or advertising, which means they want to maximise your hours on the platform no matter the long term personal impact. Historically consumers were unaware or not concerned, but there has been a major shift recently. We wanted to create a platform with a social-good outcome, and a business model that was respectful, optional, and added value to people’s lives.”

This primary focus on creating value for families, and enhancing relationships, provides a lens for deciding which features to develop, as well as which organisations to work with. ASB General Manager Marketing Shane Evans says the shared values of family and relationships helped cement the value of supporting kin2kin almost immediately,

“At ASB, we’re always looking for new ways to empower Kiwis to become more financially literate. Not only can kin2kin help us achieve that, but it can do so while bringing families closer together and building stronger relationships. The thought of providing them with support as they innovate within this space really excited us.”

"Both organisations believed in family, trust and safety,” says Hamish. “Our mission is generations of family feeling better connected. Whatever we do and whomever we work with, the products always need to focus on building better connections. Because of this we received an opportunity to participate in ASB’s start-up incubator, ASB Edge, agreed by both parties to be for innovation, not integration."

ASB Edge gives start-ups an opportunity to discover possible areas for collaboration and innovation. The team at ASB were impressed at kin2kin’s depth of experience and willingness to seize the opportunity to test their concept in a banking environment. Undertaking this learning experience together was invaluable for both parties.

“New open banking capabilities will allow third party apps like kin2kin to add unique value for both the consumer and the bank.  Over the course of kin2kin’s involvement in the program I’ve learnt more about ASB’s objectives and projects, like Clever Kash, and realised just how well we can match our community and relationship values with the potential to improve financial literacy of kids.”

Despite this strong alignment, McGregor is quick to point out that the strength of this development can only come from creating a multi-bank solution.

“We quickly understood that to realise true value for any party, it needs to include all banks. We need to be a multi-bank platform because families are multi-bank. Kids may be ASB customers, but their grandparents and family network may bank with someone else. If we develop a solution that doesn’t accommodate for that, that could negatively impact or impede those connections. We also believe the parents should choose the bank that’s best for their kids and that is often the bank they already know and trust.”

So how does McGregor see kin2kin’s focus on relationships providing value in a financial sense?

"With money being largely invisible these days, it can be hard for kids to learn about earning and saving. We want to create a tool that can help them understand earning and saving, as well as concepts such as interest.”

Doing so in an app such as kin2kin can spark conversations around these concepts e.g. setting a savings goal of $300 to buy a bike, which family can then contribute to through chores done, birthday money contributed or an additional interest paid.

McGregor says engaging kids in discussions around finances, and getting families on board to help them set and achieve goals, not only tackles financial literacy for younger generations but builds on those family relationships – making grandparents feel connected and included in their grandkids lives, giving parents an opportunity for learning with their kids, and giving the kids the tools to learn.

"Adding this dimension of family life to kin2kin gets us closer to our goal of creating stronger family relationships”