Overview
Canadian families have long lacked a modern, safe way to give kids financial independence while building healthy money habits together. In the U.S., youth money apps have flourished, but Canada’s stricter banking and compliance environment has made programs slow and complex to launch.
Parents were left juggling cash or standalone youth accounts - without visibility into spending, saving, or teachable guardrails for financial literacy.
SpendSafe set out to close that gap. Their solution: a parent-controlled wallet and dashboard, physical cards for kids, instant transfers, chore-and-allowance workflows, and savings goals that encourage delayed gratification.
To move quickly and compliantly, SpendSafe partnered with Berkeley Payments as program manager - bridging the bank and network relationships, ensuring PCI and KYC compliance, and powering critical product features via APIs.
The Challenge
SpendSafe’s initial attempts to launch through banks quickly hit a wall. Long approval cycles, unclear compliance pathways, and heavy operational overhead slowed momentum and pulled the team away from building the product.
As one team member explained:
“The bureaucracy was insane… Berkeley came in and said ‘we’ll deal with this,’ allowing us to keep momentum on the product roadmap.”
SpendSafe needed:
- A program manager to handle bank, network, and processor relationships.
- PCI-certified infrastructure with AML and KYC tailored for a youth product.
- Support for key features like instant loads, real-time parental controls, and money transfers.
- Scalable operational scaffolding for card production, support, and customer service.
Why SpendSafe Chose Berkeley
Referred through People’s Trust, SpendSafe found Berkeley to be the ideal partner to translate their roadmap into a compliant, bank-approved program - without derailing speed to market.
Berkeley delivered:
- Program management & bank liaison: Navigated issuer requirements, secured approvals, and removed bureaucratic roadblocks.
- Compliance, PCI & KYC: Designed controls that worked in a youth financial context.
- Card issuance & operations: From print-on-demand to account setup, Berkeley handled the backend so SpendSafe could focus on users.
- APIs powering innovation: Real-time lock/unlock, instant funding, recurring allowances, and goal accounts all run on Berkeley’s infrastructure.
- Customer support at scale: With white-labeled, branded support, SpendSafe customers are fully covered.
“Once Berkeley came in as program manager, everything just clicked - approvals, PCI, KYC, and the structure we needed. We could finally focus on building SpendSafe.”
– Vasanth Ratna, CEO & Founder, SpendSafe
The Solution
With Berkeley as the operational backbone, SpendSafe delivered a youth money platform designed for the whole family.
For parents:
- One dashboard to manage up to three child accounts.
- Instant funding from a saved payment method and immediate transfers.
- Real-time card controls (lock/unlock, spend tracking).
- Chores and allowances tied to completion, with automated payouts.
- Conservative ATM access for emergencies.
For kids:
- A personalized SpendSafe physical card for everyday purchases.
- Savings goals that separate “goal funds” from spending money.
- Progress tracking that teaches delayed gratification.
- Ability to send money back to parents when needed.
SpendSafe’s branding - complete with their fingerprint motif and “money skills made simple for kids” promise - carries through cards and the app, reinforcing that every financial journey is unique and teachable.
Results & Early Traction
SpendSafe soft-launched in August 2025 with all core features live. Issuer and network rails are in place, the platform is fully PCI-compliant, and customer support is embedded through Berkeley’s white-label service.
What’s already working:
- Instant funding, transfers, and parental guardrails.
- Seamless infrastructure powered by Berkeley APIs.
- KYC and compliance frameworks built in from day one.
- Foundational partnerships with People’s Trust (issuer) and Mastercard (network).
“Berkeley’s APIs let us ship the features parents actually ask for - instant loads, card controls, and savings goals - without compromising on compliance.”
– Vasanth Ratna, CEO & Founder, SpendSafe
Building the Standard for Youth Money in Canada
Together, SpendSafe and Berkeley turned a complex, bank-driven idea into a working, family-friendly platform that teaches kids how money really works.
By offloading compliance, approvals, and operational heavy lifting to Berkeley, SpendSafe launched the experience Canadian parents have been waiting for.
With core features live and a scalable foundation in place, SpendSafe is now poised to expand adoption, grow partnerships, and define the youth money category in Canada.
