Celeb Backed Banking Platform For Youth, Step Bags $300 million In Debt Capital; Allows Crypto investments

Step is the first banking service for teenagers.
Users will now be rewarded in crypto for purchases in popular stores.

Teenagers can now invest in cryptocurrency

Step is a digital banking firm focused on teenagers and young adults. Triplepoint Capital and Evolve Bank & Trust have invested $300 million in the company. Step’s total debt capital now stands at $500 million. The investment will be used for infrastructure and product development.

Step is the first digital banking enterprise focused exclusively on the younger generation. Teenagers under the age of 18 can build their credit history via a Step Visa card. It was founded by CJ MacDonald and Alexey Kalinichenko in September 2020.

The platform announced that crypto funding will be enabled. Parental or a guardian’s consent will be required to engage in crypto investments. Also, users will be able to earn crypto rewards when making purchases at restaurants or streaming services. Stocks and futures will also be added in the future.

Crypto is probably the hottest investment in the world of finance. The digital currency revolution is affecting banking and art alike. Despite high volatility levels, crypto and associated digital are rapidly gaining traction among all ages. Several high profile investors like Robert Kiyosaki has been actively encouraging their social media followers to invest in cryptocurrency.

Today, social media is a source of information – not only social, but almost anything. Financial information is spreading rapidly, and investment advice is a large part of that. Teenagers are exposed to a variety of information on the internet, which may be false or misleading. While attaining fundamental financial literacy at an early age is a great idea, given the amount of unverified information and large number of information channels, Step’s business may prove to be a reliable source for these early investors.

Charli D’Amelio is an 18 year old Tik Tok star. With almost 50 million followers on Instagram, the teenage social media sensation is one of Step’s prominent promoters.

Several celebrities have invested in Step including influencer Charlie D’Amelio; Stephen Curry; The Chainsmokers; Will Smith; Justin Timberlake; Alex Rodriguez among others. Other investors include Crosslink Capital, Coatue, Stripe and General Catalyst, Triplepoint Capital, and Evolve Bank & Trust.

Step is providing financial literacy

Step also offers a financial literacy informative called ‘Money 101’, comprising 6 modules. The syllabus includes the basics of banking and investment. It is being taught in more than 100 schools in the US. It has over 3 million registered accounts.

The US ranks 14th globally in terms of basic financial skills (data is from 2014). According to Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey, only 57% of American adults qualify as financial literate. Poor financial literacy can cause the student debt crisis to exacerbate. In a bid to ease the debt burden on students amid rising prices and a looming recession, the Biden administration decreed that $10,000 would be forgiven for anyone who earns less than $125,000 a year.