We Demystify Money.
Money has become incredibly complex.
Conventional ideas about money have overlooked the more complex relationship we have with money, and the impact it is continuing to have on the dignity of people and the sustainability of our planet. What we don't understand ends up controlling us, and it's hard to live a flourishing life when we are not in control of our money. As a result, financial stress has become a big worry for many of us today.
We Enable Smart Decisions.
Our Principles
We see money as an invitation to examine the deeper influences that guide our decisions and a way to uncover an inner journey across the head, hand, and heart.
Our Story and Team
Guided by our principles, the team is on a mission to remove our fears around money, and transform our culture and practice of money for a better future for our world.
Clients & Partners
Playmoolah has worked with worked closely with a plethora of different communities, corporates and governments. View our client testimonials!
Speaking
Audrey has spoken to thousands of people in venues all over the world, covering a variety of topics such as Financial-Emotional resilience for a flourishing life.
Money includes values, principles, and most of all, knowing what we want out of life. Money is merely a tool and just one of the many ingredients necessary to reach our goals. With the right framework and understanding, money can become an enabler for a flourishing and impactful life. And by making smart decisions, we can be take control to imagine new possibilities for ourselves and those around us.
Money Is Only One Form Of Capital
LIt's not just about saving money, after all, a bank balance is not a true indicator of happiness. So, what then makes for a rich and meaningful life?
We introduce money as one form of capital, but with a broader view of wealth and how money impacts people and the planet. We encourage young people to clarify what is really important and to make a plan for how money can serve as a tool, and to start investing in all 8 forms of Capital*.
It's Not Just About Knowing, But About Doing and Being
Calculating dollars and cents is the easy part. But a money decision is often more complex because it's never just about the money, but our emotions, relationships, and expectations. We see money as an invitation to examine the deeper influences that guide our decisions, and uncover an inner transformation journey across the head, hand, and heart.
The seeds for PlayMoolah was planted in 2008, during the worst financial crisis of our generation. Min and Audrey were shaken when they saw the impact of the crisis on the lives of ordinary people. While there is enough food in our world for everyone to live a healthy life, billions of people are still living below subsistence. Poverty is no longer caused by scarcity, but by inequality. But no matter how rich we are, money is one place that is fraught with scarcity, fear, and worry.
And we continue to ask why. Guided by our principles, the team is on a mission to remove our fears around money, and transform our culture and practice of money for a better world.
Audrey Tan
Chief Dreams Architect, Co-Founder
Audrey drives the PlayMoolah vision, strategy and is responsible for serving the needs of our customers, children, young people, and families. Her experience in technology began 10 years ago with online commerce. As part of her stint in Silicon Valley Qik.com, under the NUS NOC Program, she rallied product marketing and business development, which was later acquired by Skype. Audrey is a social entrepreneur, pioneering Circles of Angels, writes on medium, an aspiring musician who sees the creative arts as a powerful force for transformation and change. Audrey is also an active member at Vocare, a young adults discernment community in Nativity Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Geraldine Anne Johnson
Experiential Educator, Chief of Staff
Geraldine has practiced theatre for the last 20 years, performing, writing, directing and using the therapeutic nature of drama to empower youth and community groups. She combines the interactive modality of theatre and play with often content heavy topics like Science and Financial Education for greater learning, engagement, understanding and behavioral action. In her work with learners across all ages, especially our youth, she uses the practice of theatre with individuals or groups to grow into their best selves, inspiring young people to imagine, plan and realize their true purpose.
Winifred Ling
Flourishing Physchologist, Coach & Curricilum Development
Winifred is passionate about the development of human flourishing in children, families and among couples. Her work entails transforming relationships and breaking negative cycles in families. As a trained psychologist and parent, she empowers families with the tools in the journey of self development and growth. She has more than 16 years of experience in working with individuals with a specialty in couple relationships. Winifred also develops and conducts workshops in the area of mental health, relationship, parenting, mindfulness and compassion, and applications of Positive Psychology.
Nicholas Lye
Creative Director
Nicholas leads curriculum and development for children, teenagers and young people. Nicholas is trained in Theology over the past 8 years and takes deep delight in the formation of children, youth and young adults. As a trained accountant in PWC previously, he continues to combine his talents in the deep service of the flourishing of human potential, fulfilment and meaning. Through facilitation, teaching and the creative arts, he helps people discover their true worth and potential, and enables them to live life more fully as themselves.
Dr. John Michael Lao
Psychologist, Data scientist & Brain Hacker
Dr. John Michael Lao M.D earned his MBA at Quantic School of Business. He graduated from a medical doctor (academic scholar) and ophthalmologist training in Far Eastern University hospital, a vitreoretinal specialist in Gunma University Japan (Takeda Scholar), Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (cum laude) / specializing in hypnosis therapy, cbt-certified coach, and neuro-linguistic programming. He worked in Human Resource department for 3 years as an HR manager and consultant for 1.5 years.
Mary Grace E. Lim-Blanca
Administrator
Grace is a seasoned administrative assistant with over 10 years experience in the field. She considers this career path as a haven of opportunities and learning experiences, that keep her growing professionally day by day. She is also a former teacher with a passion to make a difference in the lives of the new generation. Grace graduated from Davao Doctors College with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy. Recently she passed the state board exam for Occupational Therapy and is now a licensed Occupational Therapist. She finds PlayMoolah’s vision mirroring her own values and she feels strongly connected to the heart of its mission.
Kenneth Neo
Investment & Programs Lead
Kenneth is currently a full time investor. He previously worked for 10 years as an Insurance Adjuster where he managed large financial losses due to unexpected incidents. He studied Aerospace Engineering at NTU and graduated in 2011. He has been an avid follower of technology trends since young and has witnessed first hand how society has changed in the transition from the analog to the digital world. He first started trading equities more than 15 years ago, and later decided to leverage on his interest in technology. Since 2014, he has made investments in technology companies. To-date, his portfolio has realised a better than 30% compounded annual return. Currently, he is seeking to contribute back by imparting financial literacy, and also investing skills, to young adults to allow them to be able to attain financial independence by themselves. He is a MOE registered Trainer.
Corporate
- DBS Bank Ltd
- United Overseas Bank, UOB
- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited, OCBC Bank
- NTUC Income
- Credit Suisse
- National Youth Council
- Housing & Development Board
- National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre
- Entrepeneurs organization (EO) Indonesia
- Eastspring Investments
Education
- CHIJ Kellock Convent Primary School
- White Sands Primary School
- Methodist Girls' School
- Tanjong Katong Girls' School
- Fairfield Methodist Secondary
- Geylang Methodist Secondary School
- Catholic Junior College
- Eunoia Junior College
- Victoria Junior College
- Raffles Institution
- Singapore Institute of Management
- National University of Singapore
Community
- ONE @ Boon Lay
- The Salvation Army
- Beautiful People SG
- Daughters of Tomorrow
- Skillseed
"Thank you PlayMoolah, you really helped me gain a better understanding of my life. I wouldn’t have understood it without you!"
- John Paul, 8 years old
"This workshop has definitely improved my financial knowledge and understanding. I felt grateful that I am able to learn about investing & entrepreneurship at my age. The coaches delivers clear messages and it is very easy for me to understand."
- Lucas Pang, 11 years old
"I attended the Financial-Emotional Workshop after my dad suggested that I pick up some new skills and knowledge that is usually not taught in schools. Now, I have a better understanding of money. Learning about other forms of capital flowing around me makes me more aware of their relationships."
- Claire Chee, 8 years old
"Thanks Audrey and team for the immense love, care, time and patience in putting this course together and planting the seeds in our kids for future growth!"
- Silivia Ng, Parent
"This week's honesty circle was especially meaningful and insightful for me as I managed to glean a new perspective into something which I did not consider before --- one's financial blueprint. It is this blueprint that affects all of one's financial decisions."
- Ying Jie Chin
“I worked closely with Audrey on the OCBC Mighty Savers program. Her passion and vision for Playmoolah is inspiring. We love her creativity, insight, energy and attention to detail! Most of all she has a huge heart for people.”
- Lilian Ng, OCBC Segments
Partner Stories
NTUC Income OrangeAid Future Development Program
PlayMoolah partnered with NTUC Income to power the financial education track of their Future Development Program. Working with all 8 of the Polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs), we ran our popular Moolah Run simulation for 400 students over 4 different sessions.
- High engagement ratings from students who attended
- Students reported increased confidence in their ability to manage their money
- High potential students will be selected to be trained as facilitators for the next batch
Boon Lay Community
Over a year, PlayMoolah partnered with the good folks at Mosaik to work in the Boon Lay community on Moolahsophy - a financial empowerment program for children. The program was designed with mixed modalities including forum theatre, storytelling, games, and arts to empower children with the mindset and tools to build a healthy relationship with money. Starting with door-to-door visits, the team together with grassroots volunteers recruited 50 participants for this initiative with POSB PAssion kids fund as a sponsor. We began with a holiday bootcamp, followed by workshops for parents, and ending with a entrepreneurship bootcamp and carnival that was open to the public.
- High engagement and very positive feedback from children and parents who attended
- Children were observed to demonstrate increased self-efficacy, adaptability, and resilience
- 8 teams earned a total of $1,279 from their stalls, that was 43 sales per hour!
DBS Bank
To engage and educate their next generation digital customers, DBS backed WhyMoolah, Singapore's first real-life simulation on mobile. Developed by PlayMoolah with our awesome partner Inzen Studios, the process of co-creation by listening to the challenges and aspirations of young millennials was a key part of the design. In addition, the simulation was tied to monthly "real rewards" to bridge the in-app experience with real-world behavioral action. This primed behaviors such as setting up an automated salary deposit every month, signing up for a brokerage account. Participants also got experiential prizes like meeting a famous local personalities!
- Improved brand perception and customer engagement
- 100 downloads a day with 64% app completion rates
- 5-15% leads generated depending on campaign
OCBC Bank
To encourage savings among children in a fun and exciting way, OCBC partnered with PlayMoolah's online educational game on both web and mobile. Children who opened an account got access to our Moolahverse online. On top of that, saving $50 every month, would allow them to get a "secret code" at the bank to unlock new modules online. This was an exciting integration of an offline-online experience, and a bold move to encourage savings behavior change through online games.
- Improved brand perception and customer engagement
- 78% of kids saved more at OCBC with PlayMoolah
- $500,000 saving deposits collected through PlayMoolah in 6 months
NUS ALUMNA HELPED START FIRM TO TEACH FINACIAL LITERACY
The 2008 global financial crisis' impact on the lives of her American colleagues and classmates convinced Ms Audrey Joy Tan of the importance of financial education.
7TH CITI-SMU FINANCIAL LITERACY SYMPOSIUM DISCUSSES FINANCIAL RESILIENCE IN A POST-COVID-19 WORLD
The Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics at Singapore Management University (SMU) and Citi Singapore, through the Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults, organised the 7th Citi-SMU Financial Literacy Symposium which was held virtually on 29 and 30 September 2020 to improve the financial knowledge and awareness among Singaporean youths.
OPINION: FINANCIAL LITERACY APPS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK
Apps and games are also changing the face of financial education by making it fun and accessible for a diverse audience in overseas markets. The idea behind Singapore-based startup PlayMoolah was born at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. The company’s co-founders decided to come up with a way to demystify money when they saw the impact of the credit crunch on ordinary people.
THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR ON PUSHING FOR CHANGE AND CREATING SUSTAINABLE IMPACT
There is a nerd in all of us—whether driven by the satisfaction of solving mathematical problems or obsessing over the mythical world in Game of Thrones. For Audrey Tan, her passion lies in alleviating poverty in Southeast Asia through technology.
SIMON DRAPER: THE POWER OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Another brilliant entrepreneur we hosted was Singapore's Audrey Tan. Audrey also founded PlayMoolah, a social enterprise with 70,000 users and that educates children, parents and young adults about building a positive relationship with money. Impressively, Audrey is still in her 20s.
Audrey has spoken to thousands of people in venues all over the world, covering a variety of topics that span Financial-Emotional resilience for a flourishing life, social entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, leadership, next-gen digital engagement, and the future of money and banking. With deep insights into Gen-Y and a head for ideation and business, Audrey provokes critical and honest questions about the future, and the role you and your businesses can play.
Sign Up for a speaking enagement!
Past Engagements
- Nanyang Technological University (NTU) STEP Youth Regional Affairs Dialogue, Singapore
- CITI-Singapore Management University, Financial Literacy Symposium, Singapore
- Columbia College, Panelist for Financial Literacy Week, Chicago, USA
- NextBankAsia, Speaker - “Next-gen Digital Engagement”, Singapore
- Serious Games Connect, Speaker - “Games For Saving & Money Management”, Singapore
- Citi-FT Financial Education Summit - “Online/Multimedia Interventions”, Philippines
- Business Solutions for Poverty - Finance Track “Business Models and Partnerships”, London, UK
- Financial Services Knowledge Transfer Network - “Future of Finance”, Oxford, UK
- Child and Youth Finance International - “Effective use of Technology in Education” Istanbul, Turkey
- Accenture ASEAN Futures Program - “Leading in Uncertain Times”, Jakarta Indonesia
- KIN ASEAN Forum “The Future of Innovation”, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Nexus Global Youth Summit - "Tech for Social Good", Singapore
- SXSW, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) TechSummit, Texas, USA
- Singtel Leadership Presentation: PlayMoolah and Technology Innovation, Singapore
- The Light & Microsoft “Wired Hands, Wider Reach: Technology Heroes in the Charity Sector”, Singapore
- NUS Centre for Governance, Institutions & Organizations “Entrepreneurs Roundtable”
- OCBC Global Wealth Management Regional Forum, “Insights”, Singapore
- Markplus Conference, Jakarta Indonesia
- APEC Women and Economy Forum “Women and ICT”, Bali Indonesia
- HRM Asia Congress, Management and Leadership Forum, Keynote, Singapore
Inquiries
View Our Blog Page
To gain the latest insights on how you can make your life flourishing view our extensive catalog of blog posts!
View Blog