A few months back, I wrote a post for Dyer News looking at the growing number of apps and other FinTechs that had introduced a debit card of their own. Well, since then, even more startups have jumped in on the trend, while others have expanded the features of their existing offerings. The latest addition (at least of those on my radar) is Long Game — a mobile app that aims to make saving fun.
If you’re not familiar with Long Game, the short version is that the app allows you to set up automated savings transfers and rewards you with coins. These coins can then be used to play various games of chance where you can win real money, with each play costing between 10,000 and 1 million coins depending on the top prize. Crucially, these games can only be played by using the coins you earn, meaning the money you’re socking away is never at risk. In fact, it’s FDIC insured up to the traditional $250,000 and earns a tiny bit of interest (0.1%).
As for the new Long Game Card, it looks like it will give users more ways to earn coins. This includes a 50,000 coin bonus when you activate the card. From there, users can opt-into RoundUps that will automatically take the “spare change” from transactions and set it aside in savings. Yes, this functionality sounds extremely similar to the app Acorns (and many others that have followed), but the difference is that Long Game will be sending the funds to savings instead of into a brokerage account. Also, while Acorns is rolling out a debit card of its own, the app does allow you to link other credit or debit cards and have those transactions be rounded up.
The Long Game Card will feature some fun art that instantly calls to mind the distinct style of the app’s games. Funny enough, this novelty is actually one of the features I’m most looking forward to. Also notable is that the debit card will give users quicker access to their funds — something that’s nice to have since their transfers can be a bit on the slow side.
Interestingly, while past FinTech debit card roll-outs I’ve encountered require users to join a waitlist, it seems the Long Game Card is available now. All I needed to do was verify my info (including my Social Security number) and answer a few security questions before I was informed that my card was on its way. Additionally, after applying, my app now shows a Savings Jars balance as well as a Spending balance.
Truth be told, there’s very little chance I’ll end up using my Long Game Card much beyond testing it out for review. Still, I think it’s a really intriguing development from an app I’ve come to admire for some time. For that reason alone, I look forward to getting my pretty purple and pink debit card in the mail and taking it out for a spin.