SocialWise Inc. is planning to take the BillMyParents online payment system it launched last year mainstream through an advertising blitz.
BillMyParents, which allows teens to shop online by having merchants e-mail parents their intended purchases for approval (or denial), was announced last April and then tested with focus groups before going live in May. Parents who use the service can also set establish an online allowance for kids in advance of their purchases.
BillMyParents has also begun offering a stored-value account linked to a MasterCard Inc. card that, like other teen spending cards, allows parents to monitor how its funds are spent.
As part of the new marketing campaign, SocialWise has enlisted professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek to promote BillMyParents.
Dyrdek, also a reality TV star and entrepreneur, said in a press release that BillMyParents "gives parents insight into what their kids really want and gives the teens the opportunity to learn financial responsibility. It just makes sense."
