CelcomDigi & Vircle unveil SafePAY Jr, and e-wallet for kids

CelcomDigi has launched a child-focused financial service called SafePAY Jr for its postpaid customers, bundling a Vircle Visa prepaid card with a supervised e-wallet for children.

The product sits within CelcomDigi's Safety portfolio and marks a deeper collaboration with Debit Circles, which operates under the Vircle brand. The service targets families that want tighter oversight of children's spending in shops and online.

SafePAY Jr links a Vircle e-wallet to a physical Visa prepaid card that children can use for everyday purchases. Parents use a mobile app to view and control transactions. The structure aims to reduce reliance on cash while keeping spending within limits that adults set.

The subscription is available only to CelcomDigi postpaid customers. The company is offering a promotional charge of RM1 for the first month, followed by a monthly fee of RM8, and a one-off processing fee of RM10 at sign-up.

Parental controls

Parents manage the card and e-wallet through the CelcomDigi app, which connects to Vircle's system. The app presents all out-of-school spending in one place and shows transactions in real time.

Adults can set spending limits, define allowances and decide which types of merchants the card can access. They can approve or block categories such as online retailers or digital goods and games, and they can freeze or unfreeze the card instantly if they detect suspicious activity or if the card goes missing.

Vircle's platform blocks specific merchant categories by default. These include liquor outlets, cigar shops, dating services, gambling and vape merchants. If a child attempts a purchase in a blocked or unsafe category, the system sends an alert to the parent.

The card uses a prepaid model. Parents preload funds into the account, and the child can only spend within that balance. This structure avoids exposure to debt and gives adults a cap on potential losses in the case of misuse.

Financial habits

SafePAY Jr incorporates features that link money management with everyday tasks. Parents can assign chores, set rewards for completion and segment funds into spending and saving pots. Children see the results of completed tasks and can observe balances change in real time.

CelcomDigi positions this as a way for families to introduce financial responsibility from an early age. The focus is on practical experience with budgeting, saving and controlled spending in a monitored environment.

Vircle has built its presence through partnerships with schools and parents. The company already serves more than 160,000 parents and children in Malaysia, working with public, private and international schools that use its system for cashless canteen and school-based spending.

This new agreement extends that model beyond school grounds. CelcomDigi customers can use the joint service for any merchant that accepts Visa, within the limits set by the parent.

Expanding digital oversight

Child-focused financial services have gained traction in many markets as payments shift to digital formats. Mobile wallets and cards aimed at minors often combine spending oversight with tools for budgeting and saving.

CelcomDigi, which has more than 20.5 million users, has been broadening its digital services around its network base. Its Safety portfolio includes services that address online risks, identity protection and household monitoring.

Vircle focuses specifically on "child-safe digital payments" and "smart spend controls", and has developed savings tools and real-time monitoring functions for parents.

Both companies describe SafePAY Jr as part of a wider effort around family-focused digital products. They emphasise supervised use of payment tools rather than unrestricted access.

CelcomDigi customers can sign up for SafePAY Jr through the operator's app. The company expects adoption among households that already manage children's mobile lines on postpaid plans and now want a linked payment product.

Vircle issues the app and card in partnership with Fass Payment Solutions, a licensed e-money and Visa prepaid card issuer. The firms expect further product development around the joint platform as take-up grows.