Visa Canada Survey Finds Tooth Fairy Visits Adding Up To Real Personal Savings Opportunities for Kids

TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2012 /CNW/ - Findings of a recent Visa Canada survey affirm that visits from the Tooth Fairy remain very much a part of children's lives, and the average amount kids are receiving from the popular figure is a significant addition to their piggy bank savings as well.

Eight in ten parents of kids under the age of 13 polled reported that with every tooth their kids lose, the little ones are waking up with an amount under their pillows that ranges between one to five dollars. Of note, however, is that a full two per cent of those polled whose kids did receive money discovered the Tooth Fairy can be very generous indeed, leaving anywhere between $41 to over $100.

Visa Canada's Melissa Cassar, Head of Corporate and Public Affairs, advises those savings can add up; children lose about twenty teeth by the time they turn 13. "When you start to add up just how much money actually goes under those pillows over the years, you realize this presents an opportunity for Canadian parents to have 'the money conversation' with their kids."

"It doesn't have to be anything that takes the fun and surprise out of waking up and discovering the Tooth Fairy has visited. Just asking your kids about what they plan to do with the money they find under their pillow can help instill valuable money management lessons that can last a lifetime," says Cassar.

Additional results from this year's survey indicate five per cent of these kids receive somewhere between $6 and $10 with each visit, while four per cent of those who do receive money get less than one dollar. Just a little more than one in ten kids of parents who took part in the survey - 11 per cent - receive no visits at all from the Tooth Fairy.

For more information about Visa Canada's financial education programs, please visit Practical Money Skills Canada (http://practicalmoneyskills.ca/).

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

From January 20th to January 21st 2012, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 196 Canadian Adults who are parents of children under 13 years, and are Angus Reid Forum members.

Dan Madge, Fleishman-Hillard Canada, 416-645-8188

Jeremy Twigg, Fleishman-Hillard Canada, 604-688-2505