Missing Kitty Alert!

An average of £206million worth of missing ‘kitties’ – shared pots of money – was lost during stag and hen dos last year

• The average stag or hen do kitty is worth a whopping £928
• 73 per cent of people say they hate being the one left looking after the communal kitty
• A third of people (33 per cent) admit they’ve lost the group’s money during pre-wedding celebrations
• To help keep the shared stash safe and remove the stress of the one being left holding the kitty, social money app Pingit has launched the world’s first ‘Wearable Kitty’; a range of popular fancy-dress hen and stag do costumes fitted with payment chips

The pre-wedding send-off is a pricey affair with average man forking out £7,997 across 11 stag dos in their lifetime and women heading on ten hens at a cost of £5,510.

Researchers from the social money app Pingit polled Brits to reveal that the average stag or hen do kitty, where shared expenses such as drinks and taxis are paid from, is worth a whopping £928.

However, while the costs and activities may differ, one thing remains consistent - no one wants to be left holding the communal kitty. With every man contributing an average of £104, compared to £68 from women, it’s no surprise that cautious Brits are worried about taking charge of it - 73 per cent saying they hate being the one designated to look after the central pot of cash.

It seems our caution is not unfounded as a third (33 per cent) of us have admitted to losing group funds on a night out, with a further 35 per cent having had the kitty stolen, equating to approximately £206 million worth of missing kitties in the last year.

A-Dress-ing the Issue
With morph suits and faux bridal wear reigning supreme on many stags and hens, dressing up was identified as being the most detrimental factor (38 per cent) in keeping the kitty safe, due to a lack of pockets, shallow pockets or simply nowhere to securely keep your funds. Miscommunication (22 per cent) and going to multiple locations (21 per cent) were also pinpointed as the other main reasons for kitties going astray.

To stop people having kittens and keep money safe during these fun-filled celebrations, Pingit has developed fancy dress that partygoers can pay with directly. The revelry-ready costumes ensure no one’s left worrying about who’s carrying the cash: each item contains a payment-ready chip sewn into it, allowing for seamless spending regardless of outfit choice.

The bespoke, limited edition costumes comprise of a kitty suit embedded with wearable payment technology paw-fect for picking up the next round, as well as bridal sashes, a morph suit and a sumo outfit, all of which secured their place as some of the nation’s favourite fancy dress outfits for stag and hen celebrations.

Whether you put down a paw to cover the tab or swish your sash to pay for the group activity, all of the wearables are designed to make contactless payment seamless for the wearer.

Darren Foulds, Managing Director of Pingit, said: “Fancy dress is a simple and fun way to add to the festivities on a stag or hen – but it is also a key contributing factor for group kitties going missing. Fancy dress continues to rise in popularity, with a 22 per cent increase since 2017, so we wanted to create a costume to help keep the kitty safe and the fun going.

“Pingit has also launched a new Jars functionality which allows users to put money in up to five jar accounts, perfect for organising your money for those events and gaining more control over your spending. Over 58,000 Jars have already been created, especially for group events like stag and hen dos or holidays, so it’s clear that looking after our funds for these events is becoming increasingly important.”

A limited run of the free fancy dress wearables will be available at web.pingit.com.

The findings were released by Pingit, an app that facilitates easy peer-to-peer payments with just a mobile number. For more information visit www.pingit.com or download the app.

ENDS

Brits Top 10 Fancy dress costumes on a hen or stag do:
1 Bridal sash
2 Wig
3 Character costume
4 Bridal headdress / veil
5 Animal ears / tail
6 Comical Sunglasses
7 Hawaiian Lei
8 Personalised mask
10 = Cat mask
10 = Cowboy hat

Notes to Editors

Extra Research info:
• Research polling 2,000 people in the UK aged 18-40, conducted between 2nd July 2019 and 3rd July 2019
• Men spend on average £727 on each stag do, and women spend on average £551 for each hen do
• £206 million is calculated by taking the total number of 18 – 40 year olds (16,852,000) and x 0.44 to find 44% (the number of people surveyed who have been on a stag/hen in the past year – which will be used as a yearly average).

This equates to 7,414,880, this was then divided by 11 (average number of attendees) which equals 674,080. 33% of this equals 222,446.4, then multiplied by £928 (average amount of kitty) giving a final total of £206,430,259.2. The figure is based on 2018-2019 data from the last calendar year as of the date of research.

Limited edition products:
• A limited run of fancy-dress wearables will be available on the Pingit store - www.pingit.com/shop - from 21st August 2019.
• The products available are:
o Contactless bridal sash
o Contactless sumo suit
o Contactless morph suit
o Contactless kitty outfit
• A small number of each product will be released daily and they will be available until stocks run out.
• Costumes are free. They are limited to one per person.
• Costumes will be sent out recorded delivery and will be delivered within 14 days of the date of order.

Pingit Chips:
• Each Pingit chip is linked to a Pingit account.
• Only the owner of the Pingit account can pay with the chip.
• Therefore, the Pingit account owner would need to move the communal kitty money into their Pingit account or jar.
• They would pay from their Pingit account or jar using their contactless chip embedded in their costume.
• Contactless chips allow payments of up to £30 at a time.
• Once the costume is no longer in use, the chip must be removed and deactivated / destroyed.

Pingit Devices:
You can make purchases with your device wherever you see the contactless symbol. For Pingit payment limits, visit pingit.com Retailer payment limits may apply. Pingit is subject to application and acceptance of T&Cs.
To register your device with Pingit you must be 16 or older, have a current account in the UK and be a resident of the UK, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey. The device can be used for payments for a minimum of 2 years.
For more information and full T&Cs visit pingit.com