Smart e-pocket money (EduWallet AI) an ai-driven digital financial ecosystem for cashless school transactions case study: St. Julian secondary school, Seeta-Mukono, Uganda
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2026-05-27
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Uganda Christian University
Abstract
Smart E-Pocket Money is a system that helps overcome some key issues in financial management in schools by substituting paper currency with a more advanced AI-powered digital wallet solution. In the current report, we provide an overview of the design, development, deployment, and assessment of an integrated solution designed specifically for St. Julian Secondary School based in Seeta-Mukono, Uganda. It involves building the mobile digital wallet solution, implementing students’ authentication, introducing real-time parent’s governance, spending analytics, anomaly detection, and overall administration features. The cloud-based platform was developed using the following technologies: Next.js 15 for the frontend, Firebase Firestore for the database backend, and an artificial intelligence layer developed using Google Genkit and Google Gemini 2.5 Flash models. Altogether, we managed to develop four different fully functional portals: an Administration portal, a Student Digital Wallet portal, a Parent’s Governance portal, and a Vendor Merchant POS portal. Full prototype testing demonstrated that the entire process chain of governance and transactions is covered in a nine-step test case conducted at St. Julian Secondary School. The system has been proven to apply financial spending policies, parent authorization procedures, and artificial intelligence-based financial guidance. Potential metrics of success are expected to be a 80% decrease in cash theft cases, a 60% decrease in the financial management time of administrators, and a target stakeholder satisfaction score higher than 85% Keywords: Digital wallet, cashless schools, AI financial planning, biometric verification, personal savings account, parent governance, EduWallet AI, financial literacy, Uganda, school finance
Description
Undergraduate