ISSUED: Information Contact: July 17, 2018 Stacy Peterson, Communications Director Treasurer of State 501-682-3838 (ofc); 501-519-3650 (cell) stacy.peterson@artreasury.gov Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan Launches Industry-First Mobile Application Arkansas emerging as innovative leader among state-run 529 plans Little Rock, Ark. (July 17, 2018) The Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan, – administered by the Treasurer of State’s office, unveiled a new mobile application today for smartphone users becoming the first state-run 529 plan in the country to – do so. is a monumental day for our state,” said Treasurer Dennis Milligan. be the “This “To first state plan in the country to launch an app for their 529 plan just further shows that we are innovative and thinking outside-the-box.” The mobile app will be released in several versions. Today’s version is 1.0, which will allow Arkansas 529 account owners to view their account balances and transaction history, get deposit and security alerts, and stay up-to-date on news concerning their plans. of the things we want to do by creating this app is to be able to share pertinent “One information with account owners using a tool that almost everyone has a cell – phone,” Milligan said. Statistics show that 95 percent of Americans own a cell phone. About 77 percent of adults in the United States own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. Being able to identify and reach Arkansas 529 account owners has been a challenge and a problem that most state-run 529 plans encounter, said Emma Willis, director of the Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan. our thought was to reach out to people where they’re at. Most people have their “So phones within an arm’s reach of them 24/7,” Willis said. According to a study by King University Online, Americans spend an average of five hours a day on their mobile devices.
ISSUED: July 17, 2018 Information Contact: Stacy Peterson, Communications Director Treasurer of State 501-682-3838 (ofc); 501-519-3650 (cell) stacy.peterson@artreasury.gov Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan Launches Industry-First Mobile Application Arkansas emerging as innovative leader among state-run 529 plans Little Rock, Ark. – (July 17, 2018) The Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan, administered by the Treasurer of State’s office, unveiled a new mobile application today for smartphone users – becoming the first state-run 529 plan in the country to do so. “This is a monumental day for our state,” said Treasurer Dennis Milligan. “To be the first state plan in the country to launch an app for their 529 plan just further shows that we are innovative and thinking outside-the-box.” The mobile app will be released in several versions. Today’s version is 1.0, which will allow Arkansas 529 account owners to view their account balances and transaction history, get deposit and security alerts, and stay up-to-date on news concerning their plans. “One of the things we want to do by creating this app is to be able to share pertinent information with account owners using a tool that almost everyone has – a cell phone,” Milligan said. Statistics show that 95 percent of Americans own a cell phone. About 77 percent of adults in the United States own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. Being able to identify and reach Arkansas 529 account owners has been a challenge and a problem that most state-run 529 plans encounter, said Emma Willis, director of the Arkansas 529 College Investing Plan. “So our thought was to reach out to people where they’re at. Most people have their phones within an arm’s reach of them 24/7,” Willis said. According to a study by King University Online, Americans spend an average of five hours a day on their mobile devices.
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