Virtual Piggy has robotastic news for kids

LOS ANGELES — Virtual Piggy has integrated its youth-friendly payment system to Innovation First International, the company behind the award-winning Hexbug Micro Robotic Creatures and Vex Robotics product lines.



Innovation First International is a technology and engineering company that has launched several robotics product lines spanning the consumer toy, STEM education and business-to-business markets.



Earlier this year, McDonald’s partnered with Innovation First to offer an assortment of Hexbug-themed Happy Meal toys. The company’s Hexbug products have also been recognized on several occasions by the Toy Industry Association. Hexbug products are available in more than 4,000 outlets globally, including Walmart, Target, Toys “R” Us, RadioShack and other mass and specialty retailers.



Virtual Piggy is integrated directly into Innovation First International’s Hexbug e-commerce platform to allow direct online and mobile purchases. Virtual Piggy has a standard interface to eBay’s Magento e-commerce platform, which facilitates a simple and rapid integration.



“Partnering with Virtual Piggy is a great step forward for our e-commerce platforms,” said Tony Norman, president and CEO of Innovation First International. “Virtual Piggy’s Coppa-compliant family wallet gives more kids access to our robotics products, allowing them to spend safely, while also shaping them to become independent thinkers and responsible decision-makers, and yet parents still maintain the overall control.”



“We are delighted to provide the ability for youth to safely purchase the Vex Robotics kits & Hexbug Micro Robotic Creatures they love,” said Dr. Jo Webber, founder and CEO of Virtual Piggy. “We are honored to work with such an innovative company as Innovation First, to provide children younger than 18 years of age with safe access to these incredibly creative robotic toys and competitive robotics platforms.”