Barclays has developed a set of emojis to help bashful Brits overcome awkward conversations when asking family and friends for money.
The release of the financial emoticons comes on the back of research by the UK bank which found that just under a third of Brits would rather be out of pocket than suffer the awkwardness of asking friends and family for money owed to them.
Covering phrases such as “you owe me money” to “that’s too expensive” or “can I borrow some money?”, the bespoke set of expressive images are being released to coincide with World Emoji Day on 17 July.
The emoji chains where developed by Barclays in association with linguistics expert Professor Vyv Evans at Bangor University in Wales.
“Emojis are fast becoming one of the most common ways we communicate," he says. "In fact, many find it easier to express their emotions through emojis and use emoticons to help them navigate trickier conversations. Talking about money is one of those taboo subjects which everybody finds a little difficult. The Barclays Mon-Emoji chains make those discussions a little less awkward.”