I’m not sure what these panda bears are doing with all of my Yen coins, but they appear to be quite happy, and they like to do all sorts of fun tricks on the LCD screen when fed money.

It seems to have something to do with pandas eating pie, and that’s way better than watching a bunch of greedy old white guys in suits flush our money down the drain.

As usual, I’ll bet you that you’ll never see the Panda Bank anywhere but in Japan. But if they ever were to sell these in the States, they should be a mandatory part of Obama’s next major economic stimulus plan.

I don’t think the dog cares exactly what it is that’s placed on its bowl, it’ll eat it anyway. So it’s quite a realistic dog.

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The Choken-Bako dog bank won’t be available until November, but you can pre-order it now at Japan Trend Shop for $67 (USD) ($49 + $18 shipping). Or see if you can train your dog to store your money for you. That’s $67 of savings right there.

[via Random Good Stuff]

The Fill ‘Er Up savings bank looks just like the gas gauge on a car, but instead of keeping track of fuel, it keeps track of coins. And just like when your gas tank is on “E”, you’ll need to feed this with more money to keep it running. As simple and fun as the idea is, I think all piggy banks should have this feature. It’s part of Fred’s latest collection, so I don’t know how much it will cost or when it will hit stores, but for now, keep an eye on Perpetual Kid, since they’ve been known to stock lots of goodies from Fred & Friends.

This Space Invaders piggy bank looks just like a miniature cocktail table version of the classic arcade shooter. The 1/6th scale game has a tiny little version of the game on a built-in LCD screen. Just drop a 100 yen coin (between the size of a nickel and a quarter) into the slotto kick off the fun.

Each coin you drop into the slot adds another alien to the display – all the way up to 80 invaders. It also plays the familiar sounds of the retro classic. My Japanese isn’t very good, but from what I can tell from this press release, you might actually be able to play the game on the tiny LCD screen (please, oh please say it’s true!)

Scheduled for release later this month at a price of ¥5775 /$59 USD, the bank holds just enough to cover its own cost with a little bit to spare. No word on where you might be able to find these stateside, but if you’re willing to read a little Japanese, you can find more info over on the TakaraTomy website.

[via GamOvr]

It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days. These simpler banks offer a variety of money-saving experience for the gamer who doesn’t need much razzle-dazzle. The Jinsei Ginko, shown above, is like a Tamagotchi or other virtual pet: you “feed” your tiny stickman your cold, hard cash. The more he “eats,” the more he succeeds. When your little guy gets enough money, he’s rewarded with a sweet crib and a loving sticklady. If only real life were so simple.

If the idea of a virtual pet makes you want to bury your money in the backyard instead, you could try Bankquest, a simple RPG, or Ikemen Bank, a heart-shaped bank with a dating sim.

Of course, in order to actually use these banks, you’ll probably need to convert all your money to yen. At least that will make you less likely to spend it… unless you happen to be in Japan.

[Wired via Kotaku]