Visa Europe launches financial education program in Romania

Junior Achievement, the NGO, will implement the financial education program Bani IQ, developed by Visa Europe and members banks in Romania, aiming to train 5,000 students in topics such as financial planning, budgets and banking activities.

Only 3.2 percent of Romanians have access to financial education programs, according to Catalin Cretu, general manager Romania, Visa Europe. He added that 14 percent of Romanians don’t have fundamental knowledge of financial services, while only 4 in 10 Romanians use banking products.

“When most Romanians try to find out more about financial services they opt for TV shows, or friends and family, and only then head towards financial authorities. We shouldn’t be surprised that 65 percent of Romanians can’t cover daily expenditure, can’t benefit from the advantages offered by financial services, and this can sometimes lead to financial issues,” explained Cretu.

Bani IQ is carried out by September in 105 high-schools and universities from 64 cities, with the support of 100 teachers. The program aims to reach 50,000 people this year and should triple through to 2013, with the support of the e-learning platform www.baniiq.ro

Visa Europe launched in 2009 a similar program in Turkey called I can manage my money, having trained 30,000 people in so far.

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Financial education can become an optional subject in schools and high schools starting 2013, according to Marian Pop, Education minister.

Bani IQ is supported by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport, the United Nations Development Program and the Consumer Protection Authority.

Ovidiu Posirca