In 2023 the European Money Week was held from the 20th to the 26th of March. The initiative of the European Banking Federation whose member is the Association of Banks in Bulgaria (ABB) is held jointly with the national banking associations. The European Money Week coincides with the Global Money Week.
The aim of the European Money Week is to increase the public awareness on the issues of financial education and financial literacy by organizing different activities for pupils both on national and European level. In the long run the aim of the campaign which includes more than 30 countries is to improve the level of financial education in Europe, particularly for pupils in the primary and secondary schools.
The banking sector in Bulgaria has adopted as its mission the active support and contribution to increasing financial literacy of the young people in the country as their knowledge on finances is highly beneficial and important for the society. For that reason, the banks perform activities on a regular basis in order to provide knowledge to the Bulgarian pupils about their activities and to provide support for the realization of different students’ initiatives, e.g. creation and development of the activities of the “training banks”. Similar campaigns contribute to the kids’ understanding on how the banking sector functions and help them to acquire more knowledge on basic financial issues.
The planned initiatives aim to encourage and educate children’s interest in entrepreneurship, responsibility towards money, and long-term planning and management of personal and family budget. The activities include open lessons, bank branch visits, where students have the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day work of financial institution employees, as well as organizing competitions and quizzes to help children acquire financial knowledge in a funny and exciting way.
As part of the European Money Week, DSK Bank conducted two initiatives related to financial literacy among young people. The first of them is the joint project with “Artikus” association, with which the financial culture among students is increased in an interesting and non-standard way. The interactive presentation “Money – Past and Future” talks about money, when and where it first appeared and transports children to the present day, when much of the financial process is now done in a digital environment. Through interactive games and quizzes, students have the opportunity to test their knowledge of finance. Within the framework of the European Money Week, productions were performed in the cities of Veliko Tarnovo and Stara Zagora.
To date, the interactive performance “Money – past and future” has been performed 7 times in 6 cities – Sofia, Kostenets, Vratsa, Parvomai, Stara Zagora and Veliko Tarnovo, with a total of 940 spectators. There are 4 more performances in Varna, Burgas and Blagoevgrad.
The second initiative, part of the European Money Week, was a short quiz on the official profile of DSK Bank. Within 1 day, 8 questions were posted in the story, which required knowledge of when money dates back, what material banknotes are made of, what the dollar exchange rate depends on, what a digital wallet is, and more.
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Investbank joined the European Money Week 2023 initiative, and with the courtesy of “Druzhba School Sofia” organized an educational meeting under the motto: “Plan your money, plan your future” with high school students, with the aim of increasing their financial literacy.
On the 22nd of March, Mr Krasimir Milanov, Products Manager in the “Sales and Coordination of the Branch Network” Directorate and Mrs Vladka Cherneva, Head of the Lyulin Office, shared their professional experience with the teenagers, presenting what money is and how banks work. The aim of the lecture was to encourage a responsible attitude towards personal finances. A significant focus of their presentation was the similarities and differences between core banking products and digitalized services, as well as modern payment trends. An interesting discussion ensued, in which the students took an active part and demonstrated a good knowledge of the topic.
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UBB and KBC Bank took part in the European Money Week initiative of the European Banking Federation. The program is aimed at building on the development of knowledge and skills necessary for young people to make informed financial decisions and achieve financial sustainability.
During the last two weeks of March, a total of 9 branches of UBB and KBC Bank across the country held open days where students from selected schools got to know the work of banks and the role of bank employees. The young people also learned how to develop a responsible attitude towards their personal finances and what are the benefits of saving and investing in banking products.
Within the framework of the European Money Week, UBB Varna branch accepts the students of the 9th “E” grade from the High School of Mathematics “Dr. Petar Beron”, majoring in “Hardware and Software Sciences”. Colleagues hold a “Class Hour” at the UBB office to introduce young people to the KBC Group’s banking, investment and insurance products. Staff demonstrated a range of useful mobile banking features and the opportunities to chat with digital assistant Kate, which impressed the students. Regional managers of “Bank Insurance” also took part in the meeting.
The KBC Bank office in Shumen also received over 20 students from the Professional High School of Economics. The bank has a long-standing relationship with the students and the employees were very excited to tell them more about their work and present the KBC Group digital products and services.
On the 24th of March, students from the Banking class of the National Trade and Banking High School joined the UBB team, Fridtjof Nansen branch. Within each day, every employee relied on the indispensable help of two “future bankers”. The students were actively learning from their personal mentor and successfully assisted customers with a demonstration of the functionalities of the UBB Mobile and the benefits of the digital assistant Kate. At the end of the day, the students shared that they already feel part of the UBB team.
Their doors to the students opened also:
- UBB Veliko Tarnovo – Elementary School “St. Patriarch Euthymius”, 3 classes between the 5th and 7th grades;
- UBB Shumen – High School “Panayot Volov”;
- UBB Targovishte – High School “Prof. Nikola Marinov”;
- UBB Oryahovo – High School “Hristo Botev”;
- UBB Sofia – French Language School “Alphonse de Lamartine”;
- UBB Sofia – Professional School for Audio, Video and Telecommunications “A.S. Popov”.
For another year, the European Money Week initiative brought a lot of new knowledge and smiles on the faces of students.
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Experts from Postbank held an open lesson on the topic: “Let’s talk about personal finances” for students from the second and fourth grades of the capital’s 131 High School “Kliment Timiryazev”.
More than 120 children and their teachers participated in the event, which is organized within the framework of the international initiative European Money Week 2023 and has as a main goal to present to the students the basics of personal finance and help to increase their financial literacy from an early age.
In an attractive way for the children, thanks to the interactive format and fascinating practical tasks, the lecturers from the financial institution introduced the young participants to the origin and history of money and its role as a means of exchange of goods and services, its development over the centuries and its use nowadays. Mrs Daniela Karchina, coordinator of Training Centers Branch network in Postbank and Mrs Nikoleta Mihailova, junior expert Management of performance and innovations talked about the role of banks in the financial world, about bank cards and other modern payment methods. The focus of the lesson was on the topic of personal and family budgeting, and the children learned basic concepts such as “income” and “expenses”, the meaning of “savings” and why they are important, the easiest way to organize a budget and how to manage personal finance.
Postbank’s traditional participation in the global campaign is part of the sustainable corporate social responsibility policy of the financial institution with a focus on education and development of young people. The open lessons, which the experts from the bank present to students from primary and secondary schools, aim to improve the awareness and level of financial education among young people, giving them a solid knowledge base and preparing them for their full upcoming inclusion in the financial world of the adults.
