Barclays Sets Financial Education Goal of Five Million Youth by 2015

On the heels of new research uncovering that 2.5 billion people have no access to formal financial services, Barclays announced an aggressive plan to help enhance the financial literacy, job success and related skills of five million young people within the next year. Financial education professionals have long held that providing youth with money management skills is a vital component in establishing lasting financial strength, and the Barclays commitment to this principle is expected to go a long way towards prompting other large financial services institutions to follow suit.

Barclays announced a multifaceted approach to ensuring that it meets its goal, including partnering with notable charities, community organizations, NGOs and social enterprises, which are well positioned to best connect with and understand the local needs of program participants. One example is the Barclays partnership with Unicef in a program dubbed “Building Young Futures,” which combines Barclays expertise in financial services and information with Unicef’s experience and reach with children. Similarly, through a partnership with CARE International, Barclays rolled out the Banking on Change initiative to drive financial literacy and financial inclusion to new levels of success.

Innovation in financial education and financial inclusion is nothing new to Barclays. The company announced last month their development of a new cashless way for individuals to make payments with a wristband holding their bank details that can be scanned at points of check-out. The new waterproof device has a chip containing the customer’s payment information that allows them to complete a transaction simply by touching the wristband at the check-out location.

Given that advances in technology and financial inclusion are enabling individuals to have greater access to financial products and services, financial literacy advocates are emphasizing the importance of financial education so that individuals and families will be best equipped to understand the new financial innovations to which they have access. For this reason, the Barclays commitment to impact five million youth with financial literacy initiatives by 2015 is even more important and likely just the beginning of similar comprehensive programs offered by other financial services companies in the coming months and years.