FINANCIAL ‘AID’

The Central Bank of Barbados has launched MoneySmart, a digital financial literacy programme that aims to help Barbadians secure their finances.

“Financial literacy is essential to financial stability, which is one of our main objectives,” said Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge, explaining the rationale for the programme. “The more financially savvy people are, the more likely they are to make sound decisions about money. They are more likely to save for a rainy day, to invest wisely, to borrow judiciously when necessary. And they are less likely to fall prey to fraud or predatory practices. This is good for Barbados’ financial system and the economy as a whole.”

He explained that the design of the “comprehensive and multi-year initiative” was guided by the findings of a comprehensive survey we commissioned in late 2022.

“That survey found that there is a reasonably high level of financial literacy in Barbados, but also revealed knowledge gaps in certain areas, and those are some of the topics we will tackle,” the bank governor said.

MoneySmart will be rolled out in modules.

The programme’s first module will focus on saving and budgeting, including topics such as saving on a low or variable income, setting realistic financial goals, and effective budgeting strategies. It will also look at the impact of inflation on people’s purchasing power and how they can mitigate those effects. Future modules, Dr Greenidge said, would cover investing, borrowing, planning for retirement, doing business online, and avoiding financial fraud.

“We have created a dedicated MoneySmart webpage and will be sharing a lot of information on our social media channels. That information will be presented in multiple formats: videos, infographics, blog articles, even an advice column that readers can submit their questions to and have them answered. We’ll also use radio, newspapers, and other traditional media to a certain degree, but our focus will be primarily digital because the respondents in the survey indicated that this was their preference,” he said.

“We want everyone to visit the webpage and our social media pages to learn more about saving and budgeting and other modules that will follow. In addition, we not only welcome but also encourage your feedback as well as suggestions for topics you would like us to cover.”
(PR/BT)