Supervisor of Banks Dr. Hedva Ber: “In order to strengthen households and small businesses and to ensure informed financial consumer activity, rules and regulations are not enough—financial education is also required. Without financial education, households and small businesses will not know how to utilize the tools we are offering them, and are even liable to encounter economic difficulties at some point. The importance of financial education increases even more in view of the steps we are promoting to expand the number of financial entities offering credit and financial products to the public, and in light of the increasing ease, facilitated by technology, in consuming financial services.”
“In order to increase households’ financial knowledge and awareness, I turned to banks with a request to take part in a special undertaking, in terms of contribution to the community—of holding a financial awareness week in September. I commend the Association of Banks in Israel and the banking system and thank them for their cooperation and total commitment to the success of the process and for promoting the activity. I urge bank customers to utilize the opportunity and take part in the various activities that will provide a range of practical tools and tips for informed financial consumption, will enhance knowledge of the financial sector, and will assist them in conducting their banking activity in an independent and more knowledgeable manner.”
The Banking Supervision Department, in collaboration with the Association of Banks in Israel and the banking system, announce “Financial Awareness Week” to promote financial education among the public. Within this framework, training sessions and lectures will be held in tens of bank branches across the country. The goal of the activity is to increase awareness and provide banking system customers, among others, with knowledge and understanding of basic financial issues. This will be by conducting comprehensive training that will give customers tips and practical tools for proper financial activity, present advanced digital tools that help with more efficient bank account management, offer personal guidance on the banking “identity card”, and provide a detailed explanation of the fee tracks service that will include the option of actually joining the service for those who wish to do so.
The activity to increase financial awareness, to benefit banking system customers, will take place between September 18 and 22, at no charge, in about 100 bank branches, mostly in peripheral (geographically and socioeconomically) areas. There will be a uniform, preset schedule. The activity will include, among other things:
· Identical lectures on issues related to financial education and informed financial conduct by households, which will assist the household at all stages;
· Training for customers including hands-on presentations of the following issues:
o Specific digital tools developed to encourage more efficient and informed financial conduct, such as: customer-executed deposits using direct channels at a branch, deposits via mobile device, an application to help with proper financial conduct and in some cases to reduce the costs of managing an account, etc.
o Banking “identity card”—introduction to the new annual report that presents customers with all the existing activities in their account in a clear, transparent, and easily compared manner; how it is received and how it can be used. Customers who sign up for the activity in advance will receive, at the end of the presentation, their own banking “identity card”.
o Fee tracks services—explanation of the service, examination of the worthwhileness of joining the service, through, among other things, the use of a calculator developed for this purpose, and actual registration of customers interested in doing so.
Additional details on the financial education week, including location of participating branches, hours of activity, and how to sign up for activities can be found at the following link: mifgash.ibank.org.il.
This program is one of many activities taking place to promote financial education. With that, this is the first ever combined, nationwide activity between all the banks and the Association of Banks in Israel at the initiative of the Banking Supervision Department, for the good of this important goal.
The Banking Supervision Department will continue in the future as well to promote additional varied initiatives that are appropriate for the overall population of banking system customers and for the general public, to help them recognize, learn about, and sensibly manage their financial activity.
