Skopje, 24 November 2023
Upon the invitation of the Minister of Finance of the Netherlands and the OECD, the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska participated in an event on financial education. At the same time, the meeting marked the beginning of the second phase of the project financed by the Dutch Ministry of Finance and the INFE-OECD aimed at supporting financial education and inclusion in the region of SEE. The Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sigrid Kaag opened the event and addressed the attendees.
“The digitalization in finance brings many advantages, including better access to finance, which is important for reduced poverty and higher economic growth. According to some researches, the easier access to finance can increase the growth by around 2 percent, and even more if it is a digital access. However, digital era brings new risks. Digital innovation risks, such as possible new types of e-fraud, the detection, issues over security and confidentiality of data, the easier access to short-term loans and possible over indebtedness of households, must be approached carefully, not only in a regulatory point of view, but by also raising awareness for these issues within the process of financial education”, pointed out the Governor Anita Angelovska Bezhoska at the panel discussion entitled Financial Literacy and Financial Education: New challenges and strategic priorities.
She also added that despite the new opportunities for inclusion, one should bear in mind that the lack of digital skills and literacy can limit the inclusiveness and the benefits of digital financial services. Therefore, we should develop effective financial education initiatives which will include finance in a digital world, support the design and use of digital tools in order to provide financial education for the younger generations, as well as raise the awareness among elderly generations.
At the panel discussion, the Governor emphasized the significant improvement within the first phase of the project in the last few years, which was also confirmed by international institutions. Thus, the first National Strategy for Financial Education and Inclusion was adopted in 2021, along with several strategic documents, and numerous educational activities were implemented as well, which among other things, pay attention to digital literacy. For effective implementation of the Strategy, the National Bank takes into account the needs of both the young and the elderly population and offers various educational opportunities for the entire population, which include online lectures, educational posts on the website and social networks, educational video games and online quizzes. The National Bank has recently released a brochure for the use of digital financial services which includes easily understandable advice on the safe use of these services.