GABRIELA FOLCUT, Executive Director, ARB: The financial and business community has now a major support in the recently launched edu-fin.ro, the financial platform open to all projects and programs in the field

This year registered a major progress and successful endeavor for the financial community, with the launch in March, of the financial education platform www.edu-fin.ro, following the joined efforts of The Ministry of Education, the National Bank of Romania, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Romanian Association of Banks, Gabriela Folcut, Executive Director of Romanian Association of Banks (ARB) said during the Financial Forum 2021 organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

The platform is practically a White Paper where the five partner institutions invite the entities involved in projects in the field of financial education to register, until the end of April 2021, their own financial education programs, developed starting with 2018, on the edu-fin.ro platform, the White Paper section .

Through the platform, a database is created , which includes all entities that want to promote their financial education projects, carried out in their own name at national level. Enrollment in this database is easy, allowing a better interconnection of actors involved in financial education activities, providing an overview of education in this field in Romania.

For the general public, the site is an interactive platform, an aggregator of practical tips for all those who want to develop their behavior, attitude and financial knowledge.

The five partner institutions concluded, in 2018, a collaboration agreement for the implementation of joint activities in the field of financial education and for the elaboration of the National Strategy for Financial Education. The agreement is the concrete expression of the recognition of the importance of financial education by the parties and creates the inter-institutional framework for coordinating efforts in the field of financial education.

One of the objectives of the collaboration agreement is to develop the “White Paper”, which will also contain the list of all actors involved in activities / projects in the field of financial education.

The launch of the edu-fin.ro financial education platform represents a stage in the process of elaborating the National Financial Education Strategy, the first form of which will be launched for public consultation during the year. All stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit proposals on the strategy on the edu-fin.ro platform and get involved in its implementation.

The realization of a National Financial Education Strategy is a solution validated by European and international practice to boost the growth of financial education. It also aims to increase the level of knowledge and financial skills of citizens, helping them to manage the risks associated with accessing, more easily, increasingly complex financial services and to benefit as much as possible from the advantages offered by these, including by strengthening their financial situation and prospects.

The Diplomat Bucharest organized Financial Forum event in online format, on April 21,2021. The conference joined leaders spearheading digital initiatives in their organizations to offer insights into their digital transformation journey’s in fintech & banking, as well in capital markets and insurance.

The fast evolution of digital in all industries mirrors in the behaviours and innovations brought by banks,  financial institutions to meet the clients’ needs to abstain from overspending, navigate risks, and usually deal with their finances better. FinTech services and products are more and more designed for particular functions inside the financial ecosystem and customization is key to win more clients and portfolios.