Without an understanding of basic financial concepts, people are not well equipped to make decisions related to financial management. People who are financially literate have the ability to make informed financial choices regarding saving, investing, borrowing, and more.
Financial knowledge is especially important in times where increasingly complex financial products are easily available to a wide range of the population. For example, with governments in many countries pushing to boost access to financial services, the number of people with bank accounts and access to credit products is rising rapidly. Moreover, changes in the pension landscape transfer decision-making responsibility to participants who previously relied on their employers or governments for their financial security after retirement.