Designing a digital financial education strategy for Portugal

The Commission assisted the Bank of Portugal in designing a digital financial education strategy for Portugal, consisting in a high-level document and a roadmap with concrete steps, by providing a set of measures for different target groups to address the lack of digital finance literacy. 

This national strategy will enable the Portuguese citizens to raise adequate levels of digital financial literacy and, as a result, make effective and sustainable financial decisions when using innovative financial services. 

Context

In the context of growing digitalisation in all sectors of the economy, the Bank of Portugal aims at enhancing consumer protection by proposing solutions to improve knowledge and savviness when dealing with digital financial services and products. Designing a set of measures for different target groups (young people, women, older adults, low-income individuals and persons with no or low education,...) could address that need and help the Portuguese authorities in implementing those measures. As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitalisation, and consumers need to keep up-to-date with the new tools and technology.

Support delivered  

Funded by the European Commission through the TSI, this project was realised with the support of the OECD, that relies on a solid experience in financial literacy. 

The 20-month project focused on the creation of a strategy for digital financial literacy, which will help to promote an appropriate and safe use of digital channels by customers of financial products and services. The support measures will include a mapping report on the level of financial literacy of the Portuguese population with respect to digital financial services and products to identify the behaviour and attitudes of customers when using and contracting financial products and services via digital channels. Then, a high-level document and a roadmap with a defined structure, timing, activities to develop and proposed methodology, were designed, in order to launch the national strategy. 

Results achieved

The digital financial literacy strategy will improve the financial knowledge and comfort of the Portuguese citizens when dealing with digital financial services and products, promote an appropriate and safe use of digital channels by the Portuguese population, making them more resilient to online fraud attempts and cybersecurity attacks. 

More about the project

You can read the final reports here:

• General publications
• 31 May 2023

Designing a digital financial education strategy for Portugal - reports