One of the legislated objectives of the FSCA is to protect financial customers by providing them with financial education programmes, and otherwise promoting financial literacy and the ability to make sound financial decisions. As a result, the FSCA has published a Discussion Document containing proposed policy interventions aimed at ensuring that financial consumer education initiatives provided by financial institutions are appropriate.
The proposals require all financial institutions to take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate standards of behaviour, governance and oversight when developing content and implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on consumer financial education activities or interventions.
The proposed principles for financial consumer education initiatives, as well as some of the questions to be considered, include:
| ● | Governance and provision of Financial Education (FE) initiatives | |
| ○ | Are there other types of channels for FE programmes or activities to be included in the scope above? | |
| ○ | Are there any other factors to be considered when identifying target groups? | |
| ● | Location and logistics | |
| ○ | Are there current Physical Access/logistical guidelines in place in your area of the financial sector or financial institution that could be leveraged for these requirements or of which the FSCA should be aware? | |
| ○ | Would the requirements as proposed be practical and implementable? | |
| ○ | In your experience are there any other factors to be considered when hosting an FE initiative regarding physical accessibility/logistics? | |
| ● | Measurability, monitoring and evaluation | |
| ○ | Do you perceive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) as an essential element of programme implementation? | |
| ○ | Are there existing success indicators being used by stakeholders that can be provided to the FSCA as examples of best practise? | |
| ● | Branding | |
| ○ | Are the formulas provided for calculating branding on consumer education material appropriate? | |
| ● | Reporting | |
The FSCA is now requesting stakeholder input, by no later than 31 August 2020, regarding the potential impact of the proposals on financial institutions.
Click here to download FSCA Communication 37 of 2020
Click here to download the Discussion Document
Click here to download the Feedback Template (Annexure A)
