NBC in drive for financial literacy
THE NATIONAL Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has unveiled a financial literacy campaign aimed at boosting awareness among young Cambodians by way of their mobile devices.
The central bank’s new digital application, available as “NBC-Edu” in app stores, allows users to study basic financial tools on iPhone and Android devices.
The programme, developed by NBC experts and sponsored by Visa Cambodia, is designed for students 8 to 18 years old.
Chea Serey, the NBC director-general, said that consumer credit and digital payment systems have become more available in Cambodia, with an increasing number of people using them to purchase goods.
Serey warned that without an understanding of basic financial tools, young Cambodians are at risk of becoming over-indebted or falling victim to scams and predatory lending from the informal banking sector. The Kingdom’s poor are also vulnerable, she said.
“For now, what they want, they can purchase it [through a consumer loan]. But they must know their ability to pay it back,” said Serey, adding that the NBC’s role is to protect consumers and that increasing financial literacy is part of that function.
“Through our new digital education programme, we hope to make them more knowledgeable about how to properly use financial services, and to make them less vulnerable to risk,” she said.