The American Bankers Association Foundation today celebrated the 24th annual Get Smart About Credit Day with the release of expanded resources designed to help bankers provide teens and young adults with practical financial education.
Get Smart About Credit is a year-round, national campaign that kicks off annually on the third Thursday of October. The industry-wide program encourages bank employees to share real-world financial knowledge with students and young adults on topics including saving for the unexpected, managing money, paying for college, understanding credit, protecting their identity and exploring careers in banking.
This year, more than 4,800 banker volunteers from banks across the country committed to sharing financial education lessons and resources with nearly 237,000 students and young adults in their communities.
“Get Smart About Credit helps bankers leverage their valuable real-world experience and expertise to deliver engaging lessons for the next generation that will make a real difference in their communities,” said Lindsay Torrico, executive director of the ABA Foundation. “This year, we are offering new resources that will make it even easier for bankers to connect with teens and young adults so they can develop the knowledge and confidence to make informed financial decisions.”
New to this year’s campaign is a collaboration with Cashy, a gamified financial education platform, to release interactive fraud and scam prevention lessons that make financial education more engaging and memorable for young audiences. The lessons allow bankers to select an audience age and session length before launching an immersive experience that guides the program from start to finish. Sessions can be delivered in person or virtually and tailored to run from 20 to 60 minutes. The collaboration with Cashy also extends to other ABA Foundation financial education programs, including Teach Children to Save and Safe Banking for Seniors.
“Bankers want to bring fraud education to their communities, but most don’t have time to build a lesson from scratch, and not everyone feels comfortable presenting,” said Mart Vainu, CEO of Cashy. “We made it plug and play: pick your audience, hit start and the game carries the session. Our goal is not only to bring fraud education to communities across the country, but to do it in a way that makes people smile, cheer, and jump from their chairs.”
In addition to the gamified lessons through Cashy, the ABA Foundation will also offer two new traditional lessons on fraud and scams and credit. The Foundation is also launching three new customizable ‘careers in banking’ resources that banks can tailor for use in classrooms and their communities. The materials are designed to help students and young adults learn more about the range of career paths and professional opportunities available in the banking industry.
