Youth Financial Inclusion: Complementing Financial Education with Account Access

piggy-bankSchools and financial institutions are increasingly partnering to offer savings account programs to children from elementary to high school to help complement financial education and instill successful financial habits.  Available evidence suggests that interacting with a savings account could allow children to learn by testing what they know and reflecting upon their experiences.

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Early experience with banking could help children develop positive financial habits and gain practice with strategies for exercising self-control and planning for the future. Financial inclusion and financial education could be especially important for children who have had relatively little opportunity to learn about or practice healthy financial behaviors.  Additional research is required, however, to identify the separate effects of financial inclusion and financial education and to identify the ideal components of a financial inclusion program.