Level of Poles' financial knowledge still needs to improve

According to the study ‘The level of financial knowledge of Poles in 2021’ conducted in March this year. at the request of the Warsaw Institute of Banking (WIB) and the WSE Foundation, compared to 2020, the percentage of people assessing their financial knowledge as "rather little" or "very little" dropped slightly to 49 percent. Unfortunately, the level of negative self-esteem in this area among young Poles aged 18-24 has increased – from 83 percent to 90 percent.

WIB and the GPW Foundation indicate that a positive trend is an increase in the percentage of Poles declaring a very thorough reading of documentation before signing contracts with financial institutions – from 32 percent in 2019 to 40 percent in 2021. However, women are more meticulous in dealing with such an important activity as making a commitment than men – 44 percent of them read contracts very carefully (compared to 36 percent of men).

While last year 8 percent of respondents still did not see the need to introduce compulsory classes in the field of financial knowledge at any stage of education, in 2021 only 3 percent are of this opinion. At the same time, 3 out of 4 Poles expect the leading role of schools and teachers in the transfer of economic knowledge (increase from 66 percent to 77 percent). Almost half of the respondents indicate the need to support this process on the part of parents (49 percent), the media (a significant decrease y/y from 71 percent to 47 percent), employees of the financial sector (47 percent), and state institutions (46 percent).

"Over the last year, most Poles had to move a decisive part of their lives online. Remote work, banking, and online shopping, or distance education have become our everyday life. Such a large and varied activity must go hand in hand with appropriate awareness and digital education," Waldemar Zbytek, President of the Warsaw Banking Institute, noted.

(WBJ)