ABSTRACT

Surveys devoted to monitoring the financial literacy of consumers are regularly scheduled in different countries (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, etc.). Both governments and international organizations, such as OECD and the European parliament, have tried to evaluate the capability of financial consumers in order to make financial decisions in a proper manner. Different surveys on different countries have reached the same conclusion concerning a general lack of knowledge of financial consumers. These results suggest the need for financial education curricula in order to fill the gap. A more skilled consumer is quite desirable for a lot of reasons. A financially literate consumer is able to understand the features of a financial product or a financial service, making the need for a tight regulatory framework unnecessary. A higher financial literacy enhances the market competition due to the ability of consumers to highlight and understand differences between products and services; while education helps consumers to improve their awareness on their long-term latent needs (e.g. pension planning, savings, etc.) that could otherwise be ignored.