On 8 November 2018 Center-invest Bank opened a Financial Literacy Centre in the city of Volgodonsk. This is a joint socio-educational project in partnership with a local school, Lycée No. 24. As well as studying traditional core subjects, schoolchildren from Volgodonsk can now acquire basic financial literacy skills.

The main aim of the new financial literacy class is to establish good financial habits and prevent young people from making financial mistakes. Games and various training methods are used to introduce children to the world of finance so that the younger generation can manage money wisely and responsibly and make sensible decisions.

In this class, the pupils use e-textbooks and also online courses developed by Center-invest Bank. Instead of conventional grades, the pupils receive a financial rating, and at the end of the academic year they are expected to produce a business plan.

"Our Centre makes it simple, straightforward and convenient for pupils to develop basic financial literacy skills. Very importantly, it is free of charge," says Denis Titorenko, manager of Center-invest Bank’s Volgodonsk branch. "As well as regular classes for primary and secondary pupils from Lycée No. 24, experts from the bank also give talks and hold masterclasses for pupils from other schools in the city. We also hold classes as part of the municipal project "New Entrepreneur School".

The lessons began in September and already the children are able to budget and make sense of loan products. They are also getting to grips with online banking.

"Pupils attend the sessions willingly," says Svetlana Gerasimova, coordinator of the financial literacy class. "During the lessons we learn about household budgeting; the children are involved in the family’s finances, helping their parents to plan their expenditure and savings."

This is the fourth Financial Literacy Centre to be opened by Center-invest Bank. The first was opened in Rostov-on-Don in 2014, the second in Krasnodar, and the third in Taganrog. This social and philanthropic project is a core part of the bank’s ecosystem, reflecting our responsible attitude to social development and the improvement of financial literacy.

In March 2013 the bank launched an online training portal to improve financial literacy worldwide. Using a combination of textbooks and modules (with end-of-module tests), the portal provides free training in economics and entrepreneurship. Participants receive certificates of completion. Open to all, users can test their knowledge, watch video lectures, and read books on finance. More than 39,300 users are registered on the portal, 17,800 of whom have already completed the course.