Center-invest Bank recently became one of the founding members of a new national Financial Literacy Association. The chairman of Center-invest Bank’s Board of Directors, Dr Vasily Vysokov, has been elected to the Association’s Supervisory Board.

The Financial Literacy Association is a non-commercial organisation. Its members include experts in the fields of finance, economics, science and education, and representatives of government bodies.

The aim of the Association is to carry out activities to promote the development of the financial market and financial consumer protection by improving financial literacy in Russia.

"Our main task is to avoid repeating mistakes and raising a new generation of speculators for the financial markets," says Dr Vysokov. "Instead, we should direct our efforts at educating children and young people properly, and also work with the general public, helping them to avoid financial mistakes. Our experience shows that rather than overloading the curriculum with new courses, financial literacy should be incorporated into other subjects."

Center-invest Bank has already shared with the Association’s members its experience of running financial literacy projects. Our work in this area has become an example of best practice, not only in Russia, but internationally.

Center-invest Bank has set up Financial Literacy Centres in Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Volgodonsk and Krasnodar. To date, over 100,000 people have received free advice from these Centres. They have learnt how to minimise losses, use financial services wisely, and protect themselves against fraud. Experts from the Bank train up volunteers to work as advisors at the Centres.

Center-invest Bank has provided a free online training platform, Enterprise for All, since 2013. This is a universal resource, providing training in the basics of entrepreneurship, taxation and financial literacy. It is used by schools and higher education institutions, and it is also available to the general public. To date, over 42,000 people have completed the training.

Center-invest Bank is an example of a socially responsible business. We have supported and developed socio-educational programmes aimed at increasing financial literacy for many years now. The Bank is a federal partner of the Finance Ministry and the Russian Central Bank.