Chile Launches 2025 Financial Education Month
With a group of 30 entrepreneurial women from the commune of Renca and the presence of various authorities, the Undersecretary of the Treasury, Heidi Berner, led this Thursday at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship La Fábrica, in Renca, the inauguration of the month of financial education 2025, a joint initiative of institutions that are part of the Advisory Commission for Financial Inclusion (CAPIF).
The mayor of Renca, Claudio Castro; the commissioner of the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF), Bernardita Piedrabuena; the Deputy Director of Financial Consumption of the National Consumer Service (Sernac), Guillermo Guzmán; the head of the Division of Attention and Services to the User of the Superintendence of Pensions, Marcial Fernández; the director of the National Customs Service, Alejandra Arriaza; the General Treasurer of the Republic (TGR), Hernán Nobizelli; the Superintendent (s) of Social Security (Susse), Patricia Soto; the director of Fosis, Nicolás Navarrete, and the National Defender of the Ombudsman, ricardo Pizarro, among other heads of service and institutional representatives.
The month of financial education, which is celebrated every October, aims to promote financial education as a tool for inclusion and empowerment, delivering useful knowledge and skills to manage money, make better decisions in the different stages of life and strengthen economic well-being.
In her speech,the Undersecretary of the Treasury,Heidi Berner,said that “financial education is not just to teach to use a financial product,it is an integral training that gives us knowledge,skills and attitudes to handle our finances in a responsible manner and make informed decisions in our daily lives.”
The authority explained that this concept has been expanded: “We talk about integral financial education, which also includes understanding how taxes and formalization of business work, knowing the social forecast system in all its dimensions – thought, health, severance insurance -, and developing in a digital environment that changes rapidly.” She also stressed that “the most vital thing is that financial education should serve real life. It is indeed not enough to transmit content, we need to form practical abilities that help peopel make better decisions at times and with products with which their well-being is really played.”
berner also highlighted the findings of the 2024 Household Survey of the Central Bank, which reveal significant limitations in the financial knowledge of the Chilean population, with gaps by age and educational level. “These results are in line with what was observed in the 2nd 2023 Financial Capabilities survey of the CMF, which found that men reach a higher level of financial knowledge – 64% compared to 59% of women -, although in behavior and financial attitude both present similar scores. Both surveys show that, despite progress, financial literacy remains a challenge for the Chilean population and gender, and with a lag against international standards.”
Likewise, the Undersecretary announced that the update of the National Financial Education Strategy is underway, with the aim of strengthening actions and addressing the gaps identified in the population’s knowledge.