Financial Literacy in the Philippines

Financial literacy is the ability to read and understand financial information. Being financially literate is difficult because it entails understanding an enormous range of topics, but they are extremely important, as this knowledge builds up over time and can have a huge impact on your life overall. Financial literacy in the Philippines has been gaining popularity, a lawmaker has been pushing for financial literacy for PH Youth.

Financial maturity refers to understanding how money works in different aspects of our lives: for example saving vs spending, taxes, or debt. If we take these pieces of knowledge into account right now, future choices will inevitably lead us down a more profitable path than if we wait until it’s too late!

How do I prioritize my expenses? How much should I save up every month? What do you do if you are running out of cash? Why do people get paid daily, while others get paid twice a month, or once a month? Why do some companies pay 90 days later? These are questions that, sadly, many Filipinos have never asked themselves. And that’s ok! The ultimate goal is to build up financial literacy so we can all stray away from poor financial choices.

The Philippine market, backed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is taking steps to ensure financial literacy becomes more prevalent in the Philippines; per its own surveys, only a very small percentage of Filipino households have investments in mutual funds or stocks, and less than 2% have credit cards. Meanwhile, households in neighbors such as Vietnam and Malaysia have credit cards at rates of more than 20%. It is no surprise that many Filipinos have trouble dealing with things that are everyday occurrences elsewhere.

We’d like not only to teach Filipinos of all levels about financial literacy, but also offer resources that can help make the process easier. In Sprout, we want to help elevate the understanding of how money works, so we can impact their lives and help them, especially those who need it most.

That’s why here at Sprout we have created ReadyCash, an automatic, free, and easy way to support your employee’s financial wellness!