Budapest, 2020. September 22.
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank in cooperation with the Money Compass Foundation has launched a one-of-a-kind, free mobile application targeting primary school students. Using the MNB Digital Student Safe mobile application, by answering entertaining quiz questions in the areas of finance, digitalization and sustainability students can collect and exchange saving items which can be redeemed for gifts during specific times within the school year.
The MNB Digital Student Safe mobile application targets mainly primary school students. The pilot phase of the project currently includes only a limited group of 45 educational institutions from all the counties in Hungary and in Budapest, however students enrolled in other primary schools are also welcomed to join and register.
Participating students between the ages of 8 and 14 can collect digital medals, which can add up to series of medals depicting Hungarian kings or Hungarian castles, in their own Digital Student Safe. The application also lets students exchange these with each other. During the redemption periods announced in the school year, students will be able to redeem the collected medals for various valuable material gifts (e.g., toys, entrance passes).
In addition to collecting and exchanging digital medals, additional features will be available in the mobile app. For example, students can set their own savings goals or receive reward medals for collecting each item in a series of medals.
With the launch of the Digital Student Safe application, the MNB and the Money Compass Foundation aim to help students and families acquiring up-to-date financial, digital and sustainability knowledge. According to researches, the financial soundness of families and the reduction of financial vulnerability are closely related to the adoption of certain forms of financial behavior that can be established in childhood: such as tracking expenses and income, setting financial goals and plans, and forming a regular saving habit.
In the end of February this year, the Digitalisation and FinTech Advisory Board of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank already examined the possibility of introducing a program aiming to educate the younger generation regarding savings and finance. The launch of the Digital Student Safe has never been more relevant: with the help of the application, the students will also be able to utilize the digital skills and competencies in everyday life in the accelerating digitization caused by the pandemic situation.
The MNB Digital Student Safe is available here (currently only available in Hungarian):