Many South Africans are “financially unwell” because of poor financial decisions or a lack of financial literacy, according to a study, but technology can bridge the gap. File picture: Rawpixel/Freepik
Cape Town – Technology can bridge the gap in financial literacy to ensure that more people are financially included.
“Apps and games are changing the face of financial education by making it fun and accessible for a diverse audience,” Sea Monster CEO Glenn Gillis said.
“Animation, games and gamification are especially well suited to financial literacy education because they are accessible to a diverse audience and can easily be adapted for different ages, languages, cultures and communities.”
According to a 2021 report by Momentum and Unisa, many South Africans are “financially unwell” because of poor financial decisions or a lack of financial literacy.
Households who make use of financial expertise, and stay on top of their financial planning, are more likely to experience better financial outcomes.
Gillis said few people had access to a financial advisor or the resources to learn more about how to manage their finances, but technology has the power to bridge this gap.
“They also allow people to learn in a way where they don’t feel judged and can be designed for low bandwidth environments,” Gillis said.
“Evidence suggests that people with financial savvy are more likely to accumulate wealth because they make informed decisions about spending and retirement,” she said.
“We’ve already seen how games have been used in South Africa to teach people various financial skills like compound interest, bond repayments, saving for their retirement, how to balance expenses and entrepreneurship and there is still a lot more scope to use these tools to help people change their lives.”
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