Let’s talk about finances, but with little monkeys

To contribute to financial education, this Friday launches FINTALKS The Comica collective initiative promoted by companies, associations and digital creatives who seek to make basic financial information and concepts available to the non-specialized public in a simple, attractive and fun way.

Championed by the company creditorthe Mexican Association of Specialized Financial Entities (AMFE), the Frik-in platform (the app that maps recreational hobbies in Mexico) and experts who lead the digital forums Matching Your Finances and Suicidating Godínez, FINTALK, The Comic, will be a monthly series of digital graphic comics of great value for that people can increase their financial knowledge and thus make better decisions about the use of products and services in the sector.

A multidisciplinary team of illustrators headed by TOSE Buenabadscreenwriters and financial specialists created and gave content to the characters of Gaston y Prudencewho through real economic situations will educate users of financial services on issues of savings, budget, fraud prevention, credit, among others.

At a press conference held this Thursday, it was highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic, which negatively impacted the economy of 56% of the adult population, taught us the importance of having a strengthened financial education that helps us adequately face economic emergencies. of any kind.

FINTALKS, The Comic, launches right on the National Financial Education Week promoted by the Condusef, to offer the public the ABC of personal finances through a pleasant language, attractive graphic resources and examples linked to daily life.

Leví Alvarado, financial expert and founder of Suicidando al Godínez pointed out the importance of financial culture: “In Mexico we do not have financial culture, they did not teach us to think about our money, the key question is not how much you earn, but how much you keep” , and underlined the relevance of bringing financial education closer through everyday language, fun and easy to assimilate, to make informed decisions, since not having it can make life more difficult.

In this sense, Juan Cuéllar, Director of User Experience, Operations and Sales at Creditea, stated that “extending financial culture is everyone’s task, which is why at Creditea we join this educational movement because we are convinced that these materials They will help citizens to increase their financial knowledge, because in the end, promoting financial education is promoting the economy of Mexico”.

He explained that in a first stage, the comics will be presented in a static way but announced the upcoming launch of an animated version that will offer tips and advice to maintain healthy personal finances.

Cuéllar pointed out that this initiative will also contribute to closing the inequality gap that is seen in Mexico for reasons of schooling. “The most recent National Survey of Financial Inclusion showed that 93% of the population with at least one year of higher education reported having or having had a financial product, while only 62% of those with only primary education had one” , he pointed.

For his part, Carlos Provencio, general director of the Mexican Association of Specialized Financial Entities (AMFE), pointed out that “financial education must grow and spread with the same speed with which new technologies are adopted by users. To this end, the financial sector faces a great challenge not only when it comes to digitizing its processes and services, but also in disseminating agile, useful and interesting information and content that allow users to improve their decision-making capacity”.

“This is the path so that more and more people can have a good management of their finances in a practical and intuitive way and, as a consequence of them, a better management of their personal economy”, emphasized the director of the association that brings together the most representative financial credit institutions in the financial sector.

“The pandemic changed consumption habits and our ways of working, it brought us challenges and opportunities, and one of them is translating the basic concepts of financial education for the young population and for families. It is not about spending more, but about living better”, stressed Provencio.

For his part, Pablo Naop, general director of Frik-in, which leads the creative and digital part of the project, pointed out the relevance of the creative industries in the generation of financial culture. “This is a sign that the creative industries can give more, not just entertainment, and, in this case, comics have a lot to contribute and have the opportunity to bring basic financial concepts closer to more people.”

Finally, Irene Quintero and Jorge Juárez, creators of Matching Your Finances, stressed the importance of supporting this type of initiative, since financial education is key to improving personal health and social well-being.

You can see the comics on the websites and social networks of the promoters: Creditea, Frik-in, AMFE, Matching Your Finances and Suicidando al Godínez.

francisco.deanda@eleconomista.mx