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Matz: Credit unions should educate members during Financial Literacy Month

NCUA to Offer Webinar, Twitter Chat and New Online Resources for Consumers

ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 30, 2015) — April is National Financial Literacy Month, and National Credit Union Administration Board Chairman Debbie Matz urged credit unions to take this opportunity to help members learn to manage and protect their finances.

“An educated consumer can make better choices to build financial security, and creating those educated consumers is an important part of NCUA’s mission,” Matz said. “During Financial Literacy Month, we encourage credit unions to take advantage of NCUA’s financial literacy resources and programing to help their members become more informed.”

NCUA plans to introduce new information resources, including a Financial Literacy Resources webpage and a video on understanding payday lending, during April. The agency also has several planned activities, including:

Hosting a webinar for credit unions, “Your Mission into Action: Developing Youth Financial Literacy and Savings Programs,” on Wednesday, April 22, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. Registration information will be available soon. There will be no charge for this webinar.
Moderating a financial literacy Twitter chat on April 22 beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern, hosted by Kenneth Worthey, Financial Literacy and Outreach Analyst with NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection. Credit unions and consumers are encouraged to follow the conversation and contribute using the #NCUAChat hashtag on Twitter. Participants can submit questions beforehand to socialmedia@ncua.gov.
Participating in the Financial Literacy Day event on Capitol Hill on Friday, April 24, to educate lawmakers, congressional staffers and the public about federally insured credit unions and the role of NCUA. The event is convened by the Jump$tart Coalition, Junior Achievement USA and the Council for Economic Education.

Beginning in April, consumers can also check NCUA’s MyCreditUnion.gov and the agency’s financial literacy site, Pocket Cents, to get up-to-date information about saving, borrowing, managing credit and protecting themselves from frauds and scams.NCUA’s consumer Twitter feed, @MyCUgov, provides personal finance tips covering a wide range of topics year round. During April, @MyCUgov will focus on financial literacy issues like saving, budgeting and borrowing.

During Financial Literacy Month, NCUA encourages credit unions to partner with national and local organizations such as schools, non-profits and other consumer focused groups to offer workshops and distribute outreach materials.

Under the Federal Credit Union Act, promoting financial literacy is a core credit union mission. While credit unions serve the needs of their members and promote financial literacy within the communities they serve, NCUA works to reinforce credit union efforts, raise consumer awareness and increase access to credit union services. NCUA also participates in national financial literacy initiatives, including the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, an interagency group created by Congress to improve the nation’s financial literacy and education.

NCUA is the independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the United States, NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 99 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions. At MyCreditUnion.gov and Pocket Cents, NCUA also educates the public on consumer protection and financial literacy issues.