Personal finance experts say early financial education is essential, as only 49% of South Africans are reportedly financially literate.
According to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, nearly half of the population lacks a basic understanding of money management.
FNB’s consumer education data shows that many South Africans need easy-to-understand financial education. The data also reveals widespread fear and anxiety around personal finance topics, which experts say must be addressed through structured education from an early age.
FNB Personal Segment CEO, Lytania Johnson, says it is important to start financial literacy at school level.
“We need to, I think really reflect on, is there enough being done on financial literacy as early on in the basic education of our children? So how many, I mean, think about you and I—how often did our parents sit us down and talk about budgeting? How often did they explain concepts like interest, inflation? So it will be important that we start to bring financial literacy in and build that competency a lot,” she said.
While efforts to reduce inequality continue, data shows financial illiteracy remains high among women and vulnerable groups.
Bonga Khumalo on youth financial literacy
“I think the first thing is, while in South Africa we’ve made progress to address inequality, there are still high inequality levels. And when you think about it, some of the research is showing us that there are cohorts of our population—like unfortunately females, like the less educated of South Africans—that are struggling with financial literacy,” Johnson added.
FNB also found that misinformation from unverified social media accounts poses a risk to consumers seeking financial advice.
FNB Consumer Education Programme Manager, Dhashni Naidoo, says, “What we’ve seen with social media is, as much as it’s a massive benefit because content has now become so accessible to so many more people, there’s also been the proliferation of misinformation.
Through these channels… we think we have an important role to play to also make sure that we are providing accurate information to the market so that consumers are also not being stunned.”
Meanwhile, rising living costs continue to strain household budgets. FNB data shows that most consumers spend around 80% of their salary on payday to settle debts and other expenses, leaving little room for savings.
Financial planning and the benefits
