Citi Launches e for Education

Starting from October 1st and through December 31, Citi will donate funds to several charities based on a percentage of institutional client forex transaction volumes executed through its electronic trading platform, Velocity.

CitiVelocity is an award-winning proprietary forex electronic trading platform for institutional clients. It provides real-time pricing with one-click trading for multiple foreign exchange products, including spot, forwards, swaps and options. CitiVelocity is used by a large number of Citi’s institutional clients globally not only for trading but also as their source for research, economics, forex market color and post-trade activity.

“We believe e for Education is the first and certainly the largest effort by a firm seeking to translate its electronic FX trading activity into philanthropic dollars,” said Jeff Feig, Citi’s global head of G-10 FX.

“Citi believes that access to quality education is the key to unlocking a lifetime of opportunity and we are excited to launch an initiative that will benefit youth around the world,” Feig added.

Six organizations, spanning a range of geographies and core focus areas, were selected to benefit from the e for Education initiative. Those include Civic Builders, Empower, No Greater Sacrifice, Room to Read, Teach First and Uncommon Schools. Funds will be donated to each organization based on the geographic location of individual CitiVelocity clients, although users can also override the default and earmark their corresponding donation to any e for Education organization of their choosing.

Citi, one of the largest FX providers in the world, is not setting specific fundraising goals, but has also not imposed a cap on the maximum amount that may be donated. Total donations will be driven purely by client FX transaction volumes.

“Citi has a long history of supporting educational ambitions, whether it’s through our businesses or through the work of the Citi Foundation,” said Bapi Maitra, Citi’s global head of Institutional e-Commerce Sales. 

“The e for Education initiative builds on Citi’s track record of connecting students around the world to educational opportunities and support services that empower them to improve their lives,” said Maitra.

In Vietnam, Citi Foundation has sponsored more than $1 million for financial education, that received positive responses from its community partners. The launch of E for Education will help young people access high qualify education and improve their skills for a better future.