Visa & CCVSA’s 2019 Practical Money Skills programme draws to a close

The winning team of the 2019 Practical Money Skills programme

On September 10, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Student Association (CCVSA) and Visa held the grand finale of their 2019 Practical Money Skills programme at Hanoi University, concluding a programme in which five teams of students from across the country developed plans to help promote financial literacy among their peers.

Team MTU (Mien Tay Universities) from Mien Tay Construction University and Vinh Long University of Technology Education was awarded the grand prize of a Visa prepaid card loaded with VND20 million for its campaign “MTU – 15 days of saving” which impressed the judging panel with its creativity, reach, and clarity in conveying a strong financial education message.

Nguyen Minh Triet, permanent vice president of the CCVSA, said, “After eight years of co-operating with Visa on this programme, we continue to be impressed by the creativity and hard work of students across the country, no matter whether they come from one of the major metropolitan centers or a rural province. The scale of the programme has been expanded from the two major metropolises to nationwide, creating an opportunity for students to explore, experience, and practice financial management knowledge and skills for themselves and their communities. We hope to continue our partnership with Visa to organise more financial and startup opportunities for students.”

Nguyen Minh Triet, permanent vice president of the CCVSA

Dang Tuyet Dung, country manager for Visa Vietnam and Laos, said, “At Visa, we’ve been running financial literacy programmes around the world for over two decades now – so this is a core part of our company’s operational strategy. Financial literacy and building financial management skills for individuals in the community plays a crucial and positive role in the lives of families and the development of modern society. Students are dynamic, smart, and undoubtedly the pioneering generation to initiate and spread such values to each family and the community as a whole. Therefore, seeing so many students engaging with the topic of this programme is incredibly gratifying for me, and for all of us at Visa.”

For this year’s Practical Money Skills programme – the eighth annual instalment – teams of up to three students worked to address the issue of “Cháy túi” (literally, “wallet on fire”, similar to the English phrase “money burns a hole in my pocket”). This included sub-themes such as security while shopping online, being careful with contracts, and managing credit to avoid unsustainable debt. Students were given free rein to develop their plans and could incorporate any suitable activities, games, or media they felt would help to educate their peers about financial literacy.

Since kicking off in April, the programme received roughly 1,300 submissions from 4,000 students hailing from 73 universities across 23 cities and provinces. The seven finalist teams were chosen to implement their programmes between July and August and were given funding to help them realise their plans. The five teams with the best results were chosen to attend the grand finale.

Visa & CCVSA’s 2019 Practical Money Skills programme has reached more than 35,000 people across Vietnam

In addition to those directly involved in the programme, the programme’s educational materials (both physical and digital) reached over 35,000 people across Vietnam via social networks, while over 1,000 students got involved with the initiatives organised by the teams in round two, including workshops, debates, and competitions – with one team even running a radio programme in their university dorm.

Over the course of the programme, Visa and the CCVSA released an online Cháy túi Prevention Toolkit, which students were able to draw on for inspiration for their programmes. The kit includes eight useful tools such as the “Impulse Extinguisher” to be sprayed in case of reckless spending; the “Lie-spotting Flashlight” to help you be contract-savvy; and the “Privacy Mask” to help protect personal information when making online transactions.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. The company's mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable, and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. Its advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying its brand, products, people, network, and scale to reshape the future of commerce.