Visa's imaginative financial literacy programme: Financial Football

Visa kicked off its seventh financial literacy programme in Vietnam

The programme will feature a series of “Financial Football” interactive videogame tournaments held at universities across the country from April to June 2018.

Being developed by Visa, Financial Football is a fast-paced game where students must answer rapid-fire questions related to budgeting, saving, and spending in order to make their way up the field and score. The game makes use of high-quality graphics, speedy rules, and a competitive format to help participants learn about the ins and outs of financial management.

Sean Preston, Visa country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, talking at the event

Starting with the launching event in Hanoi, the Financial Football tour will make its way to five universities in Haiphong, Danang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Can Tho. The events will be more than just gaming tournaments as each event will also include entertainment performances as well as workshops to help students improve their knowledge of financial concepts.

Sean Preston, Visa country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, said: “Practical Money Skills, throughout its seven years in this country, has been looking for fun and exciting ways to get the next generation of Vietnamese leaders to engage in financial education—a topic which can be a bit difficult to digest. With the FIFA fever starting to take hold across the world, now is the perfect time for us to incorporate Financial Football into our programme—especially given the U23 national team’s recent success at the AFC cup.”

“At Visa, we believe the ability to manage one’s finances is one of the keys to unlock success in adulthood—which is one of the reasons why this programme is geared towards university students. Over the years, the programme has grown in success with the increasing number of involved students as well as the financial knowledge that they receive. We are confident that this year’s programme will continue this success and see more students becoming financially-savvy across the country,” Preston added.

Badminton player Pham Hong Nam also joined the event to exchange with students

Students across the country will also be able to join the competition by playing the online version of Financial Football. They will be encouraged to share and talk about their results on their own Facebook pages, thereby helping to spread the programme as well as the financial literacy more broadly.

The programme will conclude with a grand final in June in Ho Chi Minh City. Competitors with the highest score in the online competition and the winning teams from the offline tournament will vie for a total of VND39 million, as well as two tickets to the ASEAN Football Championship in Thailand.

Nguyen Minh Triet, permanent vice president of CCVSA, said, "With the vision of equipping students with crucial skills and orienting them with the right financial mindset for their future, we have partnered up with Visa to organise this programme. Along with the forthcoming plans of the Vietnamese government to shift the economy, we are confident that this programme is an indispensable investment and preparation for the future.”

“This year, inspired by the king of all sports, with unique and creative competing format, the contest is believed to bring a new exciting experience to students, building strong and solid foundations of financial management for them in the new era," Triet stated.

Since 2012, the programme has become an annual event run by Visa and CCVSC with support from the State Bank of Vietnam.

Over the course of its six-year history, Practical Money Skills has reached millions of young adults across Vietnam, equipping them with vital financial skills that will provide on-going benefits throughout their lives. The number of contestants has been increasing sharply over the years, reaching more than 6,000 directly through offline events, and millions more via online channels.

Visa is the world’s leader in digital payments. Its 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 connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere.