KBC Groupe : DIGIWise and Get-a-Teacher target financial literacy for all

Press release

Brussels, 7 June 2017

DIGIWise and Get-a-Teacher target financial literacy for all

• • DIGIWise has already shown 4 000 clients how to use the KBC Touch and KBC Mobile apps. KBC is planning over 600 events in Flanders this year and expects 10 000 clients to take part in these free courses.

• • Get-a-Teacher has enabled KBC instructors to deliver around 1 000 lessons requested by schools in Flanders in academic year 2017-18, contributing to pupils' financial literacy and encouraging a healthy attitude to financial matters.

• • The offering is to be doubled for the next academic year, in response to the high demand and satisfaction from the educational bodies.

4 000 clients have already joined the digital highway thanks to DIGIWise

The DIGIWise initiative offers a guided, hands-on introduction at KBC branches to digital banking and insurance.

Clients can sign up to four modules:

• • Introductory module: familiarisation with smartphone and tablet

• • Digi Tuesday: thorough exploration of KBC's own apps, with a focus on KBC Touch and KBC Mobile

• • Apps for advanced users: participants in this module explore various tools in KBC Touch and KBC Mobile, as well as apps for saving and investment, entrepreneurship and insurance

• • The first modules devoted to cybersecurity launch in June: areas covered include how to bank securely online, what are phishing and malware, and how can you protect yourself against them.

  Clients who don't bank online yet can also sign up to this module.

The first Digi Tuesday, held on 6 February, was an immediate success, with over 800 participants at 50 KBC branches. Since then, no fewer than 4 000 KBC clients in Flanders have followed one of the modules.

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Digi Tuesdays are part of DigiWise - a broader range of free courses that familiarise clients with digital trends and with the opportunities and convenience they offer. KBC will further expand the offering this autumn in response to the high level of interest and demand, with an extra session being held each month per branch cluster for the introductory module and Digi Tuesday.

Anyone interested can go to theKBC website to find the dates on which the sessions will be held by region, together with the phone numbers to register. Clients can, of course, also contact their branch directly to find out the dates and to register.

KBC expects to have guided around 10 000 clients onto the digital bank-insurance highway by the end of 2018.

Get-a-Teacher brings financial knowledge into the classroom

Financial literacy is among the final attainment criteria for Belgian secondary pupils and is also one of the focus areas of KBC's sustainability policy.

For that reason, KBC has been developing initiatives since April 2017 to further enhance financial knowledge, especially among young people. Get-a-Teacher gives schools the opportunity to 'order' a teacher from KBC. He or she is a KBC employee who has been screened and selected for this role.

In the past academic year, 52 KBC volunteer teachers (with an average age of 37) delivered around 1 000 lessons. These were tailored to the final attainment criteria and were screened for their pedagogical approach. The initiative is a free, no-obligation offer and is entirely separate from KBC's commercial communication: the teaching materials do not feature KBC logos, and KBC products and services are not referred to, let alone promoted. The idea has been developed for schools in Flanders.

The current offering includes basic packages for each age-group on the function of a financial institution, payments, lending, insurance, saving and investment. A basic package on entrepreneurship is also available, aimed at year seven secondary and non-economic college courses.

Schools have responded eagerly to the Get-a-Teacher offering:

• • Number of lessons delivered: 786 (by the end of June 2018: 946)

• • Number of pupils reached: 10 247 (by the end of June 2018: 12 134)

• • Number of teachers reached: 248

• • Number of schools reached: 256

Everyone concerned is satisfied with Get-a-Teacher:

• - Pupils say they receive practical information, including about going into business;

• - Virtually all the teachers recommend the packages to their colleagues;

• - KBC teachers/volunteers feel that the youngsters learn to think critically and that in this way they are making a socially relevant contribution to the students' financial education.

Financial literacy is a focus area in KBC's sustainability policy. Given that KBC wants to play its role in society effectively and actively, it has decided to double its commitment and offering to schools as of academic year 2018-19, so that even more pupils have an opportunity to discover these modules.

The Get-a-Teacher package will be expanded at the same time to include a 'budget management' module. An inspiration session entitled 'How to become your own boss?' is also being developed for universities and colleges. Both modules will be available as from October 2018.

KBC Group NV

Havenlaan 2 - 1080 Brussels Viviane Huybrecht

General Manager of Corporate Communication/ Spokesperson

Tel.: + 32 2 429 85 45

Press Office

Tel.: + 32 2 429 65 01 Stef Leunens Tel.: + 32 2 429 29 15 Ilse De Muyer

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