Financial education in schools to get a boost following extension of Kiwibank partnership with Banqer

Kiwibank today announced the extension of its highly successful partnership with Banqer which will provide even more Kiwi with access to quality financial education in schools.

Kiwibank, the largest New Zealand-owned bank, and Banqer, a financial education platform, have been working in partnership since 2016 to empower tamariki for their financial future using Banqer’s engaging and innovative platform in schools.

To date, nearly 290,000 primary school children and nearly 50,000 high school children have completed the Banqer programme and today’s announcement will drive us toward our goal of increasing that number to over 600,000 total by 2026.

Kiwibank Chief Executive, Steve Jurkovich, said the partnership with Banqer was at the heart of Kiwibank’s purpose of making Kiwi better off and the bank’s goal to support all tamariki to have access to quality financially education by 2030.

“We know financial education has longer lasting impact when its relevant to what customers and students are doing at that time - for example when they are starting their first jobs, savings accounts, or learning about tax and earning money for the first time" said Mr Jurkovich.

Mr Jurkovich said he was excited that a new feature of the partnership extension would see Kiwibank sponsoring 2,500 Banqer licences for high school students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford access to the platform.

Banqer Co-Chief Executive Kendall Flutey said, “The problem of low financial literacy is bigger than one person, one community, or one generation. And our renewed Kiwibank partnership lifts our ambitions to find solutions for Aotearoa. We want to teach all young people the crucial financial skills needed for today’s world - and in doing so - change the course of an entire generation.”

Mr Jurkovich and Ms Flutey said providing quality financial education in schools was critical to securing the economic prosperity of tamariki, whānau, communities, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

They welcomed the commitment by both major political parties during the election campaign to make financial literacy classes compulsory for all students from 2025.

Research conducted by Talbot Mills Research during the election campaign revealed 73% approval rating for compulsory education.

Both Kiwibank and Banqer looked forward to engaging with the new Government on how they could work together to deliver financial education for all.

Banqer by the numbers

• In 2022 Banqer Primary was used in approx. 32% of all NZ primary schools
• In 2022 Banqer High was used in approx. 24% of all NZ secondary schools
• Banqer has reached as far south as Halfmoon Bay School on Stewart Island, through to Te Hapua School in Northland
• A report conducted by the FSC NZ - (Financial resilience trends in NZ - September 2022) shows New Zealanders have a declining financial literacy rate of 6% however students using Banqer Primary over 2022 showed an increase in financial literacy (through pre and post quiz data) of 7.55%.
• Through engaging with Banqer High, students demonstrated a remarkable 56.52% improvement in their understanding of KiwiSaver, among other financial topics.
• Of the students using Banqer High, 41% opened bank accounts, 27% adopted KiwiSaver, and an average KiwiSaver contribution rate increased to 2.13%.