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Heritage Bank Plc. has stressed the need for parents to educate their children, early in life, the nitty-gritty of the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying this is vital to the financial freedom of the children.The bank also advised parents to teach their teenagers how to perform basic banking tasks using the cashless policy by showing them how prepaid card transactions work and how to use ATM cards to deposit and withdraw.
The bank gave the advice on the heels of the commemoration of the May 27 Children’s Day to mark the Children Banking Month, with the theme, “Early Positioning for Global Relevance,” which is part of Heritage Bank’s children financial literacy initiative.
The bank said in a statement that the Heritage Children Banking Month, which activities will directly impact a minimum of 350 primary and secondary schools nationwide this year, is in recognition of the pivotal role children play as the leaders of tomorrow.
The bank said at the end of the month, it would have imparted financial education in over 1,000 schools across the country since commencing this programme two years ago, an initiative that Heritage Bank also considers as a corporate social responsibility.
Speaking on the importance of the celebration, the Managing Director of the bank, Ifie Sekibo, stressed that for early positioning of children for global and local relevance, there is the need for parents to teach children on how to prioritise saving over spending, which is a valuable life lesson, one that takes time to learn.
According to him, opening a savings account for your child is one of the best ways to introduce that concept at an early age.
“Walking into a branch office is a good way to help your child become familiar with routine transactions involving his or her account. Your child’s online habits, even financial, can be important, too, so check for features such as monthly statements and controls on payments and transfers from savings accounts. You can teach money management and internet safety together,” Sekibo said.
He stressed the need for parents to develop simple games to teach children about money with good saving habits, which becomes part of their normal development, saving for the future is likely to become a habit.
The high points of the commemoration will be the selection of 10 students between the ages of five to 16 years from the six geo-political regions who would be invited to assume various banking roles for the day.
Children who are account holders of ‘Bud Account,’ as well as prospective account holders from each of the regions will be allowed to participate in a competition to produce 60 seconds video showcasing how “Global you are,” which would elicit social media votes.
The producers of the best three videos to be used on all social media platforms during the week of the Children’s Day would be presented a tablet each as a special prize.
“The project is part of Heritage Bank’s contribution towards transforming the nation in paying more attention to the bud stage. This underscores our belief that if we get it right with the children, then the future of the nation is guaranteed. At Heritage Bank we believe in creating, preserving and transferring wealth,” the Managing Director said.
Whilst advising parents to open Bud Account for their children, Sekibo said, “When your child receives birthday money or cash from chores, have them put some into the bank to save for bigger ticket items.”
The bank said hundreds of exercise books, pencils, water bottles, umbrellas will be won by pupils, parents and wards in the course of the month through various engaging activities.
