Pub. 2 2011 Issue 4

winter 2011 25 C redit card bills, debt, saving, and investing are not often top of mind for most high school students, yet the financial decisions they make today will have long-term effects on their lives. Poor financial awareness jeopardizes teens’ ability to succeed in today’s complex and competitive en- vironment. In this economy, students nationwide are experiencing greater financial stress and need for preventive financial education. According to a 2008 survey conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, 32% of high school seniors use credit cards, but more than half of these students did not know that paying off a credit card more slowly will result in higher fi- nance charges. The situation worsens as these students go off to college. A staggering 75% of college students have credit card debt, with an average balance of $2200 (Source: Nellie Mae). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt nationwide. Financial illiteracy is on the verge of reaching epidemic proportions, yet ironically, the American public tends to segment this and other social problems away from the issues that entrepreneurs and businesses will help solve. They are wrong. The members of the West Virginia Bankers Association and EverFi, Inc. are partnering to take action. Together we are tackling this critical issue using the tools that teens love – digital learning and gaming. EverFi™ Financial Literacy is putting students in virtual environments – such as your bank f loor and the stock ex- change – to teach the complex topics of credit scores, budgeting, saving, in- vesting, and student loans. This year, the EverFi Financial Literacy plat- form will be sponsored in over 3500 K-12 schools and colleges in 50 states, and many West Virginia banks are currently reviewing the cutting-edge platform to determine which schools in their footprint matter to them and their customers, whether consumers or commercial businesses. Today’s teens came of age in a tough economic time, together we can part- ner to show that not only do we want them to be wise financial consumers, but that we can serve up this impor- tant content using 21st Century tools. Financial Literacy 2.0: A New Digital Model for Financial Literacy For additional information on EverFi, Inc. and its partnership with the West Virginia Bankers Asso- ciation, please contact Ryan Swift, Vice President of Business Development at 202.251.2400 or ryan@everfi.com .