2021-05-12T17:30:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T08:49:29+03:00

Ukrainian news

COOP Ukraine stores, jointly with NBU, run financial literacy campaign 'Know your rights'

COOP Ukraine stores, jointly with NBU, run financial literacy campaign 'Know your rights'

COOP consumer cooperation stores in small towns and districts of Ukraine are now running the awareness campaign for financial literacy, 'Know Your Rights.' The project was initiated by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, and international donors. The organizations that are part of the COOP Ukraine system, as well as a number of large banks, have backed the campaign to boost awareness about rights and obligations to the widest possible range of consumers of financial services.

How to prevent violation of consumer rights when concluding a financial deal; what to do if the consumer did not apply for a loan but a financial institution uses his or her personal data and bothers with calls and requests; what to look for when opening a bank account; how to check a credit history and whether online agreements are binding... These and other important aspects are part of the 'Know Your Rights' campaign.

"We backed the initiative of the National Bank and are confident that Ukrainians will be able to use various financial tools more safely, having all the necessary knowledge. Over the past year, it has become possible to get a lot of financial services online, but consumers do not always know how important it is to get to know all the conditions and who to ask additional questions. I hope that this educational campaign will improve the situation," Chairman of the Board of COOP Ukraine (Ukrkoopsoyuz) Illia Gorokhovskyi said.

"There are many reasons why Ukrainians are cautious about using financial services or do not use them at all. This includes past crises, negative consumer experience, and a lack of awareness of the benefits of using financial products. The National Bank has a dual objective today. The first is to impose additional requirements on financial institutions that will ensure their transparency regarding the cost of services and fair behavior towards consumers. The second is to raise financial awareness among Ukrainians themselves. These are necessary components for the better protection of consumers of financial services, as well as for greater engagement of citizens in the financial system and more active use of services," Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Oleksiy Shaban said.

According to USAID, 78% of Ukrainians do not want to seek help in case of problems with financial institutions, and 45% simply do not know what to do. At the same time, a survey of non-bank financial institutions showed that a mere 38% of Ukrainians are ready to contact police and 9% to involve the NBU if they have problems with insurance companies or other non-bank financial institutions.

The international partners of the campaign are the International Finance Corporation (IFC) together with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Good Governance Fund of the United Kingdom in Ukraine, as well as the European Union Project "Strengthening the Regulation and Supervision of the Non-Bank Financial Market" (EU-FINREG).