27% of Generation Z youth identifies Artificial Intelligence (AI) as its preferred channel for receiving guidance on their personal finances, according to the latest report “Financial Literacy Report” prepared by Allianz Research.
In the overall population of Spain, without differentiating by age groups, this figure drops to 16%. The analysis also highlights that those who use AI tools show more confidence in their financial abilities than those who do not (38% versus 30%), although they do not present more options to place themselves at a high level of financial education. Consequently, the technology “increases confidence, but not necessarily knowledge,” as detailed in the report.
In general terms, only 17% of respondents in Spain achieve a high level of financial literacy, 58% remain at an intermediate level, and 25% are in the low range.
Among the reasons for this gap, the research points to education level as a key factor. Only 5% of people with primary education attain a high level of financial literacy, a figure that rises to 24% among those with higher education.
The document also focuses on gender inequality: although women face, on average, longer retirement periods, they have less than half the probability of men of reaching a high level of financial knowledge (11% versus 24%).
If the generational variable is considered, only 13% of Spanish people in Generation Z achieve a high level of financial knowledge, compared with 19% recorded among Baby Boomers.
United Kingdom, leading in financial education
Spanish reality fits into a pattern similar to that of the rest of the major developed markets analyzed by Allianz Research. The study, which includes responses from more than 8,000 people from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, concludes that high levels of financial education continue to be in the minority. Overall, only 17% of participants achieve a high level of knowledge, while more than a quarter presents “significant gaps”.
The United Kingdom leads the ranking with 23% of the population with high financial literacy, followed by Austria and Germany, both with 22%. Next is Spain, with the aforementioned 17%, ahead of France (11%) and the United States (13%), which record the worst results in the group.
'Finances4All', Allianz's commitment to vulnerable young people
With the aim of changing this trend, Allianz has launched the “Finances4All” program, an initiative with which it intends to train more than 600 young people between 15 and 24 years old who are in a situation of vulnerability in six Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, A Coruña, Bilbao, Valencia and Seville.
The project, developed together with Junior Achievement, aligns with the National Plan for Financial Education and is supported by the curriculum of the “Allianz Literacy Hub”. Its content covers income, budget preparation, saving, creating emergency funds, insurance, basic investment concepts, preventing over-indebtedness, and detecting scams.
The purpose of “Finances4All” is to strengthen young people’s financial knowledge and risk management capacity through practical workshops, simulations, case analysis, challenges in budget planning, and exercises to identify fraud.
“Financial education is a powerful tool for social inclusion. When young people learn to manage their money and acquire the ability to navigate the financial system, they make better use of their resources and gain confidence and resilience. Low financial literacy, together with the high demand from our partner NGOs, makes this the ideal time to act. With ‘Finances4All’, at Allianz we are committed to empowering young people so that they are the owners of their financial future,” concluded Olivia Loewe, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Allianz.