Five students from Santa María del Camino School have won the first prize in the Financial Innovation Camp, organized by the Spanish Banking Association, where 70 4th-year ESO students designed mobile applications with the aim of fostering healthy financial attitudes and decisions among young people.
This first Innovation Camp was developed within the framework of the ‘Tus Finanzas-Tu Futuro’ (Your Finances-Your Future) financial education program, which the Spanish Banking Association has launched for the third consecutive year, with the collaboration of the AEB Foundation and the Junior Achievement Spain Foundation. This third edition saw the participation of nearly 7,740 students and 570 volunteers. Over the three years of the program, these figures amount to 21,300 students, 1,600 volunteers, and 23 participating entities.
Tus Finanzas-Tu Futuro is an initiative through which AEB and its partner banks provide basic financial knowledge, focused on concepts of spending control and saving, to students aged 15-17. This camp aimed to apply these concepts practically through the design of a mobile application.
AEB President, José María Roldán, presented the award to the winning team, which was selected by a jury composed of executives from BBVA, Banco Popular, Bankinter, BNP Paribas, ING, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Société Générale, Banco Caminos, and AEB. During the event, José María Roldán encouraged young people to use new technologies to transform their reality from an active position and not just as users. “You have the tools to change society,” said the AEB president, who also encouraged young people to cultivate perseverance as a formula for success.
Likewise, the General Director of the Junior Achievement Spain Foundation, Blanca Narváez, noted that the objective of this camp is to encourage young people to take action, put all acquired knowledge into practice, and be capable of developing financially responsible behaviors. “Financial education is key to their future, and we need them to be an active part of this training process.”
The winning team of this first camp designed an application called Pay Eat to help its potential users – typically young people but open to all audiences – control their expenses when going out with friends, also facilitating bill management, and allowing them to make a donation to the Action Against Hunger account. Special mention went to a team from Nuestra Señora del Pilar school, whose application helps users save based on their set goals.
The Julio Verne and Conde de Orgaz Secondary Schools also reached the final with their respective applications – Limit Cash and Teencard – which aim to help young people manage their pocket money and provide parental control over those expenses. The applications from two other finalist teams focused on financial planning for trips – Easy Go – and expense control through digital money, Nitob.
