CIMB foundation launches be$mart app to help youths in financial planning

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 -- CIMB Foundation recently unveiled the Be$MART app, a user-friendly digital financial guide and planner specially curated for youths.

The foundation said the app complements its ongoing Be$MART financial literacy programme for university students, which has benefited 15,000 students since its launch in 2016.

The Be$MART app allows users to effectively plan their finances, with features like budget tracking and updating, recurring transactions, goal tracking, as well as scheduled notifications of monthly expenses and upcoming bills.

The foundation is targeting at least 22,000 downloads of the app within a year.

“We are pleased to introduce the Be$MART app, which supports the recently launched National Strategy for Financial Literacy to equip Malaysians with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions.

"Our target group is the youths, who make up 45.4 per cent of Malaysia’s population. As future leaders and nation builders, it is important to empower them to take charge of their own financial health," CIMB Foundation CEO, Datuk Hamidah Naziadin said in a statement today.

Low financial literacy among young Malaysians is the main reason why many end up as bankrupts.

Between 2013 and 2017, a total of 100,610 Malaysians were declared bankrupt, of which 60 per cent were 18-44 years old.

Based on the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency’s (AKPK) survey in 2018, one out of three Malaysians are not comfortable with their financial knowledge, while 52 per cent of the population say they face difficulties raising even RM1,000 for emergencies.

This is exactly what the Be$MART app was designed to achieve: information and financial tips that are highly relevant to their daily lives are conveniently placed at their fingertips, enabling a quick reference or recall anytime, anywhere, Hamidah said.

CIMB Foundation has also signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) with nine universities recently to equip their students with financial literacy skills through the foundation’s flagship Be$MART programme.

Through the MoU, the foundation hopes to equip a further 10,000 students -- particularly those from the B40 communities -- with financial literacy skills by 2021.

Since its launch, the Be$MART programme has seen a measured increase in its beneficiaries’ financial knowledge by over 150 per cent.

“Through our proprietary Be$MART syllabus, CIMB Foundation aims to not only leave a legacy of youths who are well-equipped to manage their finances smartly, but also address and mitigate the youth bankruptcy issue,” said Hamidah.

-- BERNAMA