Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), together with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), published a behavioral study on financial inclusion among 18–29-year-olds in rural and suburban areas, with a focus on behavioral barriers and gender social norms, and reported findings from a pilot intervention designed to improve financial habits and engagement with formal finance. Based on an initial diagnosis in a non-representative sample of students at a technological institute in central Mexico, the study identified low financial inclusion and highlighted key barriers including distrust of the formal financial system, low levels of financial education, gender social norms that assign men a provider role and women a caregiver role, and cognitive biases such as lack of self-control and present bias. The intervention combined financial education and inclusion measures grounded in behavioral economics and neuroscience, and was piloted with the Confederation of Savings and Loan Cooperatives of Mexico (CONCAMEX), Federación Alianza, Caja Popular Apaseo el Alto, and the Instituto Tecnológico de Roque, Campus Apaseo el Alto; reported outcomes included improved tracking of income and expenses, more goal-setting, increased use of formal products such as accounts and credit, reduced impulsive purchases, greater trust in financial institutions, and stronger understanding of interest, risk and diversification, alongside workshops addressing gender stereotypes. CNBV and AFI indicate the lessons from the project will inform future programs to strengthen financial education in Mexico and support more equitable financial inclusion among young people.

Original source View in tracker