KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has made significant improvement across all index factors of financial literacy, garnering sixth spot in Asia-Pacific region in the latest MasterCard Index of Financial Literacy survey.
According to the survey, the country demonstrated an overall increase, accumulating 70 index points, in three major components – basic money management, financial planning and investment.
Under the financial planning component, Malaysia accumulated 82 index points, jumping from 7th to 3rd position across Asia Pacific.
This showed that Malaysians were adopting more financial planning habits like starting to save early and regularly, besides realising the importance of having emergency savings.
“It is encouraging to see Malaysians becoming more sophisticated in their approach to financial management over time. Financial literacy is critically important for prudent personal financial management, enabling families to take control of their finances and effectively manage their money.
“As a leading payment solutions provider, we want to play our part in supporting financial literacy and education in the market,” said Matthew Driver, president, South East Asia, MasterCard Worldwide, in a statement yesterday.
Burmese consumers fared the best in the region for financial planning with 88 index points and considered as the region’s most proficient savers for the ‘unexpected and retirement’ ahead of Taiwan (83 index points) and Malaysia.
MasterCard Index of Financial Literacy is based on a survey conducted between April and May 2013 with 7,756 respondents aged 18–64 years in 16 Asia/Pacific markets.
The survey polled consumers on three aspects of financial literacy including basic money management skills, investment knowledge and financial planning to determine the level of skills in terms of budgeting, savings and responsibility of credit usage.
Meanwhile, under the basic money management component consisting of day-to-day budgeting, keeping up with bills, credit commitments and setting money aside for big purchases, Malaysia attained 67 index points, retaining its rank at 7th place.
The country outranked developed nations like Japan, Korea, and China in this category. — Bernama