Financial Literacy Education for Generation Alpha in Hong Kong
Schools, families, and financial technology companies in Hong Kong are developing various educational programmes to help Generation Alpha children growing up in the age of digital money acquire more responsible spending, saving, and investing habits.
Generation Alpha, comprising children born between 2010 and 2024, is growing up in an environment where money is becoming increasingly invisible because of practices such as online shopping, automatic transport card top-ups, and digital gift money. For this reason, some schools in Hong Kong are incorporating financial literacy into different areas of the curriculum. Younger children are taught fundamental concepts such as saving, interest, budgeting, the difference between needs and wants, and value for money. The Hong Kong-based FinPod application provides children with a bank card subject to a specified spending limit, automated pocket money, rewards for completing tasks, and goal-based savings features. Through workshops and summer camps, children have opportunities to spend and save money and evaluate the consequences of their decisions using gamified scenarios.
In 2023, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority also introduced a financial education board game for primary school pupils called “$mart Money Management 321.” Through the game, students learn about the responsible use of credit cards, cybersecurity, fraud awareness, and money management.
However, experts warn that financial education applications may exclude low-income families and deepen existing inequalities because parents with higher levels of education are more likely to access these tools. It is therefore recommended that financial literacy should not be left solely to families or private applications but should become a systematic part of the school curriculum.