NatWest has announced today a major new partnership intended to further its efforts to help young people to thrive and reach their goals sooner. NatWest and Marcus Rashford MBE are working together to co-create a programme designed to support young people in communities across the UK to learn about and develop a positive relationship with money. The programme will connect them with role-models with shared lived experiences that can mentor and inspire success and help them achieve their goals.
Now more than ever, money is a worry for a lot of young people and families. Families from disadvantaged communities are often already smart with money - they have to be. They go to multiple supermarkets to get the best deals or layer up at night-time to save on energy bills. Yet, 80% of young people believe they will never be financially secure. If we are to understand the needs of these future customers and help them grow their money confidence, then we need to listen and learn from these communities and remove the barriers they’re facing.
Research from London Institute of Banking & Finance shows that teaching children about money in schools is not enough to make a difference; only 8% of young people cite school as their main source of financial education, and three quarters of children learn about money at home and from peers1.
After three months of speaking and listening to community and youth leaders, and consulting with Marcus, together, NatWest and Marcus will seek to reach young people where they are and pilot the programme in select youth clubs in Manchester and London this Easter, to inform a national roll-out.
Marcus Rashford, MBE, said: “When I approached NatWest with the idea of collaboration, I was assured very quickly that I would always have a voice at the table. It wasn’t enough for me to simply put my name and face to an existing programme, we needed to get out into underserved communities and understand if the programme was really being delivered as effectively as it could be.
“My mum was one of the best people I had ever seen managing money, because she had to be, but the word ‘money’ was always met with stress and anxiety in the household. I wasn’t comfortable discussing it in any environment, especially not at school, and we had to travel out of our community to find a nearest bank branch. Most of us dealt in cash. Having carried out insight sessions across the UK in the last couple of months it become obvious that my experience was not a rarity. Children are fearful of talking about money.
“We’ve put a strong focus on listening, educating ourselves, and better understanding sensitivity with delivery so that every child can thrive and get excited about their futures, regardless of where they are growing up. We need to break down boundaries, particularly where it relates to the perception of a bank and who they are catering for and engage these children through creative programming that they can relate to. The pilot roll-out will be another opportunity to gather insight so that we are confident the programme is being delivered with the maximum results. And just to be clear, this is not about educating communities how to manage their money, this is about engaging children to get excited about planning for their futures.”
