Visa and AKPK Challenge Malaysians to Make ‘Cent-sible’ Financial Decisions

10/18/2016

Visa and AKPK launches sequel of financial literacy online game, Cent-sible Choice to educate young Malaysians about responsible financial management

Visa and Malaysia’s Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) have entered their fourth year of collaboration to promote financial literacy in Malaysia. This year, Cent-sible Choice - the popular online game - has been updated with new features that will help young Malaysians learn how to intelligently manage their finances in a fun and interesting way. 

Last year, thousands of Malaysians played Cent-sible Choice when it was first launched.  The 2016 version of the online game introduces a new character specifically designed for young working adults. The game will be available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia to reach out to urban and rural Malaysians. To create more awareness and encourage financial literacy amongst youths, Visa will also be conducting a series of university engagements by partnering with GProvision; the master licensee for ‘Praxis’, a boardgame that aids experiential learning based on simulated real-life finance issues.

“Visa believes financial literacy is critically important and should be taught early on to help prepare the younger generation to make smart financial choices. This year, Cent-sible Choice is targeted at students, fresh graduates and young working adults and can be played online in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. In addition, we are engaging with several universities in Malaysia including Segi College, USIM, Tunkul Abdul Rahman College and UiTM to conduct physical boardgame sessions for undergraduates.

“Visa is very pleased to continue its partnership with AKPK to promote financial literacy in Malaysia, which is aligned with the government’s effort. We want to help equip young Malaysians with practical financial knowledge that can be applied in everyday situations,” said KB Ng, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia.

“Based on our recent research with the Asian Institute of Finance, Gen Ys in Malaysia make up the largest population of consumers, have a high level of spending power and believe in  ‘living in the moment’. Gen Ys are accruing debt at an earlier age and lack understanding when it comes to financial planning, which is exactly what Cent-sible Choice aims to resolve. That is why we are pleased to continue our partnership with Visa to promote financial literacy for this segment of individuals in Malaysia,” said Azaddin Ngah Tasir, CEO of AKPK.
“We believe that with the right mindset, our younger generation will be able to achieve financial independence and make wiser spending choices. With a better grasp of financial skills and increased financial knowledge, they will be ever so ready to take charge and ‘be in power of their finances with confidence.”

The online game presents everyday scenarios relevant and unique to young Malaysians, encouraging them to make small but effective spending decisions. It provides them with financial tips for each decision that they make in the game. The wiser choices will earn players higher points compared to the other choice. The players can accumulate points for daily, weekly and overall wins. They can also invite their friends to play the game and earn even more points.

Some of the scenarios are as follows:

• Student players are given scenarios revolving around ways to celebrate their 21st birthday parties. They get to make informed decisions involving shopping trips and movie outings amongst others.
• Fresh graduates are presented with scenarios ranging from taking a student loan to making a decision on how they want to commute daily. For example, how would they pay for their student loans? Would they do it via monthly repayment or lump sum? As for daily commuting, they decide whether to travel by public transport or by car/car pool.
• Working adults will be tested mainly about financial obligations, such as renting a house or buying a new house with EPF withdrawal; plan for a small or lavish wedding and how to spend their bonuses wisely.

Cent-sible Choice is scheduled to go live in November. All online participants will be included in a daily draw to win exciting prizes over a one-month period and stand a chance to win the grand prize of RM5,000.00 at the end of the contest. Participants can register to play the game at www.centsiblechoice.com.my . For more information about Visa’s financial literacy initiatives in Asia and around the world, please visit www.visa.com. 

 

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 56,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.