FSS expands financial education for elderly to cover investment, virtual asset sectors

The Financial Supervisory Service will run two months of intensive financial education sessions for elderly citizens, expanding the program beyond the banking sector to include financial investment and virtual asset firms. The initiative aims to improve financial access for older adults less familiar with digital services, covering topics from mobile banking and kiosk use to fraud prevention and retirement asset management.

The FSS announced Friday — on Senior Citizens' Day — that it will hold 687 financial education sessions for elderly people across the country in October and November.

A key feature of this year's program is its expanded scope: the Korea Financial Investment Association and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) will join 17 banks, broadening the initiative into a sector-wide effort.

Of the total sessions, 333 — or 48.5 percent — will be held outside the greater Seoul metropolitan area. By program type, 227 sessions will use bank experience centers and similar facilities, 88 will be linked to AI digital learning centers, and 372 will be outreach sessions in which instructors visit senior welfare facilities directly.

At bank experience centers and senior-focused branches, participants will learn how to use digital financial tools such as mobile banking apps and kiosks, as well as how to avoid financial fraud and manage retirement assets. AI digital learning centers will combine digital literacy training — covering smartphones, kiosks and generative AI — with fraud prevention education.

Outreach sessions, in which professional instructors visit welfare facilities, will also be expanded. These will include one-on-one practice using banking apps, along with lessons on fraud prevention, pension use and post-retirement asset management. Mobile branch units and the FSS's financial outreach bus will provide on-site education, and fraud prevention programs in theatrical and community-play formats will also be offered.

Participating institutions have developed their own specialized programs. The Korea Financial Investment Association will offer retirees sessions on pension planning, risk management and financial product investment, while DAXA will stage an interactive community play on virtual asset-linked investment fraud. Some banks have also incorporated lessons on using ChatGPT, preventing voice phishing and navigating mobile banking into their curricula.

After the intensive two-month period, the FSS plans to continue developing educational content for elderly users on digital finance and retirement asset management, and will keep offering in-person session requests and online materials through its e-Financial Education Center.

Meanwhile, the FSS will also run financial literacy sessions for high school seniors at general and vocational high schools nationwide through the end of this year, covering credit management, fraud prevention and personal finance for those entering the workforce.