Therefore we do see the promotion of digital financial inclusion becoming one of the main priorities on a global level. For instance, the G-20 Global Partnership for financial inclusion in late 2020 has set the digital financial inclusion as one of the main priorities in its financial inclusion action plan stressing financial education and consumer protection complemented with regulation as key factors in protecting and empowering the most vulnerable groups. Therefore, we are very grateful that the INFE OECD and the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands accepted our request for workshop on digital financial services and financial education. Bearing in mind the importance of financial education in a dynamic and innovative financial 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  system, there is unquestioned need for an innovative and systemic approach based on our Strategy for Financial Education and Financial Inclusion. In general, the central banks together with other financial regulatory authorities play the leading role. The last survey on financial literacy of adults in South East Europe done by OECD (2020) revealed that the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia is the most trusted among central banks in the region as provider of financial education. However, the active participation of other stakeholders from the private and civil sector is more that welcome to achieve this mission. Last but not least, as socially responsible institutions, we have a mutual obligation to work together closely and constructively and to exploit available synergies for the benefits of the overall population and society.

I do believe that the roadmap that we paved will lift financial skills of the citizens and the level of their inclusion, making them cognizant of all the possibilities, but of the potential threats as well. The importance of financial literacy does have enduring origins, yet it gained prominence after the global financial crisis. Unfortunately, it was a bitter way of learning how low level of financial literacy and risk awareness can contribute to a large-scale financial crisis. Of course, there is no single cause or a single player in conceiving a crisis. So was the case with this one as well. But in this crisis episode, the illiteracy played an important role. In the United States, “the development of a speculative bubble and its burst was also due to the reckless financial behaviours of households, including the most vulnerable ones who contracted mortgages they should not have subscribed considering their financial situation. Actually, individuals were often not aware of the risks they were exposed to”. It collapsed the U.S. financial system, and given the tight financial linkages, it led to a worldwide financial and economic crisis. Another example was the widespread practice in CESSE of borrowing in foreign currency, while repaying in domestic, with adverse implications for households when currencies appreciated. In some countries, individuals undertook investment risk as well, by investing in high-risk, structured products, that they did not understand. Financial illiteracy was even a trigger for irrational exuberance, with deposit withdrawal occurring on the backdrop of ungrounded causes in some countries.