northern africa countries joining us lately. allow me to extend my sincere appreciation to the vice governor maja kadievska vojnovic and to igor velichkovski, head of the payment systems department within the nbrm for successfully turning this conference into a truly international one. over the years, delegates from central banks of 30 different countries have attended the conference. this growing international attendance makes particular strength of the conference showcasing diverse experiences from very different areas of the world driven by the common interest in payments and market infrastructures. equally appreciated is our domestic audience that continues to valuably contribute to the conference each year. focusing on current issues in the payment systems, the conference agenda is each year carefully designed to cover the latest trends and feature the main challenges in the area. variety of interesting topics has been on the menu so far including the european payment landscape and legislation with a special focus on psd and psd2 ; topics related to payment systems and payments oversight ; the eu payment integration initiative known as single european payment area ( sepa ) ; then, innovations ; security and efficiency of retail payments. we have elaborated 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches on instant payments, financial inclusion and accessibility of payment services, financial structures resilience and many more. this year ’ s agenda covers themes related to digital banking, cryptocurrencies and their regulation, the new technologies such as dlt and blockchain – all of them being topics of considerable relevance at the moment, and will only become more important over time. bracketing this jubilee edition we had the pleasure of hosting many distinguished speakers from various affiliations starting from central banks, through relevant international institutions, commercial banks, clearing houses and custodians etc. we express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all speakers and conference delegates for the great impact you make, keeping the conference alive and growing. the engaging social events are another important hallmark of the conference as they make an excellent opportunity to network and reconnect and finally to amuse and entertain. moreover, ohrid, the home of the conference, a charming city surrounded by water and mountains, known as a jerusalem of the balkans and protected by unesco for its natural and cultural heritage, is a unique experience by itself. as we celebrate our 10th jubilee we are proud to be able to host a conference that certainly evolves into important meeting place for the payment system community in the region and beyond. this success would not have been possible without the wholehearted support of our

anita angelovska bezhoska : opening address - fifth meeting of the regional working group for financial education of southeastern europe opening address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the fifth meeting of the regional working group for financial education of southeastern europe, skopje, 27 september 2019. * * * distinguished representatives of the central banks, dear representatives of international institutions, dear guests, ladies and gentleman, it is my great pleasure to give the opening address at the fifth meeting of the regional working group for financial education of southeastern europe, hosted by our national bank. i am more than certain that joint fora, such as this one, are important venue for raising our awareness and knowledge on matters of mutual interest. and, there is no dilemma that financial education, as a spotlight of this working group, is an issue of mutual interest gaining prominence and importance among all stakeholders – central banks, regulators, financial services providers, consumers. we are all faced with rapidly evolving financial landscape, in which being knowledgeable means being capable of reaping the benefits and mitigating risks. now allow me to shed some light on a couple of important dimensions such as relevance of the financial literacy and the benefits it brings to the society, the specific circumstances that brought this issue to the fore in the last decade, the role played by the central banks in this segment, the current state and the challenges ahead for the region and our country. why does financial literacy matter? it is more than clear that the absence of understanding of the basic financial concepts erodes our capability to make proper and well - informed choices in terms of savings, investment, and borrowing. the costs of these choices are not confined only to individuals, but they can have systemic implications, eroding the overall financial stability. the translation of these misinformed decisions into systemic risks is exactly one of the main reasons why financial literacy became the mainstream in the past decade. the pre - crisis credit boom was supported by irrational exuberance and overconfidence of “ never ending ” rise in assets prices and low financing costs. the credit boom turned into credit bust, and the consequences of the “ bubble – burst ” are still with us. according to the latest imf map of weak spots, heavily indebted households are still the main source of vulnerability in many systemically important advanced and emerging economies, and potential source of next financial crisis. apparently, being financially literate