TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Fubon Bank on April 22 released the findings of a financial wellbeing survey conducted between February and March among students aged 15 to 18 across Taiwan.
The bank’s survey, which collected 1,997 valid responses, found that 23% of Taiwanese teenagers experienced scams in the past year. Among them, 18% reported financial losses, with some cases amounting to several hundred thousand NT dollars. Additionally, nearly 10% of respondents said they would not know where to seek help in an urgent financial situation.
Despite nearly 80% of Taiwanese teenagers holding financial accounts, the bank reported that 64% lack confidence in using financial services. The survey also found that substantial percentages of respondents were unfamiliar with financial products, including savings insurance (70%), funds (63%), stocks (46%), and fixed deposits (30%).
Regarding spending and payment habits, the bank said that 47% of Taiwanese teenagers prefer using cash, while 4% opt for the EasyCard and 1% use mobile payments. These findings suggest limited adoption of digital financial tools among Taiwanese youth.
The survey also revealed that 84% of teenagers believe they have sufficient awareness to protect themselves against fraud. Insufficient financial education and the growing risk of fraud have become serious threats to teenagers' financial security. Enhancing their financial literacy is a key priority for future education.
The bank highlighted the need for improved financial education in Taiwan. Its survey found that 22% of students had never received financial literacy instruction in school, while 19% were unsure if they had. Only 30% reported learning about fraud prevention, and 15% had been taught about credit card usage.
The top three sources of financial knowledge for Taiwanese teenagers are YouTube (47%), social media (43%), and friends and family (43%), the survey revealed. The financial topics teens are most interested in learning are budgeting and money management, investing, and consumer behavior, reflecting a focus on practical financial skills.
Taipei Fubon Bank’s Senior Associate General Manager of Branding and Sustainability Department, Emily Yang (楊雅媛), said the digital era's abundance of complex and often unreliable information makes teenagers more susceptible to scams. To address this, the bank has been promoting financial education through money management camps and a partnership with PaGamO to create online financial literacy courses.
Taipei Fubon Bank emphasized its ongoing commitment to helping teenagers in Taiwan develop sound financial habits and knowledge. The bank also announced plans to expand its financial education initiatives and create practical courses tailored to real-life scenarios relevant to young individuals in Taiwan.