Portugal wins 3rd place in Europe's largest financial literacy competition

17th May, 2023

Students from the Sobreira Secondary School climbed the podium of the European Money Quiz 2023 and won a €1,000 prize for the school in Paredes. Francisco and José Silva were in Brussels representing Portugal in the European final of the Quiz.

Competing against 28 countries, Francisco and José Silva, from the School Grouping of Sobreira in Paredes, secured Portugal’s 3rd place in the prestigious European Money Quiz, the largest financial literacy competition in Europe.

Besides the unforgettable experience of travelling to Brussels and meeting students from other countries, they brought back in their luggage a cheque for 1,000 euros, the prize for their third-place achievement, which will be used to fund a school project.

Francisco, 13, and José, 14, achieved something unprecedented. Throughout the six years since the creation of the European Money Quiz, an event promoted in Portugal by the Portuguese Banking Association (APB), our country had never achieved a position among the top contenders until now.

The tranquillity shown by the Portuguese duo may have helped, but both demonstrated good logical thinking and genuine interest for the subject of mathematics. Behind every successful team lies a remarkable coach, and it is essential to acknowledge the role played by teacher Carlos Matias, a dedicated librarian and Citizenship teacher. From the outset, he engaged the students in this initiative and dedicated himself to imparting financial concepts to them.

"It wasn't that hard; well, some questions were difficult but we got them all right", said José, after completing the quiz. The two students were among the first to finish the test, which took place yesterday in Brussels, at the headquarters of the European Banking Federation (EBF).

"They had a good coach", remarked Carlos Matias, smiling, proud of his team's performance, and added that he would like to see the prize used to renovate furniture in the school library.

During their two days in Brussels, José and Francisco had the opportunity to visit the premises of the EBF, the European Parliament, the WikFin Lab, and Euronext, and also to meet students from other countries and cultures. As a souvenir of Portugal, to share with another European team, the students from the Porto district took with them a Portuguese tile and a cloth bag with some national motifs, such as the Barcelos rooster and the Portuguese guitar.

"It was amazing to welcome back the participants of the quiz held in Brussels and feel the energy of these young people eager to hone their financial skills and learn more about digital banking, savings management, cybersecurity and sustainability in banking," said Wim Mijs, CEO of EBF.

Held online since 2020 due to the pandemic, the European final was again played live in Brussels this year. The event was attended by 135 people, including students, teachers and coordinators from European banking associations. Poland won the 2nd place in the competition, and Greece came out in 1st place.

Created by the EBF in 2018, the EMQ is designed to test the financial literacy skills of young Europeans aged between 13 and 15. The APB, a member of the EBF, joined this initiative for the sixth consecutive year. The 6th edition of the EMQ was played by 37 thousand students from all over Europe, of whom 3 thousand from Portugal alone.