ABBL Foundation for Financial Education Launches Online Banking & Internet Security Website

The Luxembourg-based ABBL Foundation for Financial Education has announced the launch of its "Sécher am Internet" (safe on the internet) website. 

At a time when an increasing number of banking transactions are processed online, the ABBL Foundation for Financial Education has decided to launch an information / training website on online banking and Internet security, featuring a simulation tool for a transactional banking site. The goal is to enable everyone to gain confidence in using digital banking services.

"There are more and more ways of carrying out your financial transactions at any time of day, wherever you are," explained Jerry Grbic, President of the ABBL Foundation for Financial Education. "We can also see that the use of digital services is becoming more widespread in Luxembourg, as shown by data from the European Central Bank."

"But we also know that some of our fellow citizens feel overburdened by this digital evolution," he continued. The barriers most often put forward are: security-related, i.e. concerns about fraud, but also about making a handling error that could result in the loss of money; fear that certain personal data will be passed on to third parties for commercial use; lack of contact with a bank advisor.

Moreover, as Jessica Thyrion, coordinator of the ABBL Foundation for Financial Education, pointed out, "the level of digital financial literacy among Luxembourg residents is alarming". According to a study commissioned last spring by the ABBL Foundation and the CSSF from ILRES, only 54% of the population surveyed were able to correctly answer questions relating to adequate knowledge, behaviour and attitudes. The figure was only 47% for the 18-30 age group.

The ABBL Foundation for Financial Education acknowledged that not only banks, but also the CSSF financial watchdog (via its Lëtzfin website), Luxembourg's Ministry for Digitalisation and players such as BeeSecure are working to raise awareness, inform and train citizens in the wise use of online banking. Despite this, further action is needed. "What's interesting about this project is that the idea for this pladorm came from civil society and that the tool was largely developed by young [secondary] school students taking part in a hackathon organised by the Luxembourg Tech School (LTS) in collaboration with the foundation", explained Jessica Thyrion. The project was initiated following an LTS FinTech Hackathon, which was held in July 2021.

At the same time, the non-profit organisation ErwuesseBildung identified a gap in the educational offering. "All the banks offer their customers demos of their transactional sites, but offering a real simulation of an e-banking site was still lacking," elaborated Jessica Thyrion.

The Sécher am Internet site aims to introduce private individuals to online banking through a series of themed chapters on topics such as digital identity, password management, two-factor authentication and the right reflexes to avoid online fraud. The platform is linked to an e-banking services simulator, allowing users to put themselves in a real-life situation. The user is guided through the typical actions offered by online banking, such as logging in with the token and other LuxTrust products, checking account balances or carrying out transactions.

The platform and website are available in French, German and English and can be accessed at https://learn-ebanking.fondation-abbl.lu/en/home/.