Category: bbc.co.uk
Date: 29.06.2005
Printable version
The BBC, together with the Financial Services Authority
(FSA), have created a new online interactive tool to help consumers
manage their money.
A third of British adults prefer not to think about
planning their finances and nearly a third of British adults are frightened
of dealing with banks and financial firms, according to the FSA.
With this in mind, the Financial Healthcheck - developed
jointly by the BBC and the FSA - is a straightforward and user-friendly
guide to help people gain control of their finances.
Pete Clifton, Editor of BBC News Interactive, says:
"This is a fantastic interactive tool which will make a real difference
when people are trying to fathom out their financial situation.
"We pride ourselves on the quality of our news
coverage, and this kind of additional service is exactly what the BBC
should be helping to provide."
Anna Bradley, the FSA's Consumer Director says: "The
FSA wanted to offer a way for consumers who lack confidence and know-how
with money to start to think about their finances and begin to take
control.
"This is the first initiative from the Advice Working Group –
part of the National Strategy for Financial Capability - and shows how
we are working with other organisations across the UK to help consumers
to gain confidence and capability to manage their money."
By answering a few simple questions - about their age,
whether they pay a mortgage and how far their current budget stretches
- the Financial Healthcheck gives a diagnostic report of the areas of
someone's personal finance that might need attention.
No need to dig out old payslips, receipts or bank statements
- the healthcheck only takes five minutes to complete.
Once someone's main money priorities are identified,
they can then go through appropriate checklists which give more detail
about how to tackle everything from arranging a pension to planning
budgets to making sure that loved ones are provided for.
The checklists also provide helpful links and telephone
numbers for organisations specialising in all areas of personal finance.
Tim Weber, Business Editor of BBC News Interactive,
says: "Many people find personal finance scary, and so we have
tried to design something that is very easy to use, with a friendly
design and clear navigation."
The Financial Healthcheck goes live on both BBC News
Online and the FSA website today (Wednesday 29 June 2005) and can be found
at the following addresses:
bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/healthcheck
www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/healthcheck
After an initial period of evaluation, the BBC will
make the design and programming behind the healthcheck freely available
to the FSA, who will be working to widen the distribution of the healthcheck
so that it is available to as many people as possible.
Notes to Editors
The FSA regulates the financial services industry and
has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000:
maintaining market confidence
promoting public understanding of the financial system
the appropriate degree of protection for consumers
fighting financial crime
