Visa Launches Global Financial Education Initiative for Olympic Athletes

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) announced a global financial education program at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games that will help Olympic athletes take control of their financial futures.

The program, developed in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will help current athletes, and those nearing sports retirement, to access resources that can build their financial skills and allow them to better manage their financial lives both during their athletic careers and after.

“As a 30-year sponsor of the Olympic Games and a champion of financial education for over two decades, Visa is committed to helping provide athletes with the tools, resources and support they need to reach their highest potential in sport and in life,” said Eduardo Coello, Visa Group Executive, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. “With this new program, we are deepening our commitment to the Olympic Movement and leveraging our global expertise in financial education in response to a clear need expressed by many athletes.”

The new program, Practical Money Skills for Athletes, will utilize Visa’s award-winning financial education program and curriculum focused on key personal finance topics including financial planning and decision making, goal-setting, budgeting and saving, understanding banking services, and basic money management. Financial education workshops for athletes will initially be available in English, French, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese, and will feature presentations, skill-building activities and multi-media components.

“I’m excited to be an advisor and ambassador for this new initiative,” said four-time U.S. ice hockey Olympian and newly elected chair of the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission, Angela Ruggiero, who serves as an ambassador for the Practical Money Skills for Athletes program. “By making their personal finance education resources relatable to the unique needs and challenges athletes face, Visa is helping to ensure that athletes are better prepared for success in life.”

On August 9, Visa will join IOC officials and Angela Ruggiero to showcase the new program in the Olympic Village. The first comprehensive training session will be held in partnership with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) at the Athlete Career Summit in the fall. This is not the first time Visa is offering personal finance education to athletes; the company previously partnered with USOC and the China Athletes Educational Foundation to provide financial literacy training and resources to athletes.

“We are greatly appreciative of Visa’s commitment to financial education and bringing that commitment to the Olympic family,” said Kit McConnell, Sports Director, International Olympic Committee. “Greater personal finance knowledge and skills are important in building a sound financial future. We encourage National Olympic Committees and all athletes to take advantage of this exciting new program.”

Since 1995 Visa has been providing parents, teachers, students and consumers of all ages with high quality, interactive free materials that help teach the fundamentals of personal finance. To date, Visa’s financial education program has reached more than 40 million people worldwide, and resources are now available in 16 languages across 42 countries.

About Visa:

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products.