Introducing the Direct Express® Financial Education Center
Enabling the ability to provide millions of Americans with convenient and safe access to their federal benefits is an essential mission of the Direct Express® program. Not only does the program deliver benefits in a cost effective and secure fashion, it also provides for increased financial capability and financial inclusion for millions of unbanked Americans.
Nearly one-in-five unbanked adults in the US receive benefits through the Direct Express® program. One of the most important goals of the program is to give these recipients the tools they need to effectively use their card and improve their financial literacy.
On March 22, 2021, the Direct Express® program launched the new Direct Express® Financial Education Center.
Interactivity, Variety and Configurability
The Direct Express® Financial Education Center provides cardholders with the tools and knowledge necessary to make informed financial decisions. This valuable resource offers a library of topics organized into short micro-learning moments within broader topic areas such as budgeting and saving, privacy and security and elder financial fraud prevention. They are designed with engaging content and interactive exercises that allow cardholders to practice what they learn.
Cardholders can also take advantage of personalized learning recommendations created by their answers to a brief survey. Cardholder responses generate a playlist of educational content relevant to their specific goals.
Cardholders can access the Financial Education Center through the Direct Express® mobile app or cardholder website, https://www.usdirectexpress.com/ from any computer or mobile device that has internet access. Modules and materials are available in both English and Spanish. All of this is intended to cater to a variety of preferences and learning styles, allowing for active participation in the learning experience and increased learning retention and application.
The Financial Education Center has increased the number of topic areas previously covered and allows the content development team to configure more, as required. There are a variety of financial education topics including:
- Understanding Card Accounts
- Safe Card Use
- Privacy and Security
- Budgeting and Saving
- Credit and Debit
New content will be released regularly, and existing content will be refreshed as needed to retain learners’ interest. This enhances the program’s ability to assist cardholders in special circumstances, such as the COVID 19 pandemic. During the pandemic specific modules focused on safe card use and government stimulus payments.
The Financial Education Center Library
An additional enhancement to the Financial Education Center is the Financial Education Center Library. The library section of the education center will be stocked with content as they are developed and are a great resource for Direct Express® cardholders to create a “playlist” to add to their favorites or to see the newest modules added to the library. The aim is to provide an unparalleled resource for cardholders who may have specific module topics of their own.