This week in Brussels, the European Banking Federation hosted the ninth edition of the European Money Quiz — Europe’s largest financial literacy competition for young people aged 13 to 15. Latvia achieved outstanding results this year, with Artūrs Bincis and Jēkabs Jurševics, students of class 9.c at Riga Central Humanities Secondary School, securing 2nd place among teams from 30 countries and earning a €2,000 prize for their school.
The team from Greece became this year’s European champions, while students from Italy took 3rd place.
The European final brought together winners of national qualifying rounds from across Europe, testing both their financial knowledge and their ability to apply it in practical situations. Participants answered questions on savings, investing, cybersecurity, fraud risks, and responsible financial management.
As competition participant Artūrs Bincis explains: “This competition was one of those experiences where the adrenaline lasted from the first to the very last minute. It was incredibly exciting to compete with young people from all across Europe. During the preparation process, we realised that knowing the answers alone is not enough — you also need to think quickly and stay calm under pressure. We also had the opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Brussels! The feeling after achieving 2nd place was simply fantastic. A huge thank you to everyone for the support, especially our teacher Baiba Ozoliņa for her encouragement and guidance, as well as the Finance Latvia Association for giving us the opportunity to represent Latvia in such a competition.”
Team member Jēkabs Jurševics adds: “When we started preparing for the competition, I could never have imagined that we would achieve 2nd place in Europe! The most interesting part was realising, while competing against students from 29 countries, just how strong the competition really was. Preparing was not easy — after classes, we spent a lot of time studying, solving tasks, and practising quick decision-making. Honestly, the hardest part was deciding to participate at all, because the Latvian language centralised exam took place on the same day. When we saw the final results, it was both a shock and an incredible moment of joy.”
In total, 60 students qualified for the European final in Brussels, accompanied by teachers and representatives of their national banking associations. The two-day programme included not only the final competition, but also educational activities and visits related to financial education and the work of European institutions.
Uldis Cērps, Chairman of the Management Board of the Finance Latvia Association, notes: “The European Money Quiz is an excellent example of how cooperation at the European level can help young people develop practical life skills. Every year, we are inspired by the enthusiasm, curiosity, and ability of participants to connect complex financial topics with everyday situations. Initiatives like this strengthen young people’s confidence and help prepare them to make thoughtful financial decisions in the future.”
Since 2017, the European Money Quiz has become a significant financial literacy initiative for young people across Europe. The competition is organised by the European Banking Federation in cooperation with national banking associations across Europe, highlighting the importance of financial education in preparing young people for independent life.
The 2026 competition brought together participants from 30 countries: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, and Ukraine.
