November 18, 2014
Jackson, MS – November 18, 2014 – Ken Lucas, 2014 inductee into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame and former corner back for the Seahawks and Panthers joined Mississippi Treasurer Lynn Fitch, Regions Bank and Visa Inc. in the Magnolia State today to tackle head on the issue of financial literacy improvement among Mississippi teens. They showcased a statewide effort to improve the money management skills of high school and middle school students with Financial Football, a free educational video game and classroom curriculum developed by Visa Inc. The game is being distributed by the Treasurer's office to every public middle school and high school in Mississippi. Regions Bank and Visa are working with the state treasurer to share the financial information and skills with students.
Treasurer Fitch kicked off this financial literacy campaign at the State Capitol in Jackson today with help from Ken Lucas, and Regions Bank. Lucas and Treasurer Fitch rolled up their sleeves and led teams of students in a hard-fought, high energy game of Financial Football. Earlier Lucas, who led the NFL in interceptions in 2004, shared his personal experiences on the importance of money management with students.
"Financial Football is a great way to get students interested in personal finance and gives them a financial playbook they can use the rest of their lives," said Mississippi Treasurer, Lynn Fitch. "This is a valuable program and an exciting partnership between my office, Visa and the NFL."
"Regions is a strong believer in promoting financial education and helping teenagers understand the importance of making good financial decisions," said Arthur DuCote, Mississippi President for Regions Bank. "By learning concepts from a program like Financial Football such as how to set a budget, how to save for the future and even how investments and credit work, students can develop financial management skills that will last a lifetime. Regions is proud to work with Visa and with Treasurer Fitch to support this program."
The centerpiece of Visa's nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, Financial Football helps students and adults tackle their financial futures. The game is accompanied by a classroom curriculum.
"Kids need to learn to make smart money management decisions early in life," said Ken Lucas, former NFL cornerback and 2014 inductee into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. "It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance."
Available online at www.mississippi.financialfootball.com, Financial Football puts students' fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. Visa has also released the game as a free Android or iOS app.
"For over a decade, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to assist Treasurer Fitch and Regions Bank in their continuing efforts to strengthen financial education," said Nat Sillin, Head of U.S. financial education, Visa Inc.
This launch is part of a national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, now in its eighth season. Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with forty-five states and the District of Columbia to distribute Financial Football to every high school and middle school in those states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Financial Football is part of Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com) a free, award-winning financial education program that reaches millions of people around the world each year. Launched in 1995, the program is now available in ten languages in thirty countries. At Practical Money Skills for Life, educators, parents and students can access free educational resources including personal finance articles, games, lesson plans and more. Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program.
About Visa
Visa 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 56,000 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. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.
About Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $119 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates approximately 1,700 banking offices and 2,000 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.
