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McDonald's and Visa launch America's largest employer-based financial literacy initiative

December 04, 2008

International Business Times

In an effort to empower employees with free, comprehensive money management tools, McDonald's and Visa Inc.have launched the country's largest employer-based financial literacyprogram. The "McDonald's Practical Money Skills" program is being made available to more than 500,000 restaurant-level employees throughout the majority of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants.

As part of this program, employees will receive a printed WealthWatchers® budgeting guide to track expenses and access to an instructional video and web resource center atwww.practicalmoneyskills.com/mcdonalds with additional tools and information. The materials, which are based on Visa's popular "Practical Money Skills for Life" financial education program, are being made available in both English and Spanish.


"Empowering Americans with the knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions is crucial," said Bill Sheedy, President, NorthAmerica, Visa Inc. "A challenge of this size requires an equally large response, which is why we are proud to be working with McDonald's on this innovative financial literacy program for their employees."


"The McDonald's Practical Money Skills program is part of our ongoing commitment to provide a wide-range of benefits to our employees," said Steve Russell, Chief People Officer, McDonald's USA. "Providing information and educating our employees about the importance of financial responsibility has become increasingly important -- now more than ever."


During these challenging economic times, the state of financial literacy in America has become increasingly important. A survey released earlier this year by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy showed that a majority of high school seniors in American failed a test on basic personal finance.


In addition to the tools available through its work with Visa, many McDonald's restaurants offer a number of other benefits to employees, such as: McDonald's Insurance Program: Provides employees the option to participate in health, dental, prescription, life, vision, and short-term disability plans, to assist them in paying for healthcare expenses.-- McDonald's Gold Card: A discount program that helps employees save money on everyday purchases at multiple retailers nationwide.-- McResource Line: An Employee Assistance Program that provides help on work-life issues such as child care, transportation, and housing. It also provides assistance in financial areas including credit counseling, debt consolidation, financial planning and bill payments.-- McDirect Shares®, McSave®, Credit Union and 401k Plans: Allow employees to invest and save money for their future.


Since 1996, Visa's free "Practical Money Skills for Life" and "What's MyScore" financial literacy programs have helped millions of Americans master the fundamentals of budgeting, saving and the wise use of credit. More than20 state governments have officially distributed Visa's personal finance educational programs to every public high school in those states, at no cost to the taxpayers. As part of this ongoing commitment to financial literacy, Visa has pledged to reach an additional 10 million people worldwide by 2013 with personal finance education.

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