Financial Behaviour and Financial Literacy among University Students

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the financial knowledge andfinancial behaviour of university students across the following 5 European countries: CzechRepublic, Estonia, France, Spain and Turkey. An online survey instrument was used for thestudy and the sample consisted of 418 university students. Data analysis was performed byusing logistic regression. The study found that male students, those who have financialdifficulties in sustaining their educational expenses and those who have loans or any otherdebts were more knowledgeable on personal finance. Students who do not have any creditcard were also found to be more financially knowledgeable. Among the countries, studentsfrom France were found to be more knowledgeable on personal finance. Based on thefindings, the article contributes to existing literature concerning the need to provide effectiveactions for the responsible use of credit cards in order to maximise the financial literacy ofuniversity students. Using debit cards instead of credit cards may be useful for betterfinancial behaviour. This research may provide useful data for policy makers and cardproviders in devising the effective use of credit cards. The result of this research may informuniversity authorities in encouraging the teaching of financial knowledge among universitystudents.