This research involved a number of discussion groups with a range of adult learners with literacy and numeracy difficulties and interviews with financial services representatives and frontline staff. A key innovation was the use of a public opinion poll to test understanding among the general population of everyday financial terms.

The findings of this research place financial literacy issues and opportunities in Ireland within a broader global context. They further show that barriers to accessing and understanding financial services are not confined to socially and economically disadvantaged groups or adults with literacy and numeracy difficulties. However, because of their particular needs, such adults have more acute experiences of the barriers that face consumers in accessing and understanding financial services. International best practice has shown that a nationally resourced and co-ordinated strategy for tackling financial literacy difficulties in the general population that brings together key policy making, adult basic education and financial service stakeholders is the best approach.