Methodology
Mapping onto the EU/OECD-INFE competence framework
On 11 January 2022 the European Commission and OECD-INFE published a joint financial competence framework for adults: 564 competences grouped into 4 content areas, 22 topics and 82 subtopics. It is the common language for describing financial education in Europe. Primary sources: the European Commission announcement, the OECD publication, the framework itself (PDF). Below is an honest map of which of those competences the Atlas actually covers — and which it does not.
How to read the table
| Mark | What it means |
|---|---|
| full | The Atlas explains this subtopic as a subject: the mechanism, the parties and the consequences, not just a mention of the term. |
| partial | Present as context or in part: the neighbouring mechanism is explained, but the subtopic itself is not treated separately. |
| — | Not in the Atlas. |
The framework describes every competence along three dimensions: awareness and knowledge; skills and behaviour; confidence and attitudes. By design the Atlas works on the first — it explains how the system is built rather than training personal financial decisions. Subtopics about your own budget, choosing a specific product or handling your own debt are therefore marked as not covered deliberately, not by omission.
Coverage by content area
| Content area | CompetencesComp. | Covered | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money and Transactions | 114 | 32 | 28% |
| Planning and managing finances | 239 | 121 | 50% |
| Risk and reward | 49 | 41 | 83% |
| Financial Landscape | 162 | 149 | 91% |
| Total | 564 | 343 | 60% |
The distribution is not accidental. Financial Landscape is what the Atlas is about: who licenses which institutions, against which standards they are supervised, and how a decision in one part of the system reaches another. Money and Transactions and Planning and Managing Finances describe what a person does with their own money — the territory of a personal finance course, not of a map of the system.
Full table by subtopic
The table is wider than the screen — swipe it sideways to see the level and the zones.
Money and Transactions
| Framework subtopic | Comp. | Level | Atlas zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 Money and Currencies | |||
| Forms and use of Money Who issues money and in what forms it exists today, from cash to a central bank digital currency; handling it safely is not covered. | 6 | partial | Monetary Policy, Digital payments, Crypto / CBDC |
| Notes and Coins Everyday handling of cash is outside the scope. | 5 | — | — |
| Foreign Exchange The currency market as a zone of its own: who sets the rate, how cross-border transfers work, the role of the central bank's reserves. | 8 | full | FX market, International transfers, Monetary Policy |
| 1.2 Income | |||
| Sources of Income | 6 | — | — |
| Pay Slips and Income Statements | 8 | — | — |
| Income Needs | 6 | — | — |
| Impact of Career Path on Income What each of 234 roles actually does, what you need to know and be able to do, and which certifications are worth having. Pay figures are deliberately absent. | 3 | partial | 234 career profiles |
| 1.3 Prices, Purchases and Payments | |||
| Prices | 11 | — | — |
| Price Comparions | 4 | — | — |
| Purchases | 14 | — | — |
| Payment Methods and Transferring Money Five separate zones for the payment rails: how money actually moves and who takes part. | 15 | full | Interbank systems, International transfers, Card networks, Digital payments, Crypto / CBDC, Retail access |
| Checking and Keeping Track of Payments and Purchases | 6 | — | — |
| Implications of Purchases | 7 | — | — |
| Sustainability Aspects of Prices and Purchases | 4 | — | — |
| 1.4 Financial Records and Contracts | |||
| Understanding and Signing Contracts | 5 | — | — |
| Financial Records | 6 | — | — |
Planning and managing finances
| Framework subtopic | Comp. | Level | Atlas zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 Budgeting | |||
| Monitoring income and expenses | 5 | — | — |
| Drawing a budget | 10 | — | — |
| 2.2 Managing Income and Expenditure | |||
| Basics of managing income and expenses | 9 | — | — |
| Managing irregular and unexpected income and expenses | 7 | — | — |
| 2.3 Saving | |||
| Saving goals and priorities | 8 | — | — |
| Savings buffers | 5 | — | — |
| Interest rates Where the rate comes from and why a central bank decision reaches a deposit; calculating your own interest is not covered. | 4 | partial | Monetary Policy, Banking & Credit Institutions |
| Choosing saving products Who takes deposits, what the bank does with them and who guarantees them; comparing products is not covered. | 10 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions, State Insurance & Guarantees |
| Managing savings | 5 | — | — |
| 2.4 Investing | |||
| Basics of investing The difference between debt and equity, who issues, who invests, and how a trade travels to settlement. | 11 | full | Investment & Pension Funds, Stock market, Debt market, Exchanges & platforms, Clearing & settlement |
| Share and fund prices | 1 | partial | Stock market, Investment & Pension Funds |
| Choosing and diversifying investments Asset classes and their nature are explained; choosing a particular portfolio is not. | 20 | partial | Stock market, Debt market, Commodities market, Real estate market, Derivatives, Investment & Pension Funds |
| Crypto-assets and related digital developments Separate zones for the crypto market and for crypto payments, with their current regulatory status. | 5 | full | Crypto / Digital, Crypto / CBDC, Financial Market Infrastructure |
| Shareholder rights | 4 | partial | Stock market, Corporations & Corporate Finance |
| Sustainable investment The rules a fund must meet to call itself sustainable, what the European green bond standard is, and how sustainability disclosure is built into supervision. | 9 | partial | Investment & Pension Funds, Debt market, Ratings & Indices, Financial Market Infrastructure |
| Commodities The commodity market as a zone of its own. | 2 | full | Commodities market |
| Factors influencing investment decisions | 3 | partial | 244 explained links, Monetary Policy |
| 2.5 Longer-Term Planning and Asset Building | |||
| Basics of long-term planning | 16 | — | — |
| 2.6 Retirement | |||
| Basics of pension planning | 5 | — | — |
| Categories of pension products Who manages pension money and where it ends up. | 6 | partial | Investment & Pension Funds, Insurance, State Insurance & Guarantees |
| Managing pension products | 8 | — | — |
| Sustainability considerations for pensions | 3 | — | — |
| 2.7 Credit | |||
| Considerations before asking for credit | 13 | — | — |
| Guarantors and collateral | 5 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions, Real estate market |
| Choosing credit Inside the Banks zone the non-bank lenders are shown too: leasing, factoring, credit unions, microfinance, peer-to-peer. | 10 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions |
| Risks of taking a credit | 5 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions, Credit Information |
| Application for credit and credit score A separate Credit data zone: how credit bureaus work, where a score comes from and what moves it. | 11 | full | Credit Information, Banking & Credit Institutions |
| Repaying credit | 5 | — | — |
| Renegotiating a credit agreement | 2 | — | — |
| Overdrafts | 3 | — | — |
| Easy-access high-cost credit Microfinance and fast loans are shown as part of the credit landscape. | 7 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions |
| 2.8 Debt and Debt Management | |||
| Managing debt | 10 | — | — |
| Debt accrued from late payments | 4 | — | — |
| Difficulty to repay debt Work with distressed loans is shown from the lender's side, including as a career of its own. | 8 | partial | Banking & Credit Institutions |
Risk and reward
| Framework subtopic | Comp. | Level | Atlas zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 Identifying Risks | |||
| Basics of risk | 5 | partial | Regulation & Supervision, Financial Market Infrastructure, Insurance |
| Sources of risks Sources of risk are shown systemically — through cases of real crises and through who supervises what. | 10 | partial | the supervision layer, cases in all 35 zones |
| Specific risks of digital products and services Where risk comes from in digital channels and what contains it: strong customer authentication, payee verification, the limits of MiCA. | 3 | partial | Digital payments, Technology & Infrastructure, Crypto / Digital, Card networks |
| 3.2 Financial safety nets and insurance | |||
| Creating a safety net | 6 | — | — |
| Choosing insurance How an insurer is built and where its money comes from; choosing a policy is not covered. | 12 | partial | Insurance |
| Digital insurance provision | 2 | partial | Insurance, Technology & Infrastructure |
| Insurance against climate-related risks | 2 | partial | Insurance, State Insurance & Guarantees |
| Government support State insurance as a zone of its own. | 1 | full | State Insurance & Guarantees |
| 3.3 Balancing Risk and Reward | |||
| Relationship between risk and reward The yield curve as the price of time, and hedging as a mechanism in its own right. | 6 | partial | Debt market, Derivatives |
| Sustainability implications on risk and reward | 2 | — | — |
Financial Landscape
| Framework subtopic | Comp. | Level | Atlas zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 Regulation and Consumer Protection | |||
| Consumer Protection Regulations The core of the Atlas: who licenses and supervises each type of institution, under which standards (Basel, IAIS, IOSCO, CPMI, FATF), and what that means in practice. | 12 | full | Regulation & Supervision, Financial Market Infrastructure, Anti-Money Laundering, 28 supervision pairs |
| Complaints The whole sequence is shown — the firm first, then an out-of-court body, then a court — and why a supervisor does not award money. | 6 | full | Households & Individuals, Regulation & Supervision |
| Personal Data Protection | 10 | partial | Credit Information, Anti-Money Laundering |
| 4.2 Rights and Responsibilities | |||
| Consumer rights and responsibilities Which protections exist and who is answerable for them. | 13 | partial | Regulation & Supervision, Financial Market Infrastructure, Households & Individuals, Card networks |
| 4.3 Financial Education, Information and Advice | |||
| Financial Information Separate zones for media and data and for rating agencies: who produces financial information and what their incentives are. | 11 | full | Financial Media & Data, Ratings & Indices |
| Financial Education Education as a participant in the system, with its certifications and the requirement to keep them current. | 8 | full | Education & Certification |
| Financial Advice Who gives advice, how they earn from it, and where the conflict of interest sits. | 8 | full | Consulting & Advisory, Retail access |
| Discussing financial matters | 5 | — | — |
| 4.4 Financial Products and Services | |||
| Characteristics of Financial Products and Services The widest coverage: what the product is, who issues it, and why it exists in the system at all. | 21 | full | Banking & Credit Institutions, Insurance, Investment & Pension Funds, every market and payment zone |
| Sustainability Preferences Since 2022 an intermediary must ask the client about sustainability preferences — and in which order. | 3 | partial | Insurance, Retail access |
| Sustainability Labels and Standards The European green bond standard, the eighty-per-cent rule for fund names, and the licensing of ESG rating providers. | 5 | partial | Financial Market Infrastructure, Investment & Pension Funds, Debt market, Ratings & Indices |
| Disclosure Who checks the accounts, why disclosure exists, who must report on sustainability after the 2026 simplification, and at what level an auditor verifies it. | 7 | full | Financial Market Infrastructure, Audit & Assurance, Corporations & Corporate Finance, Debt market |
| 4.5 Scams and Fraud | |||
| Scams and Fraud Strong customer authentication, payee verification and how liability is split, the line between money laundering and fraud against a consumer, what MiCA does not cover, and what a finfluencer is answerable for. | 12 | full | Card networks, Interbank systems, Anti-Money Laundering |
| Greenwashing The common definition of greenwashing agreed by the three European supervisory authorities, and how the fund-naming rule made two thirds of them rename. | 2 | partial | Financial Market Infrastructure, Investment & Pension Funds, Ratings & Indices |
| Personal Data Scams and Fraud | 7 | — | — |
| Reporting Scams and Frauds Where to turn and what the refund depends on; there is no step-by-step guide for a victim. | 5 | partial | Card networks, Interbank systems, Households & Individuals, Anti-Money Laundering |
| 4.6 Tax and Public Spending | |||
| Taxes and tax treatments Fiscal policy as a zone of its own: why taxes are collected, how public spending is built and how it connects to debt. | 12 | full | Fiscal Policy |
| Taxes and Tax Treatments | 1 | full | Fiscal Policy |
| 4.7 External Influences | |||
| External Influences External influences are the subject of the Atlas. | 3 | full | 244 explained links, Financial Media & Data |
| Macroeconomic Impact on Personal Finance The product's central claim: you can see why a central bank's rate decision reaches the price of a mortgage a few steps later. | 4 | full | Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, 244 explained links |
| Advertising The rules that apply to public investment recommendations and to finfluencers, including the duty to disclose who is paying; everyday advertising of financial products is not covered. | 6 | partial | Financial Media & Data, Consulting & Advisory |
| Broader sustainability impact of personal finance decisions | 1 | — | — |
What the Atlas does not do
The Atlas does not teach budgeting, does not compare specific products, does not tell you what to buy, and is not a substitute for a personal finance course. It answers a different question: how the system inside which those decisions are made is built — who reports to whom, where the rules come from, and why an event in one zone changes the terms in another. For the subtopics marked "—", other material is the right place to look, including national financial literacy programmes.