Stream pledges to help one million UK workers improve financial literacy

1 June 2026, London, United Kingdom: Workplace Finance provider Stream has pledged to help one million UK workers pass Stanford University’s financial literacy test as households face continued financial pressure.

The Big Three financial literacy test was developed by Stanford University to assess people’s understanding of the core concepts needed to manage money, build wealth, and create a financially secure future. Now used by the OECD, it has become a global gold standard for measuring financial literacy. Stream’s users will be prompted to take the test in the app. 

To help workers build their knowledge before taking the test, Stream, which delivers fair financial tools exclusively through employers, is launching a new suite of features aimed at raising financial literacy. 

Central to this is an interactive coach that helps users make better financial decisions by drawing on their unique financial situation, past interactions, and individual goals. Building on these interactions, users are offered personalised courses on key financial topics and significant life moments. Courses consist of 150 lessons, covering everything from preparing to have a child and building an emergency fund to managing money as a couple. The suite also includes MoneyHelper-powered tools such as a quick cash finder that identifies ways to free up cash, and a child cost calculator that estimates the cost of having a child in the first year. Improved financial literacy will help users get the best out of Stream’s platform, which supports them to save, get paid when they choose, find and combine pensions, budget, and access affordable credit. In the initial weeks since launch, the tools have already seen record engagement, with more than half of users returning to continue their education for two or more days.

The launch comes as households are under increased pressure to cover essential costs, driven by the conflict in the Middle East. Stream users have seen a 7% increase in total weekly spend since the beginning of the conflict, reflective of rising prices for essential goods such as fuel and food. 

While the tools will increase levels of financial education among Stream’s users, the company is also calling on the Government to set a national target to increase financial education among working-age adults nationwide. While national targets exist to improve financial education among children and young people, there is no equivalent target for adults.

Peter Briffett, CEO and co-founder of Stream, said:

“Workers are grappling with rising household costs and depleted financial resilience. It’s not just about increasing the money coming in – people need well-designed, accessible and affordable financial tools and the knowledge and confidence to use them. Most adults never received this education at school or university, and these tools will help our members to feel genuinely in control of their money."

“We are committed to helping our members in every way we can, which is why we are pledging to help one million people pass Stanford’s financial literacy test. We’re also calling on the Government to go one step further and help address this on a national level, by setting a measurable adult financial literacy target.” 

As well as rolling out these additional tools to members, employers that offer Stream to their employees will also see improvements to the employer portal. Stream will provide more information on the direct impact that financial wellbeing tools have on improving employee tenure, turnover, and retention. It comes as less than a third (31%) of employers can currently link benefits to business outcomes, according to new research from the CIPD.

Find out more about our Financial Literacy Pledge and how Stream supports the UK government's financial inclusion strategy.

1. Stanford University

2.  Aggregated data from Stream’s users sourced from open banking