Culture, including religion and ethical beliefs

People's culture can have a significant impact on their attitudes to money.

For example, 'Tanda' is a concept of collective saving that is popular in Latin America and the Caribbean. In essence everyone pays money into a 'pot’, and everyone then receives the 'whole pot' in turn. Similar schemes are found in China and South Africa.

In Germany, people are known for their love of cash – the Germans make 60% of their payments in cash, which is much higher than in the rest of Europe. As the Germans say 'Geld stinkt nicht' - money doesn't stink!

Religion can also shape people's attitudes to money; a key example is Islamic finance. Islamic finance is based on the belief that money should have no intrinsic value – that money is merely a mechanism for exchanging products and services. Linked to this is the idea that you should not make money from money – meaning that paying or receiving interest should be avoided where possible.