Money and Banking Fundamentals for Beginners
Understand how money works, how banks operate and earn profit, and how the Chilean banking system is structured and regulated by the CMF.
This module lays the foundation for your entire financial education. Before you can budget, save, invest, or manage debt, you need to understand the basic building blocks: what money actually is, how the institutions that hold your money operate, and what rights and protections you have as a consumer in Chile.
You will start by exploring the nature of money itself — why it exists, what gives it value, and how inflation silently reshapes your purchasing power over time. You will learn about the Unidad de Fomento (UF), Chile’s unique inflation-indexed unit, and how the Banco Central de Chile manages the peso. From there, you will learn how banks function as businesses, how they profit from the spread between what they pay savers and what they charge borrowers, and why understanding the Carga Anual Equivalente (CAE) can save you millions of pesos.
The module then dives into the Chilean banking system specifically: the roles of the CMF, BancoEstado, SERNAC Financiero, and how the Ley Fintech and Open Finance initiatives are reshaping the landscape. Finally, you will get a practical guide to bank accounts — Cuenta Corriente, Cuenta Vista, Cuenta RUT, and Depósitos a Plazo — and explore the neobanks and digital wallets transforming everyday banking in Chile.
By the end of Module 1, you will have the vocabulary and mental models needed to make informed decisions every time you interact with a financial institution.