“Paying pensions requires savings and community”
The Spanish government has reached an agreement with the trade unions to improve contributions, which has to make it possible to pay the pensions of the baby-boomers when they retire. But what is the small print of this negotiation? The financial director of 11Onze, Oriol Tafanell, details it in the current affairs magazine of Ràdio Ciutat de Badalona.
Thus, the first outline that the Spanish government and the CCOO and UGT unions have agreed on foresees that companies and workers will contribute 0.6% more to the social security system, through salary contributions over the next ten years. In this way, the increase for workers will be 0.2% and for companies 0.4%, figures that have not pleased the employers’ association CEOE, which has withdrawn from the negotiations.
However, Tafanell warns that the measure does not save pensions. “If you read the small print, I disagree quite a lot with the agreement,” he says. The reasons, according to the financial director of 11Onze, are that pensions will continue to rise because life expectancy is also increasing and that the baby-boomers will retire with high pensions because they have worked under good conditions. In short, the demographic and socio-labour context suggests that the new law could be insufficient.
But, above all, there is one thing that worries the financial director of 11Onze. “With this measure, the Spanish government has assured that it will collect around 0.2% of GDP, while it is estimated that at least 4% of GDP will be needed. Imagine the difference, there is still a very large gap,” he argues. In fact, some Spanish media are already pointing to an even bigger gap that would force a radical rethink of the pension system.
Accompanying for financial growth
Tafanell points out that the solution lies in being financially sovereign. “Spain has been bankrupt for some time now. You only have to look at how the country’s indebtedness has been growing. So what should we do? We have to worry personally about saving,” the 11Onze financial director says.
For Tafanell, “there is not a lack of savings capacity,” as people have been led to believe, but rather a great deal of precariousness, but also a very great lack of financial culture on the part of the public. This, says the CFO, is partly the fault of traditional banking. That is why a proposal like 11Onze, which is a fincom, a community fintech, could be the key. “With people who explain to you in a transparent and honest way what is the best decision you can make to save,” he argues.
The other pillar that must allow the pension system to be overcome, according to Tafanell, or at least provide enough financial sovereignty so that it is not a concern, is the community. “By creating a community, you ensure that there are high, medium and low incomes and, if you make good links, the former can help those who need it most,” he concludes.
11Onze is becoming a phenomenon as the first Fintech community in Catalonia. Now, it releases the first version of El Canut, the super app of 11Onze, for Android and Apple. El Canut, the first universal account can be opened in Catalan territory.
11Onze consolidates its commitment to economic literacy with the launch of El Diner, an animated series to learn everything there is to know about money, the economy and financial mechanisms.
The chapters can be found in the Learn category, and after watching them, users can answer a short questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge obtained. With the results, they will accumulate ‘Peles’, which can be used in the marketplace that 11Onze will set up for its community.
One of the strategic goals of the 11Onze project is to empower citizens, offering them as much knowledge as possible about the economy, without traps, so that they can make the right decisions with their savings. “We want you to learn, through the 11Onze community, about finance, learn about the economy,” explained general manager Natàlia Cugueró in a recent interview.
“El Diner” (The Money) is an original production of 11Onze TV in collaboration with the animation studio Luee from Manlleu. After having collaborated with the Super3 channel, 3XL or having turned Gerard Piqué into his character in the video game Pro Evolution Soccer, the director of audiovisual projects at Luee, Àlex Roca, is proud to take on the challenge of El Diner. “It allows us to participate in a key project like 11Onze from the beginning. One of the main goals of the series is to explain very complex concepts with very simple drawings,” says Roca, who adds that “one of the most surprising things we’ve learned by making “El Diner” (The Money) is that most of what we thought we knew about economics was wrong! And this is the impression we think a lot of people will have”.
In a conversation with staff, 11Onze president James Sène explained that “money is so important, it’s so central to our lives, that I think it’s insane that people aren’t taught where money comes from.”
The series, scripted and voiced by Toni Mata, will have a premiere episode every Wednesday. Open educational content for the 11Onze community.
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Obrir comptes amb IBAN europeus, diversificar els estalvis, invertir en borsa, obrir un dipòsit… ja saps tot el que pots fer amb El Canut? T’expliquem quins serveis té el nostre moneder de moneders i quins en tindrà ben aviat.
A banda d’obrir un compte 11Onze i sol·licitar una targeta virtual o física, actualment El Canut et permet fer transferències instantànies, accedir a la comunitat d’11Onze, al servei d’atenció 24/7 i aplegar els teus comptes d’altres entitats en un únic lloc, gràcies a la directiva europea PSD2. El teu compte tindrà IBAN búlgar, però en breu podràs triar entre IBAN d’altres països, com Bèlgica, França, Estònia o Alemanya.
A més, amb El Canut tens tot 11Onze a la teva mà. Això vol dir que pots participar a La Plaça o accedir a productes com 11Onze Segurs o Preciosos 11Onze des de la nostra aplicació.
Però El Canut anirà sumant serveis fins a arribar a una cinquantena. Així, per exemple, l’app permetrà invertir els teus estalvis en diferents actius: moneda, paquets ETF, criptomonedes o Peles, i podràs fer pagaments o retirar diners a través d’una xarxa de ‘partners’ d’11Onze. També podràs obrir dipòsits amb unes condicions competitives que t’ajudin a estalviar, demanar préstecs a un interès baix o contractar hipoteques amb les millors ofertes del mercat. A més, et donarem la possibilitat de fer un rènting, podràs invertir en projectes de la comunitat 11Onze o gestionar els teus estalvis amb eines de control financer.
Què esperes per descarregar El Canut? Ja està disponible per a Android i iOS!
Vols saber què més farà El Canut? T’ho expliquem!
Transferring your account from one bank to another may seem like a complicated procedure, but since the introduction of the new regulations on the transfer of payment accounts, changing banks has become much simpler. Here are the steps you need to follow.
Gone are the days when, if you wanted to switch banks, you had to take care of all the paperwork and waste time transferring recurring deposits and direct debit bills from one account to another. With the entry into force of the new regulations on the transfer of payment accounts, switching bank accounts has become a much quicker and simpler process. Moreover, this procedure will be free of charge for both you and the new bank.
How to move my account from one bank to another
First, you have to go to the new bank and request the transfer. If you share the account with another person, any of the account holders can initiate the request, but all the account holders will have to sign the document for the process to go ahead.
You will then be provided with an account transfer application form which, among other things, will inform you of the roles of both your current and your future bank. You will also be asked for authorisation to carry out the necessary procedures to transfer the payments and deposits you have chosen automatically.
It will also detail the maximum time limit for completing the different steps and specify the date from which standing orders and direct debits are transferred to the new bank (receiving payment service provider).
When your old bank receives your account portability form, it will have two working days to send the necessary information to make the transfer. Once it has received all this information, the new bank will have six working days to take the necessary steps to maintain the transfer orders and direct debits that were on the old account and to provide the details of the new account to those who made regular transfers to you, such as your salary or pension.
Although the vast majority of the procedures will be carried out by the new bank to which the account is transferred, there is the possibility that the customer, as the account holder, will have to take care of those that correspond to the transfer of direct debits for payments from gyms, schools, small businesses, etc. In these cases, the customer will have to personally contact the persons or entities that issue these bills to inform them of the change of account and provide them with the new number to which they will have to transfer them.
What happens to my old account?
Keep in mind that the old bank will not be able to block your debit or credit cards before the date you have indicated in the application. Remember that this is an express cancellation process.
Similarly, if you have asked to close your account, it will be closed on the date you have indicated, as long as you have no outstanding payments. On the other hand, many people consider it sufficient to get rid of the bank card and leave the account empty. Even so, remember that this does not mean that it has been closed, the bank could continue to charge fees on this account and if one day it wants to close it, demand all outstanding charges.
Don’t forget that as an account holder you are responsible for the payments and you should be the first to contact your bank to complete the closure process if you are no longer going to use the account. Only after 20 years without the account holder having made any movements can the bank consider the account ‘abandoned’ and transfer the balance to the State.
11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!
Economic experts have been warning for some time about a reality affecting the Spanish banking system. The deposit guarantee fund, which is supposed to protect our savings in the event of a bank failure, could be insufficient. How can we secure our finances?
In theory, a deposit guarantee fund (DGF) protects the savings we have in the country’s banks by imposing a fixed term of up to a maximum of 100,000 euros per individual or legal entity. In this way, if a bank were to fail and could not meet its obligations to its customers, the country’s DGF would be responsible for compensating account holders for their savings up to a maximum of 100,000 euros. Even so, if you had more than 100,000 euros in a single current account, the DGF would not cover the difference.
This is the theory, but in practice, economic experts warn that this DGF, in Spain, has a black hole that would prevent it from covering losses. At this point, it is necessary to ask how the DGF gets its resources. All the banks that are registered in the State Register of Banks and State Banks, and which have access to financing from the Bank of Spain, have to make contributions to the DGF. Thus, as recommended by the European Central Bank, the DGF’s resources should be at least 1% of the total deposits contracted by the country’s banks.
Therefore, according to the calculations made by experts, Spain’s DGF should have between 5,500 and 8,250 million euros at its disposal. Even so, prestigious economists such as Santiago Niño Becerra consider that this figure falls short in the event that some of the main banking operators of the Spanish State go bankrupt. And, as if that were not enough, they warn that the DGF does not even have these 8,250 million, because it is still recovering from the contributions it had to make during the bank bailout due to the economic crisis of 2008. If the DGF’s figures are negative, they warn, it is necessary to take a cautious approach. This is why banks have complimentary insurance: where the DGF does not reach, insurance must reach.
EMIs, a safe bet
For this reason, experts recommend opening current accounts in banks that have insured customer deposits through Electronic Money Institutions (EMI), as 11Onze does. EMIs are regulated companies that are authorized to issue electronic money as a digital equivalent to cash. EMI licenses are issued by the Central Banks of each country, and in order to operate in the European Union they are required to have a very high capital.
EMIs, unlike traditional banks, are not allowed to sell unsound banking products, promote investment products or recommend credit-risky transactions to customers. This last condition is possibly the most important, because when a client deposits his money in a traditional bank, he is taking a risk. This is because banks are allowed to use customer deposits for lending. EMIs, on the other hand, are not authorized to do so and, therefore, offer zero risk and ensure that your savings are 100% safe.
In addition, these EMIs are required to insure 100% of the deposits received with insurance policies, regardless of the amount. In addition, the money cannot be deposited in just any bank: it has to be a bank of recognized solvency and classified among the Globally Systemic Important Banks (GSIB). Finally, customer deposits insured by an EMI are not part of the balance sheet of the EMI itself and are, therefore, off the balance sheet in case of bankruptcy of the EMI, i.e. they are still protected by the insurance, which guarantees full recovery of the savings.
If you want to know more about superior options to make your money profitable, go to Guaranteed Funds. From 11Onze Recomana we propose you the best options in the market.
At 11Onze we want to help you protect your savings in an easy and secure way. That is why we have launched Preciosos 11Onze so that you can buy gold at the best price. We’re talking about physical gold, the real thing. But why should you buy gold? How do you do it? Sara Casals, a member of the 11Onze product team, explains.
There are at least three compelling reasons why buying gold is a good solution for protecting our money. The first is undoubtedly inflation, which reduces our purchasing power. The second is the low price of money, which makes savings in financial accounts unprofitable and uninteresting. Gold, on the other hand, does appreciate in value. In times of instability, gold is the ultimate safe-haven asset. Want to know how to buy gold with Preciosos 11Onze? Watch the video below and find out. It’s very easy!
Tutorial: We help you buy gold
If you want to discover the best option to protect your savings, enter Preciosos 11Onze. We will help you buy at the best price the safe-haven asset par excellence: physical gold.
Catalonia suffers a high rate of home burglaries, a problem that worsens during holiday periods. Gemma Vallet, director of 11Onze District, reminds us of the most important tips to protect our homes correctly or minimise the consequences in the event of a burglary.
Fortunately, home burglaries were reduced by 23% during the pandemic, but the Mossos d’Esquadra have been warning for some months of an increase, which could be accentuated during the holiday period. Moreover, it should be borne in mind, as Gemma Vallet points out, that Catalonia “leads the ranking of thefts” in Spain.
According to data from insurance companies, the average value of thefts is 800 euros and the municipalities with the highest value stolen in each incident are Girona and Sant Cugat del Vallès. As for shops, the most affected are those in Reus, Mataró and Lleida.
La Plaça – Territori 17: Vacation thefts
Guidelines to avoid unpleasant surprises
The director of 11Onze District offers a series of tips to protect yourself from theft or minimise its consequences:
- Leave objects of more material or sentimental value in a safe place.
- Install an alarm.
- Check all accesses, doors and windows, as burglars are increasingly using more elaborate systems to gain access to homes.
- Be discreet about your absence, being careful about what you post on social media, as this can alert burglars to your location.
- Ask someone to visit the home regularly, collect correspondence and check that nothing unusual is going on.
- Do not leave messages on the answering machine indicating that you are away.
- If you hear any noise or detect the presence of a stranger, alert the Mossos d’Esquadra immediately, without confronting them.
- If you have taken out insurance, make an inventory of your property so that you can claim the corresponding compensation in the event of theft.
In addition to theft, Gemma Vallet warns that it is advisable to take measures to avoid problems with windows and water and electricity installations during your holiday absence.
If you want to discover fair insurance for your home and for society, check 11Onze Segurs.
It’s been a year since the launch of Litigation Funding, one of 11Onze Recommends’ flagship products that offers returns of between 9 and 11% by financing lawsuits against banks and institutions that have used illegal practices against their clients. How has it performed so far? Are our clients satisfied? Farhaan Mir, CTO of 11Onze, gives us an update.
In the inflationary economic environment we have experienced in recent years, people have not only seen their purchasing power eroded but have also experienced a loss in the value of their savings. It is in this context that Litigation Funding that 11Onze Recommends was born, to shield the savings of our community members against runaway inflation.
Litigation Funding offers returns ranging from 9% to 11%, depending on the amount contributed, financing the legal costs of law firms pursuing claims against banks and institutions that have used illegal practices against their clients. This social justice product offers high returns at very low risk. And that’s all well and good, but have these objectives been met a year after its launch?
A unique product in the market
As a general rule, investments that offer high returns come with high risk, while low-risk investments offer more stable, but potentially lower, returns.
This is not the case with Litigation Funding, as Farhaan Mir explains, “In this case, the risk is managed by an insurance that covers the clients’ capital“. Even so, in the first year, there has been a 100% success rate in the lawsuits, and it has not been necessary to use insurance.
A recurring investment
Perhaps the metric that most exemplifies the success and good performance of Litigation Funding is that almost 100% of clients have reinvested their money in the same product. “Clients are very happy with the returns and, apart from one person who needed the money for personal matters, everyone has reinvested their capital.”
Litigation Funding has been structured exclusively for members of the 11Onze community, offering two ways to participate: a product that returns your capital and possible profits after one year, or another option where your capital works for a few years and provides you with a monthly return after six months. As Mir points out, “The longer the period, the greater the returns for investors”.
Fund lawsuits against banks. Get justice and returns on your savings above inflation thanks to the compensation the banks will have to pay. All the information about Litigation Funding can be found at 11Onze Recommends.
In this edition of the 11Onze Podcast, we have once again invited Oriol Blanch, Affiliate Marketer at Bitvavo, to review the latest news in the world of cryptocurrencies. We talk about the buying options in the current bear market and the approval given by the Bank of Spain to Bitvavo.
Fluctuations in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market in general are nothing new. In fact, bitcoin has experienced some corrections after reaching an all-time high above $73,700 last March, taking it to just below $60,000 when writing this piece.
Although these bitcoin corrections are not surprising and are part of a certain normality, “all altcoins and other cryptocurrencies that are not bitcoin have had more significant corrections that have caused more than one scare to some“, points out Oriol Blanch.
At the very least, this confirms that bitcoin continues to be one of the safest crypto assets, partly thanks to its market capitalisation and, as Blanch indicates, “Looking at it from a long-term perspective, these corrections are minuscule and we continue to bet on this market because it looks like it will continue to rise”.
Podcast with Oriol Blanch from Bitvavo
A good opportunity to enter the market?
A bear market can be a good opportunity to buy, but nobody has a crystal ball. On the other hand, we must take into account the “halving” event, which in previous cycles has behaved very positively, but as Blanch stresses, “it is not an immediate effect, it may take between six and eight months to really see a parabolic rise in the price of bitcoin”.
In any case, Blanch advises its family members to “make regular purchases”. Bitvavo offers the option of setting up a recurring buy, so you can buy the cryptocurrency you want to accumulate once a month or on a specific day. However, the affiliate marketer recommends placing buy or sell orders with a price limit, so that if the market rises or falls, the buy or sell order is automatically executed.
Bitvavo, more reliable than ever
Bitvavo’s ambition to become Europe’s leading cryptocurrency exchange has been reinforced by receiving approval for registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider from the Bank of Spain, allowing the exchange to offer cryptocurrency products and services in the Spanish market. Previously, it had already obtained registration from regulators in Austria and France.
These authorisations are important because they mark the process of implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the first global regulation governing the crypto-assets market, establishing obligations for both issuers and cryptocurrency service providers. Blanch explains, “These regulations will apply to all crypto asset providers and, as a user, you have to be careful not to fall into the trap of using an exchange located in the Cayman Islands, because there you would have no protection whatsoever”.
11Onze Recommends Bitvavo, cryptocurrency trading made easy, safe and at a good value.
At the end of April 2022, 11Onze started shipping gold to Preciosos 11Onze customers. We explain the whole process from the moment the gold arrives at the refinery until it is ready to be shipped to the end customer.
The first shipment of gold from the 11Onze community was delivered at the end of April 2022. It will be this week. The international situation had caused a peak in demand for gold, and 11Onze delayed the collective purchase, waiting for the right time. The company then supervised every step of the process: from the purchase of the raw gold, to the ingot-plating and serial marking of each piece. Since then, Preciosos 11Onze has continued to manage gold purchases.
The gold that community members receive is 11Onze bullion gold. This means that it is not gold from another entity marketed by our company, but 11Onze gold. The pieces are of 50, 100, 500 grams or 1 kilo and customers can choose to receive them or leave them in custody.
How is Preciosos 11Onze gold made?
Gold production at the refinery
From the time the gold of the 11Onze community arrives at the refinery until it is ready to be sent to the end customer, there are a series of processes to be carried out. We explain them to you.
- Weighing: the gold arrives in sheets. It is checked for the correct weight and the sheets to be melted are prepared for each customer.
- Rolling: if the sheet is too thick, it cannot be cut. Therefore, thinner sheets are made with a press.
- Casting: gold becomes liquid at 1,000 °C and above. For pieces of a certain size, it is melted in the furnace; for smaller pieces (25 or 50 grams), it is done manually, with a blowtorch.
- Solidification: when it is very liquid, the gold is poured into a mould to form the ingot. A blowtorch is used to cool it progressively so that it hardens.
- Cleaning: once solidified, the gold is immersed in a nitric acid solution to clean it.
- Quality control and weight verification: the gold is re-weighed to ensure that nothing has been lost. In any case, the pieces are usually weighed slightly heavier to compensate for any possible loss.
- Marking: once everything has been checked for correctness, the bar is marked with the serial number and is ready for delivery to the customer.
Preciosos 11Onze gold guarantees the highest purity (999.99 out of 1,000), is purchased at the best price thanks to collective orders and helps the community to protect their savings from inflation.
If you want to discover the best option to protect your savings, enter Preciosos 11Onze. We will help you buy at the best price the safe-haven asset par excellence: physical gold.
