Fintech Talks: we explain cryptocurrencies to you

11Onze starts a series of talks at Monday, a pioneering network of coworking spaces in Spain. The Fintech Talks are a meeting point on financial innovation for all audiences and, especially, for entrepreneurs, startups and companies. The first talk is about cryptocurrencies, with the CTO of 11Onze, Raul Arribas. Do you want to attend the talk? Sign up.

Because it is in our DNA, because we want to empower people with financial knowledge and because we want to do it with rigour and excellence. The series of conferences on fintech, with experts from 11Onze, is one more way to connect with the community, to find out what is being cooked up and promoted in the country’s emerging companies. 11Onze’s interest in financial disclosure could not have found a more active space than the ecosystem offered by Monday.

11Onze kicks off its Fintech Talks, this new format of talks to stay up to date on the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the fintech world, with a conference by 11Onze’s CTO, Raul Arribas, who will offer an essential guide to understanding cryptocurrency. The talk will take place next Wednesday 19 January at 7pm at Monday Diagonal coworking, in English and with a very limited capacity. You can register here. 

Motivating the entrepreneurial spirit

Monday has been leading a transformation of workspaces for years, and offers the dozens of start-ups that it hosts dynamic offices, where debate is essential to promote new business projects. In this sense, they organise cycles of conferences such as the Fintech Talks, which enable them to forge links between clients and partners. Monday already has offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga, and is in contact with the world’s leading companies in the technology sector.

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.

Cryptocurrency and NFTs, the metaverse, artificial intelligence and quantum computing are the technologies that will mark 2022. And this will also be the year in which 11Onze will finish consolidating itself within the Catalan financial ecosystem. Jas Texidó, head of public and institutional relations at 11Onze, spoke about all this in a new episode of L’Estat de la Nació.

“11Onze is one of the most transcendental new projects for our nation,” Texidó said. In a context in which experts foresee a bankruptcy of traditional banking and an unprecedented economic crisis, 11Onze opens up new ways to build Catalonia’s financial sovereignty. To start the year, the fincom has closed a partnership agreement with Mastercard to continue its exponential growth.

There are two reasons that point to a recession that the fincom wants to weather by offering even more services in the community. “The first is that international stock market values are absurdly inflated. This means that everyone knows they will fall, but we don’t know when, and it will have a negative impact on banks’ assets. And the second, and of particular concern to the European Central Bank, is the huge dependence we have on fossil assets like coal and the huge amount of money we invest in energy companies that are destined to lose their value,” the head of institutional relations said.

This coincides with the closure of financial offices, which has led to a loss of credibility in traditional banking. In contrast, 11Onze is working to educate its customers and to weave links with its community. “To intensify the relationship between the bank and its customers and to alleviate the coldness of the terminals, we have created the 11Onze at Home service. You make an appointment and, by videoconference, an agent inform you directly”, Texidó explained. An intense 2022 is coming, and 11Onze is preparing, not only to face it, but also to show that it is time to act.

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.

El Canut, our super app, continues to grow and add functionalities that can sometimes raise questions among our customers. We spoke to Iu Alemany, back office manager at 11Onze, to clarify why there is a limit of 15,000 euros in 7 calendar days on deposits to 11Onze accounts.

“This doubt about the limitation on the amount that can be transferred is a great sign of the trust that our customers place in us,” says Iu Alemany. At 11Onze we want all financial services to be 100% secure. And that is precisely why, Alemany explains, our financial services provider needs to validate that all transactions exceeding 15,000 euros within 7 calendar days comply fully with the Law 10/2010.

Why is the amount that can be transferred limited? What exactly does Law 10/2010 foresee?

In fact, it is possible to transfer more than 15,000 euros in 7 calendar days, whether it is €15,001 or €25,000, the whole amount will be blocked, not just the figure above €15,000. This amount will be withheld, because our financial provider, due to the money laundering regulations, this Law 10/2010, needs to validate the origins of this money with a series of documents. Once the documents presented by the client are validated by our provider, the money is no longer withheld and is immediately available to the client.

In the event that a client needs to make transfers of large amounts to the 11Onze account, what are the procedures to be followed?

If a customer plans to deposit more than 15,000 euros in less than 7 calendar days, they can do two things. First, make a deposit of just under 15,000 euros, wait 7 calendar days, and then deposit the amount you want again, thus avoiding the procedures explained above and the temporary retention of the money. You can make as many deposits as you wish following these rules, up to a maximum account balance of €50,000. If a customer with a balance of €50,000 on the account makes a new deposit, which exceeds the balance, this deposit will be returned to the account of origin once the relevant validations have been carried out.

And the second one?

If you notify the 11Onze Back Office team of your wishes by sending an email to [email protected], we can move forward with the procedures for each specific case, and therefore speed up the waiting time for the unblocking of the balance that is withheld. Or, if we have the documentation ready before the transfer, we can even inform our supplier in advance and justify the transfer that is about to be made. In this way, we will certainly be able to avoid withholding part of the incoming payment.

Do you think this limitation will be removed in the near future?

These deposit limits of €15,000, and a maximum balance of €50,000, are under review, and when changes are made we will inform you promptly. For now, we are improving the process to make it as painless as possible for the customer, and faster approval by our provider.

Did you expect people to transfer so much money to their 11Onze accounts?

We didn’t expect the response we’ve had in the short time we’ve been operational. The fact that our customers have had this doubt is a great sign of the trust they place in us, and of the desire they have to be part of a new way of doing finance. It is a clear sign that most people are tired of traditional banking and want to be part of something different. We have no doubt that all this passion in the Catalan financial sector translates into doubts, such as this limitation of 15,000 euros. That is why we want to make the path as easy, agile, and transparent as possible for our customers.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

2021 was the year that saw the birth of 11Onze. 2022 will see the project grow, rolling out more and more products.

11Onze faces 2022 with the optimism of knowing that the growth of the Catalan fincom is inevitable. Having overcome the birth and consolidation hurdles typical of any start-up and those specific to a company that questions the status quo, it is now clear to everyone that 11Onze is here to stay.

At this point, in 2022 the company will begin to roll out products that will eventually make it an essential nation-building tool for the country. Step by step, so as not to fail those who have placed their trust in us. 11Onze ends the year with 11,000 people in La Plaça, which has become an active population with more inhabitants, for example, than Premià de Dalt. The future of 11Onze is built on this community.

We review some milestones achieved during 2021.

• El Circuit. In January, we carried out our original employee selection process.
• L’Academy. In March, we trained the selected agents.
• La Plaça. The day before St. George’s Day, we launched La Plaça explaining El Gran Secret dels Catalans.
• The Magazine. Since then, in the Magazine and with Podcasts, we haven’t stopped explaining the project.
• El Canut. On 1 October, we launched it and opened the first accounts.
• The payment cards. From that moment on you could order debut cards, virtual cards and also pay with your mobile phone. 

And in 2022, more to come. With you, we will be twice as strong.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Looking for a series to watch in one sitting? ‘L’Academy’ is a documentary series that explains the start-up of 11Onze. Experience the excitement and vertigo of setting up the world’s first community fintech with its employees.

From day one, 11Onze has explained itself to the world with transparency and showing that this company has come to do things differently. The essence of it all is captured in ‘L’Academy’, a documentary series of nine chapters of about 15 minutes, where the viewer can experience from the inside the training process of the first employees of 11Onze.

A team that spent three weeks in an intense training campus, where they learned everything they are now putting into practice. An adventure in times of pandemic meant an important organisational effort, and that allowed the employees to create bonds of affection that made them a very close-knit group.

All this formative and emotional evolution can be seen in ‘L’Academy’. The candidates entered without knowing what they would find, not knowing anything or anyone. And they left full of knowledge and surrounded by friends. In between, there were ups and downs. Tough moments, when the academic load and pressure seemed unbearable; and moments of joy and awareness of the challenge that lay ahead.

2021 was the year in which this ambitious project, 11Onze, was launched. ‘L’Academy’ is the professional and human journey of the team that set it in motion.

We live in complex times: customers need and deserve personal customer service, but the Omicron variant pushes us not to have social contacts. Is it possible to have quality and safe personal customer service? 11Onze’s answer is a resounding yes.

The dehumanisation of the banking system has recently led to many complaints from customers who cannot get personal service or who have to stand in long queues in the street. At the same time, the law to reform the financial system that the Spanish government is promoting wants to put all banking institutions where 11Onze already is: offering 24-hour customer service. By people, not robots. And, in the middle of these two variables comes a third one that complicates everything, the Omicron variant of Covid, which makes it advisable to interact with other people as little as possible.

So, what can we do? 11Onze’s proposal has always been to use technological tools, not to push people away, but to bring them closer. This firm commitment is already winning international recognition, but the most important thing is that it is useful for our community.

That is why we created the ’11Onze a Casa’ service, which allows you to arrange video calls with our agents, so that you can have a face-to-face conversation with a person, but with zero risk of contagion. A personal treatment, to accompany you when you download El Canut and open your universal account with 11Onze. It is an account where your money is 100% guaranteed and, from our super-app, you can add your other accounts and order your cards.

If you haven’t already done so, download El Canut. And if you need us, book an ’11Onze a Casa’!

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.

“Traditional banking has not been ethical”, Gemma Vallet said in the magazine L’Estat de la Nació. The marketing director of 11Onze has reviewed with Eduard Berraondo the pillars of 11Onze and how it can be a tool for the country. 

The marketing director said that “11Onze wants to bring the new economy to Catalonia” and that this undoubtedly involves a community banking tool. “People need the community and, after Covid, we need to strengthen our community, our closest environment,” Valle said. 

For this reason, the values of 11Onze, which put people at the centre, are gaining strength, in order to have a relationship with them based on ethics and commitment. In this sense, Vallet recalled that “traditional banking has not been ethical”, and has therefore failed in its main function. Banking has to protect savings and stimulate the economy through lending. Both are useful services for people, but it seems as if, in recent years, people have simply been banished from a banking gaze fixed on profit.

“We have engraved in our DNA both survival and innovation,” Vallet said about 11Onze, which has come to open up and lead the way by innovating in the world of finance. An innovative way of doing things that has already earned it international recognition, such as the Vega Digital award. In the Catalan fincom, she explained, two impulses coexist: a more activist one and a calmer one. In any case, 11Onze’s communication is frank, direct and transparent: “That’s how we are. And if you like it, fine, and if you don’t, that’s fine too,” the marketing director reiterated.

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.

You can now use your mobile as if it were your 11Onze card. Make secure, fast, and convenient payments at any shop with POS with contactless.

Now making a secure payment in a shop with your 11Onze card is as easy as taking out your mobile phone, unlocking the screen, and placing it over the reader, which will validate your digital card instantly and faster than any physical card with a chip. This method can also be used for online or app purchases without having to type in your card number for every purchase.

How do you do it?

If you have an Android phone, making your purchases with Google Pay is very simple. Just download the Google Pay app from the Play Store and add your 11Onze cards to the app, so you can manage your purchases from the app!

Adding cards to Google Pay is even more secure than physical cards, because the owner’s fingerprint is used to verify the transaction.

If you don’t have your 11Onze card yet, here’s how to order it. As soon as you have it, you can start using your mobile phone to make payments.

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.

One of our main functions is to provide our members with the tools they need to understand how the world of finance works. But the networks are buzzing with economic misinformation, so how do you know if a piece of information is reliable or not? We are launching 11Onze Check, a service designed to measure the percentage of bias in economic content.

Financial education and disclosure are a trend. More and more entities are committed to sharing knowledge, sharing information and helping citizens to educate themselves. This does not automatically mean that there is more transparency, it just means that there is more content on these topics. But is it reliable? This is where disinformation comes in.

What is disinformation?

It is false information or content created and disseminated with the intention of misleading and gaining political, economic, personal or some other kind of political, economic or personal gain. When people amplify this content without knowing that it is false, we are dealing with a phenomenon called misinformation. Misinformation is extremely common. Misinformation tends to omit key elements to understand what is happening, so although what is said cannot be said to be a lie, it does give a biased view of reality.

In this context of economic content boom we wanted to create 11Onze Check and we have designed the Bias Method.

The Bias Method

The 11Onze Check Bias Method aims to verify the percentage of misinformation, including bias and simplification, that may exist in economic communication or financial education content.

Therefore, it takes into account values widely shared by renowned educational platforms against misinformation such as First Draft, Learn to Check, Full Fact or verifiers included in the International Fact-checking Network of the Poynter Institute.

In this way, we aim to empower citizens to use these tools to verify and evaluate on their own any financial information that falls into their hands, whether it comes from 11Onze or any other entity.

We have established 10 points to check. The higher the percentage, the more biased we can consider this content.

1. SOURCES. Does not cite sources or does not use more than one source.
2. ENDOGAMY. There is no external evidence. The references are studies or data from the same or related groups.
3. INTENTION. Why are they explaining this now? What is their intention? Is there any connection with current events?
4. ERRORS. Are there any errors or manipulations in the collection, interpretation, visualization or explanation of the data.
5. COMMERCIAL MOTIVES. It creates a need that is satisfied by purchasing a product offered by the senders of the message or their advertisers.
6. METHODOLOGY. The sample or methodology of the study is not explained or is not correct.
7. CONTEXT. The information is not contextualized, simplified or key elements are missing.
8. EMOTIONS. The text appeals to emotions (fear, euphoria, anger…) to manipulate them.
9. VAGUENESS. uses imprecise, incomprehensible or incorrect language. The information is not supported by any evidence.
10. VOCATION OF SERVICE. No public interest is detected. The content could serve other interests.

If you have located a suspicious economic content and want us to verify it, you can send it to [email protected].

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.

Banks will have to provide personalised 24-hour customer service. This is stated in the draft of a new law, on which the Ministries of Consumer Affairs and Economic Affairs are working. At 11Onze we have been pioneers and have been offering this service from day one.

A fincom for people, made by people. This is one of the pillars of 11Onze and the raison d’être of our community. A vision that stems from the palpable need for customers to be attended to in a personalised way, to be listened to and advised in an ethical manner, and to look after their interests 24/7.

The draft of the new 24-hour customer service law will force banks to do what we already do. Leading companies often push for improvements before legislation does. Right now at 11Onze we are one of the few entities adapted to the law being prepared by the Spanish government and the first to offer a personal video-call service, ’11Onze a Casa’ (11Onze at Home).

The proposed regulation also includes requirements regarding the quality of service and urges financial entities to ensure that staff in customer service departments have specialised skills and training. Once again, we at 11Onze have gone beyond regulation with the CISI certificates.

The global financial crisis of 2008 and the banking corruption scandals made it imperative to reinforce the degree of protection for users of investment products and services, increasing the levels of transparency towards clients, and establishing greater control over businesses that provide these investment services.

It is in this context that some financial institutions, such as 11Onze, are not satisfied just to comply with the MIFID II regulations imposed by the European Union, but go further in training their employees, to guarantee the integrity, ethics, and quality of the services provided, and thus gain the trust of their customers, without waiting for a new regulation to force them to do so.

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.