The banking organisations have reached an agreement with the Spanish government to combat the financial exclusion that leaves thousands of vulnerable people in the lurch. But the solutions they have proposed do not seem to be the best. Lara de Castro, head of 11Onze agents, discusses it in a new episode of L’Estat de la Nació.

“Traditional banks have made a proposal on how they intend to approach and take a step towards reducing financial exclusion, especially for the elderly. But, basically, what they have agreed is that they will offer minimum services,” De Castro warns. As part of the agreement, it has been agreed to open offices from 9 am to 2 pm with a cash service and telephone service. In other words, if there is an elderly person who comes to the office in that time slot, they will have to be assisted by at least one office worker.

“These measures are nothing more than common sense,” the head of agents denounces. “If you have customers, you have to serve them, and you have to do it well. To me, all these measures make me think that the traditional banks are managing in such a way that we will still have to thank them for offering almost minimum services,” she adds.

To avoid making the same mistakes as traditional banks and to offer a powerful alternative for the future, 11Onze was born as a totally digital fintech, but it has “never forgotten that most vulnerable part of society.” Lara de Castro recalls that, in order to meet this founding objective, 11Onze has a team of agents who provide 24/7 service, and has also launched services such as 11Onze at Home.

The effort to train

Within the package of measures against exclusion, financial training has also been included. “Now traditional banks have realised that we need to train people financially, but we have to take it with caution, because they have been deceiving us for many years, and now they will be the ones to explain everything well,” De Castro warns. 

The head of agents recalls that, from day one, 11Onze has organised itself around La Plaça, to collectively train its community. “It’s an effort that we have to make autonomously, but they have to guide you well. Everything is changing so fast that anyone who is not financially educated will not understand anything of what is to come,” Lara de Castro explains. How can we demand more confidence from our financial institution? Watch the whole section in the video below.

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