New Bizum Restrictions Begin Today With These Limitations

News

ABC Staff

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16 June 2021

New Bizum Restrictions Begin Today With These Limitations . It seems that lately, on the 15th of each month, important changes arrive to the apps we use the most. If in May WhatsApp was the application that filled pages in the press due to its new conditions of use , today it is the turn of another of the most used in our country: Bizum.

Paypal, Twyp, Bizum, WhatsApp or Verse allow you to pay without the need for cash.

Complete guide to using Bizum: how to settle accounts between friends?
The instant account-to-account payment service via mobile gave the news at the end of April that, as of June 15, it would limit some of its uses, specifically the number of bizums that a user can receive per month .

As confirmed by the company itself to 20BITS , from today the number of monthly payments by Bizum that you can receive is reduced to 60, compared to the 150 that were allowed until now , that is, the change reduces the figure to less than half.

The measure affects only payments between people – individuals, not companies – and the company, which by 2021 has set the goal of reaching 20 million users and having 18,000 online businesses that accept Bizum, does not believe it will have a direct impact on those who use the service.

Why does Bizum reduce the number of payments we can receive per month to 60?
When we asked Fernando Rodríguez, Bizum’s Business Development Director, the reason for this change explained to us that one of the main reasons why this decision has been made is the lack of use : “After more than four years of service, we adjust the operation to the reality of the most common use among bizumers, of which only 0.07% receive more than 60 bizums per month ”, he stated.

Bizum recipients receive an average of 4.3 trades per month
Not only is it that very few exceed the new limit imposed, it is also that most do not even reach a tenth of it: the recipients of bizums receive an average of 4.3 operations per month , “very far of the limit of the 60 that we have fixed ”, emphasized Rodríguez.

Bizum reduces the payments you can receive from 150 to 60 per month. They ensure that only 0.07% of their users perform more than 60 and for safety.

Which banks have Bizum and does it have commissions? How are transactions justified?
Thus, the change that becomes effective today has the purpose of “continuing to adjust the use of the service to the reality of the users, always aiming to guarantee security”, pointed out the Director of Business Development at Bizum. We are talking about a service offered by financial institutions through banking apps and, therefore, ” security is one of the fundamental attributes on which it relies “.

But what does the company intend to fight against? “By reducing the limit of operations received, it is more difficult to use Bizum to receive funds improperly,” stated Rodríguez. This could be a fancy way of saying that with these new conditions you want to deal with payments in the black .

It is important to note that this measure affects only the reception of operations, that is, any user can continue to send as many bizums as they want per month . The rest of the conditions also remain as before: the amount allowed for each operation is between 0.5 euros and 1,000 euros, you cannot receive more than 2,000 euros per day and, at most, 30 recipients can be included in each Shipping.

However, entities can add extra limits, so if in doubt you should check with your bank.

Bizum
All the answers about Bizum: how does it work? How long does it take for the money to arrive? Who can use it?
Currently, more than twenty banking entities include this option among their services and it has almost tripled its users in just two years, going from 6 million in 2019 to 15 million in the last balance in 2021.

The secret is its simplicity, since it is a very easy to use and very comfortable service. You only need your phone number and that your bank offers the service , which in Spain is the most likely.

Competition Initiates A File To Santander And Caixabank For ICO Lines

News

ABC Staff

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16 June 2021

0

Competition Initiates A File To Santander And Caixabank For ICO Lines

Competition initiates a file to Santander, Sabadell and CaixaBank for the ICO lines. Investigate the requirement to contract other products to obtain the credits.

The National Markets and Competition Commission ( CNMC ) has initiated a disciplinary proceedings against Sabadell , Santander and CaixaBank (including Bankia) for possible restrictive practices in the sale of ICO guarantee lines promoted by the Government for aid to SMEs and the self-employed.

Specifically, the CNMC indicates that it is investigating the link to different products that these banks would have required as a condition for clients to be able to access said financing. It also analyzes the use of credits as a mechanism to restructure existing financial debts.

Both practices were prohibited by the regulation set by the Government and, in the first weeks, it generated some controversy , since SMEs and the self-employed denounced the requirement by some entities to hire insurance or other products to get loans, which counts with a state guarantee of up to 80%.

The behaviors analyzed originate from certain information that the CNMC received through a mailbox set up for this purpose . The Commission activated this channel during the state of alarm last year for companies and citizens to inform the institution of possible anti-competitive practices that were taking place in relation to aid against Covid.

After the analysis carried out, the CNMC considers that the actions of the investigated banks would deviate from the good faith required in their relationships with customers . Consequently, their practices could have altered the economic behavior of consumers who came to these entities to subscribe for ICO credits. According to the CNMC, it could represent a distortion of free competition and would have affected the public interest.

From now on, a maximum period of 18 months is opened for the investigation of the file and for its resolution, without the initiation of this file prejudging the final result of the investigation.

6 Things You Must Buy if You’re an Outdoor Person

Travel

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

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6 Things You Must Buy if You’re an Outdoor Person

Being an outdoor person has lots of benefits. Outdoor activities promote better physical and emotional health. If you indulge in outdoor activities frequently, I’m sure you can relate to it.

In this article today, we’re going to talk about outdoor essentials that you need to have if you like outdoor activities. Yes, the things mentioned below can significantly improve your outdoor experiences.

Alright. Let’s not waste any more time and check out the details:

A Waterproof Tent

Camping is one of my favorite outdoor activities. It provides you with amazing opportunities to explore the hidden parts of the world. It also teaches you a lot about wildlife, which is great information.

If you like camping as well, one thing you need to have is a waterproof tent. The weather in the countryside remains unpredictable, especially if it’s a coastal area. You never know when it rains, so it’s always safe to be prepared for it beforehand.

Waterproof camping tents are readily available these days in all supermarkets. They come in different sizes and colors, so you can choose one as per your likings.

A Ruger Handgun

If you’re an outdoor person, there’s no way you haven’t tried hunting or don’t plan to try it out. Hunting is indeed one incredible outdoor activity. It’s practiced all over the world by various aristocrats, sovereigns, and world leaders.

Speaking of hunting, having a handgun is essential. One of the best handguns you can buy is the Ruger handgun. It’s amazing in quality and comes with an adorable price tag. In case you’re concerned about the accuracy, there’s a solution for that as well.

To maintain good accuracy, you can buy a rifle scope separately. 10/22 scope for Ruger is an excellent choice. It’s budget-friendly; hence, it won’t mess up your budget.

A BBQ Grill

It goes without saying that food is one of the great pleasures of life. Having fun on an empty stomach is pretty hard whether you’re camping, hunting, or simply sitting with family or friends somewhere outdoors.

For this, you must invest in a barbecue grill. You can then host an outdoor barbecue dinner for your family and friends. It will provide you with the best opportunities to bond with your loved ones. Oh, and you guys can enjoy some delicious food together.

Here’s everything you’ll need: a portable barbecue grill and a few ingredients like vegetables, meat, sauces, and more. Don’t forget to decorate the seating area and music is another thing you must not miss. You know, ambiance matters!

Sleeping Bags

Outdoor activities like hunting, camping, or stargazing will require you to spend a night out. How can you even think about sleeping in the open air without sleeping bags? Of course, you cannot carry mattresses everywhere, so a sleeping bag is what you need.

Whether you’re out there with your friends or family, each one of you must carry a separate sleeping bag. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to wake up in the morning with lots of bug bites and an aching body, or do you?

Adding to it, you must ensure that the sleeping bags are comfortable. Purchase one that’s made using breathable material like cotton or yarn or else it will suffocate you and ruin your resting time.

A Camcorder

Outdoor activities such as camping, road trips, and stargazing are all about making memories. Thus, a camcorder or a video camera is crucial to have. You must capture all your adventurous moments in life so that you can relive them once in a while or whenever you feel low.

Well, that’s something I do. I always capture different moments wherever I go. It has become a train of happy memories now. Whenever I need a fresh perspective on life or some motivation to continue with the daily routine, I go through all such pictures and videos.

It does not just make me happy but it also reminds me that there’s more to life than work stress and house chores. It also motivates me to work hard, like they say work hard, party harder.

Water-Resistant Apparels

Many people, especially women, disapprove of the idea of going outdoors because of the fear of their designer clothes getting spoiled. Well, it’s fair, especially when you have spent a fortune on clothes, shoes, and bags.

If you happen to be an outdoor person, you need to buy separate clothes for all your adventures. I’d suggest you go for water-resistant clothes and shoes. As I mentioned earlier, the weather in the woods or the countryside is unpredictable; therefore, it’s wise to be prepared for the worst.

Waterproof outfits and shoes are commonly available these days. To be on the safer side, you should go for camouflage outfits. They can be used for your hunting trips as well, so they surely serve a dual purpose.

Other than the things mentioned above, there are several miscellaneous items that you need to have. A flashlight, a headlamp, a first aid box, a travel grooming kit, and a portable battery charger are a few examples. Such things can significantly contribute to your comfort, wherever you plan to go.

The Final Word…

Winding it up, I want you to know that outdoor activities are not only meant for adrenaline junkies, they’re great for everyone. Things as little as an outdoor brunch can leave a positive impact on your physical and mental wellbeing.

If you’re still confused about it, go camping for a night and you’ll know what you’re missing out on. Rest assured, the things mentioned above will make your outdoor experiences significantly better. I wish you all the best. Have a wonderful day, my friends!

4 Best Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

0

4 Best Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings

Virtual shareholder meetings were one of the biggest trends during the coronavirus pandemic, but anecdotal evidence shows they could be here to stay.

According to Gartner, a global research and advisory firm, the world’s top leaders are rethinking how their employees work after reopening from the pandemic. Nearly half of these professionals (47%) said they’ll allow their employees to work from home permanently.

This poll reflects the growing corporate vacancy rates in North America. More offices are sitting empty than ever before, as Moody’s Analytics reports a record-breaking 19.4% vacancy rate across the board.

Large and small organizations are shuttering to save on overheads as their workforce works remotely, and they’re quickly adopting architecture that allows them to provide their services digitally.

Distance from the corporate workspace will continue your need for virtual meetings. But now a year into the trend, attendees expect a smoother, engaging experience.

To make sure you exceed these expectations, keep scrolling. Here are four best practices for shareholder meetings favored by investor relation professionals.

1. Share Clear Instructions

Stakeholders don’t want to wade through clunky, jargon-riddled communications before they arrive at your meeting. This dense language overly complicates your message and can leave your investors confused about how they can participate.

A major role of investor relations is learning how to optimize your investor relations strategy in a transparent, easy-to-understand way. You can do this by using plain English when sharing any proxy disclosures or instructions about submitting questions.

2. Run Through Rehearsals

Just like in-person events, any delays on your end during a virtual meeting will reflect poorly on your brand. To prevent these disruptions, make sure you provide adequate training for your team and give them time to familiarize themselves with your chosen platform.

If you’re working with an investor relations professional, this is the perfect opportunity to ask for their insight on any IR tools and services you’re using during the meeting.

4. Have IT Support On-Hand

Technical difficulties aren’t always your fault. Investors could face glitches and other problems on their own. However, you’ll want to provide adequate support for any attendees struggling to sign on or participate. You can streamline their experience by providing early access to your platform, so they’re comfortable navigating it on the big day.

You may also consider providing a live operator on the day of the meeting in case your attendees run into problems they can’t solve independently. This is a huge boon to any attendee who isn’t particularly tech-savvy.

5. Streamline Participation

A successful virtual event makes it easy for attendees to engage with your speakers and content. Before you go live, make sure your meeting platform streamlines any voting or Q&A portion of your live event.

You’ll want to make sure these actions are accessible and intuitive for most attendees, so keep things simple. Rather than have them open a new window or tab to participate, make these functions available on the main screen.

Simplicity is at the heart of most of these best practices. Do whatever it takes to streamline the experience for you, your team, and your shareholders.

Bottom Line

By all indications, virtual meetings won’t disappear once the economy fully reopens. If you’ve integrated them into your normal operations, follow these best practices from here on in. They’ll help you deliver the best virtual experience for your shareholders — pandemic or not.

How Bitcoin works? Is it a Balloon?

Investment

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

0

Bitcoin is a digital asset that operates on software and has a set of principles and protocols. Bitcoin is the most successful attempt at creating virtual currency through cryptography, a science used in making or breaking codes. After its success, it inspired the formation of Alternative cryptocurrencies known as Altcoins.

The Blockchain

Bitcoin was formulated by a person or group of persons called Satoshi Nakamoto, and its protocol is run on a blockchain. Bitcoin is run on a chain of database blocks arranged chronologically. A user’s gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and political standings do not matter when trading in cryptocurrency.

After satoshi formulated a bitcoin blockchain, the developers’ work was done: due to its decentralized nature, the users get about building their wealth, and every transaction is made public.

1. Post-trust

Bitcoin has no physical location, so users cannot protect it by installing physical security measures. Criminals can steal crypto wealth through hacking block platforms. Double spending is another security risk associated with crypto coins due to technological tampering.

Developers and miners can contain these occurrences, trust is required, and this was achieved by a public display that allows all the users to keep an eye on everyone else’s coins in the market. The first step in how bitcoin works are creating trust between the developers and the users and later on amongst users as a community.

2. The Mining Process

Mining is the process that maintains this trustless ledger. Miners are bitcoin users who trade crypto amongst each other as they keep those records public. Mining has been designed to be difficult and time-consuming; this was to curb fraudsters and protect the validity of the bitcoins and earn them a respectable place in the market. Mining with an accompaniment of proof of work has legitimized the bitcoin trade.

3. Halving

Miners are rewarded with bitcoin after verifying blocks of transactions. The blocks are split into halves for every 210,000 blocks mined, and this is referred to as halving. Developers will add more bitcoin to the system after all the coins have been mined, and this is estimated to be around 2140.

4. Hashes

This involves miners’ worldwide receiving transactional data, and they have to run it through cryptographic algorithms to generate a hash. The hash technology allows the bitcoin platform to check on the validity of a block in real-time. The hash blocks are added to the existing strings of blocks that allow real-time confirmation of transactions. Since this process is not as complex as mining, bad actors can still swamp the network with wrong information. That is why bitcoin operates on a proof of work basis.

Blocks mined are put up on the network to be confirmed, and this takes some time. Blocks are not hashed in their entirety; instead, they are broken up into efficient structures.

5. Confirmation Time

To confirm any block, it depends on the type of traffic the network is currently experiencing. The bitcoin protocol required longer or shorter strings of zeroes to hit a new block every 10 minutes. At the beginning of 2008, the difficulty was at 1, and by October 2019, it was 6.379 trillion, which means it is becoming harder to mine bitcoin.

6. Difficulty

Mining is an intense activity that is time-consuming and uses up loads of electricity, and it is highly competitive. At the early stages, miners increased their chances by combining mining pools, sharing computing power, and dividing the rewards amongst themselves. Currently, coins are halved into three hence making it more difficult to mine bitcoin.

7. Bitcoin transactions

Outside of the mining process, bitcoin miners then purchase their cryptocurrency through Bitcoin exchange, an online platform that facilitates transactions of Altcoins and bitcoins. Bitcoin platforms such as the Bitcoin Compass website then bring together traders from all parts of the world to trade, buy and sell their cryptocurrency. This market is, however, very volatile, and the prices keep fluctuating.

8. Keys and Wallets

To protect all investments made, bitcoin users move to store their goods in digital wallets with private keys that are used to access them. It comes down to a public key and a private key. The public key is the address displayed on the blockchain because a sender needs to know where to send the traded coins. For a user to send money, the system requires verification, and that’s where the private keys come at.

To access your bitcoin, you use your wallet, which is a set of keys. The wallets can take different forms like hot wallets- those directly pegged to online services and are vulnerable to hacks; cold wallets are not connected to the internet.

Is bitcoin a balloon? NO. Balloons in finance are lump-sum amounts of money paid at the end of a trading term, especially loans, and they are at least twice as large as the regularly scheduled payments. Bitcoin is not a ballooned currency as the interest rates on borrowed crypto are low, and the loans are paid back just once after a trade. The mining process is profitable and brings high returns.

Trump Spent USD 28 Million For Every Kilometer Of Wall With Mexico

News

ABC Staff

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15 June 2021

0

Trump Spent USD 28 Million For Every Kilometer Of Wall With Mexico

The White House announced on Friday that the Pentagon recovered about $ 2.2 billion that former US President Donald Trump diverted to build the wall on the border with Mexico, and asked Congress not to force him to spend 1.4 billion more on the border barrier.

The former president managed to build 52 miles of wall, at an average cost of 46 million dollars per mile . Or what is the same, 25.8 million for each of the 83 kilometers that he managed to build.

In a statement, the White House explained that the Pentagon will dedicate the 2,200 million that the Trump administration diverted to the items to which those funds were originally intended : a total of 66 projects in 11 US states, three territories. and 16 countries.

Of that amount, almost 1,300 million will be dedicated to projects abroad, including some 90 million dollars in facilities of the US Navy in Spain, where the United States has a naval base in Rota (Cádiz) , and more than 33 million in the Guantanamo naval base (Cuba), according to the Pentagon.

Although the administration of President Joe Biden may recover some of the funds diverted by Trump, there are another $ 1.4 billion that the US Congress approved specifically for the border wall for this fiscal year.

The Department of Homeland Security is required by law to use these funds for the purpose designated by Congress, so the White House asked the legislature to “cancel” that item , in order to spend that money on other types of border security measures. , more “modern and efficient” than the wall.

Biden takes the US back to the Paris Agreement and stops the construction of the wall with Mexico
Biden takes the US back to the Paris Agreement and stops the construction of the wall with Mexico

During his four years in power, Trump raised $ 15 billion to replace the border fence and erect new stretches of wall along 727 kilometers (452 miles) of the border, covering more than a quarter of the border. the 3,145 kilometers (1,954 miles) that separate the country from Mexico.

Of those $ 15 billion, about $ 5 billion were approved by Congress specifically for Trump’s flagship project, and another $ 10 billion was diverted from anti-drug and other projects.

Upon leaving power, he had about $ 3.6 billion to spend on the wall, which includes the 2,200 recovered this Friday and the 1,400 tied by Congress to the border project .

On his first day in power, on January 20, Biden signed a decree that ordered an end to the national emergency decreed by Trump to divert funds towards the construction of the wall, and stop works on it.

The Department of Homeland Security announced this Friday, in addition, that after reviewing what to do with a grant that Congress had granted to build the wall, it decided to use those funds to “address urgent environmental and security issues” that resulted from the construction of the barrier in California and the Rio Grande Valley (Texas).

“This is a victory for border communities, for immigrant communities and for our environment. Once again, they will be able to prosper without the threat of a border wall ,” the director of legislation and community policy of the organization Earthjustice, Raúl García.

5 steps for agile transformation in financial companies

Business

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

0

5 steps for agile transformation in financial companies

Everyone at least once heard about Agile. You may not know all the details, but we can say for sure that this framework and its practices are practically everywhere. Or not? What about your company? As the annual VersioneOne poll says, 75% of world companies using Agile are not from the IT-sphere.

Finance companies always chase trends, keep an eye on innovations, and apply them on time. We can say from our practice that banks, insurance and other financial companies are the first to implement new things.

What challenges do they face?

They all manage huge amounts of data – starting from personal data and ending billion transactions. Shit happens when no knowledge management system occurs. This leads to service problems while working online, or by phone, or using an ATM.

As one of the main Agile thesis states, being ready for changes is more important than doing everything according to plan.

And if you work in one constant rhythm for years and even decades, in which every team member works in only one sphere he knows backward and forward, and he is the only one who can arrange super important issues, and keeps the solutions locked behind seven seals, this will get you only so far.

And it turns out that all gained experience and knowledge are accessible to only a few.

A proper system of knowledge management will solve this problem. It collects all the company’s information and experience. Make knowledge the main asset of the company and accessible at the right place and at the right time.

This problem leads to another one: how to increase customer service level?

You can do this with Service Desk, which simplifies the work of IT and customer service teams, and this means your customers and you as a business owner can breathe again.

The main goal of a service desk is to become a Single Point of Contact between customers and service providers. You need it if:

The number of customer requests grows
There is no center to coordinate the work of many departments, as well as
There is no statistics or reports of all requests, work log and solution quality

The Service Desk service forms the dream team in which everyone knows not only all the answers but can also react to the incidents on time.

As a result, the quality of customer service grows, especially if the company has several offices in different regions. IT infrastructure security also rises, and expenses decrease, and it’s possible to forecast them.

How can we help fintech companies with Atlassian tools and ITSM and Agile practices?

To stand still on the market, fintech companies chase the one goal: be more open, transparent, robust, and hardly integrated into customers’ lives.

According to our experience, we know that the work of every team in a fintech company can be optimized with the help of specialized software and basic Agile and ITSM Processes Integration.

1. Integrate knowledge management system

Fintech companies need it first for the IT department to keep their knowledge, share it in the department, and collaborate on the technical documentation and information security. For better knowledge management we provide Confluence Knowledge base integration as one of ITSM ITIL practices.

Though it isn’t enough just to install Confluence, it’s also essential to teach people how to use it. We provide training sessions for users and admins, in which we teach them how to:

Navigate in Confluence hierarchy
Manage tasks in Confluence, create and edit documents
Organize all information and knowledge into effective structures
Improve level of productivity and increase Confluence reliability

As a result, all teams and departments in the company keep all the gained knowledge and use it. Effective Knowledge Base lets the organization resolve a growing number of incidents faster, which is important for the fintech company of this level.

2. Customize Confluence

As a separate tool, Confluence is good on its own, but it isn’t a universal solution for every business. In this case, we do Confluence customization so that it can fit to the client’s needs.

Atlassian based apps & add-on custom development on Java and JS solves the problem of showing the data about organizational structure and charts online.

How does it work?

Addon is integrated within Active Directory of the company to receive all data from it. Active Directory is a server which collects all information about staff, their positions, their organizational structure, emails, phone numbers, etc. In such way the company got:

All data monitoring via charts in Confluence
Possibility to check all organizational information online and in one place.
Information filtration. We added filters that allow checking data of a certain department.

As a result, the functionality of addon allows the company to get all necessary information online from corporate ldap-server, visualize corporate organizational structures – organizational charts, and use them on Confluence pages. In two words, now the company has all needed data on hand.

3. Implement Service Desk

Fintech companies often face the problem of how to maintain a high level of support services in every area and cope with fast growth of customer requests.

We provide Jira Service Desk integration service in the way that the company can maintain faster customer requests service, and of high quality:

Create and adjust Service Desk portal with user friendly forms of requests
Set up incidents escalation to make it possible to solve requests in time by increasing the staff capabilities, level of effort and priority meant to solve them.
Add SLA (Service Level Agreement) and reports.

This functionality lets the customers and manager officers see the whole picture: they can control requests and see the steps of processing the requests, monitoring how SLAs are carried out. Using basic ITIL practices of incident management and Agile, we helped the company to increase the transparency of work, and therefore the level of customer satisfaction.

Building Agile Teams and encouraging them to use Agile frameworks is really important for fintech companies. It brings the company strict structure of work, divides big projects into small pieces of work and visualizes the workflow, involving people from different teams and increasing quality and general transparency of work, and allowing regular product releases.

4. Collecting all instances into single goer

If the company already uses some of Atlassian products like Jira, Confluence, or Bitbucket on server, we provide:

Merge of all Jira instances into one Jira Server;
Server or Cloud Migration of all projects and users, workflows and tickets.

As a result, the company gets one single working Jira instance which unites the work of all departments, so that all working processes are synchronized, allowing staff to react to incidents faster and raise the customer satisfaction level.

5. Implement the change control system

The next step is to create a whole change control system. Changing control management is a formal process which guarantees that all product or system changes are under control and coordinated.

Difficult working processes in organizations are always changing. That’s why it’s important for every company to control these changes, meaning documents.

Using Jira Service Desk for change control management you can create change requests.

Let’s say that a user from the IT department of your company wants to update a program up to the latest version. He opens Jira, fills in the request form, stating all needed information (what the problem is, deadline for completion, potential risks, urgency of request and what impact will be), and sends it.

The request is being served, and all details are documented.

To maintain the right change control process, we:

Install Jira and develop a plugin for it, to implement an already-present document for change control management into Jira Service Desk. By this the company don’t change all working processes for the new tool.
Maintain tech support for the teams of project management and change control, and other teams that use Jira for general organizational projects.
Do the optimization of reporting system to capitalize on the needs of the user
Create documentation and user guides
Provide Jira Service Desk training

As a result, the company can have the complete system that controls the life cycle of all changes and helps to сarry them out much faster, and breaks the process of service delivery only in case of emergency.

The $1.6 Trillion Student Loan Crisis of USA and What You As a Student Can Do About It

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

0

The $1.6 Trillion Student Loan Crisis of USA and What You As a Student Can Do About It

The student loan crisis is rooted in unprecedented social and economic complexities. Instead of accepting to pay a long-term price just to obtain a degree, students should seek a different approach to fund their education.

Student Loans: An Unbeatable Crisis (?)

As of December 31, 2020, the average student loan debt was $37,500, as more than half of American students started college with debt on their shoulders. But what makes student loan a crisis, other than the staggering amount? On the one hand, knowing that most repayments will span over decades. On the other, required monthly installments chase you at any point in your career, whether you have a lucrative job or just an hourly side gig.

At present, student debt has reached a nationwide $1.6 trillion, and it is projected to grow by 7% each year, reaching $2 trillion by the end of 2021. One of the worst effects of this debt is that it reduces people’s purchasing power, particularly when it comes to cars, houses, furniture, and even vacations. This is why many economists go even beyond, stating that student loans are not just a college graduate problem, but an issue for the entire nation’s economy.

Although defying the student loan crisis is not a one-person task, each student should adopt a more reflective approach towards their future:

Understand The Loan

Understanding how student loans work is crucial to avoid any future overpayments. For every loan you take, there are three main things to keep in mind: principal, interest rate, and repayment plan. Federal loans are based on a standard 10-year plan unless you have chosen otherwise. If you realize you cannot keep up with your repayment plan, you can change it based on your needs. Bear in mind that although extending your repayment will lower the monthly payments, your interest will increase. For this reason, some borrowers are presented with different loan options such as income-based repayment plans (IDR), which cap monthly payments based on a fixed percentage of income every year.

Study Your Repayment Options

When managing your student loan, keeping track of balance, lender requirements, and repayment status help you stay in control of your expenses and potential repayment options over the months and years. If you are unsure about your loan requirements, you can always ask the lender for more information. For instance, paying more than the required monthly amount will immediately lower the amount of interest over the life of the loan. Just inform the lender to remove the extra payment from the amount owed.

Adopt a Repayment Strategy

Certain college degrees require more money than others, with medical professionals taking on the highest debt. With doctors averaging around $200,000 in loans, many struggle to come up with a repayment strategy that best fits their income and financial needs. To cope with this burden, you may consider paying off high-interest loans first. For instance, private loans tend to have higher interest rates than federal ones, and their repayment options are not as flexible. Therefore, repaying private loans ahead of time can make your future federal payments much easier to handle.

Summing Up

The fallout from the student loan crisis goes far beyond the money repayments – it also depends on the behavior of the students and how they decide to cope with this heavy financial obligation. A great portion of this massive debt comes from students who have been counseled into borrowing large sums of money for their education without understanding its implications.Virtually, there is no “one size fits all” solution to student loans, as each individual’s situation is different, though equally complex. Whenever possible, prospective students should think carefully about whether or not borrowing money is worth their education.

Highly Profitable Bitcoin Mining is Now at Your Fingertips with Bitcoin Pro

Investment

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

0

Highly Profitable Bitcoin Mining is Now at Your Fingertips with Bitcoin Pro

The world is still reeling under the shadow of the global pandemic. Businesses and economies are still struggling to get back on their feet whereas the livelihood of people has kind of decimated.

Amid all this catastrophe, the crypto market withstood everything and has taken huge strides to become the future of trading. The crypto market is attracting news investors more than ever due to the high profit-making potential of the market.

The shutting down of businesses and job losses have forced many people to look for alternate income sources, and crypto trading turned out to be one of the options. The crypto market did not face the brunt of the pandemic like other regulated financial markets and has helped users make large amounts of profits despite the price swings.

Over the past couple of years, thousands of new investors have thronged the crypto market, who have no trading experience. Despite the high earning potential of the crypto market, it has elements of risks, and not ideal for new investors. However, with the help of automatic trading platforms like Bitcoin pro software, crypto trading has become much easier with minimum risk. Users can now make huge profits after getting trading signals from the app. This trading robot allows users to trade on Bitcoin even if they do not have any fundamental knowledge of trading.

More Insights into Bitcoin pro

Bitcoin pro is a leading and reliable trading platform that provides real-time accurate trading signals to users through its smart algorithm backed by artificial intelligence technology. The integration of advanced technology and excellent accuracy of the software have made it faster and more efficient than most other apps in the market. Bitcoin pro scans the crypto market and identifies possible price swings of Bitcoin and accurately (99.4 percent accurate) predicts the market outcome.

The intuitive feature of Bitcoin pro can analyse the volatile crypto market and detect even minor price swings. The software helps users to trade based on these trading signals and make maximum profits. Users, who turn on the automatic feature of the software, do not have to do anything, as the software will do the trading for them.

How Bitcoin Pro Works

Bitcoin pro has integrated the most advanced technology and works automatically to scan the market and find out the best trading scopes for users. This process is called “scalping.” With this particular feature, the software stays ahead of other competing apps by milliseconds, which is sufficient to gather market data and provide accurate trading signals.

The software can detect even the most moderate Bitcoin price swings and helps investors with that data so that they capitalise on those opportunities and make the most of them.

Crypto pro has both manual and automatic trading options for users. If you have experience in trading, you can opt for manual mode and use your knowledge and judgement to make profits by trading. However, if you are a beginner, it is ideal to choose the automatic mode to minimise your risk.

Benefits of Bitcoin pro

User-Friendly Interface

Bitcoin pro has a simple interface that makes it easy for users to navigate the platform with ease. Even if you are a beginner, you will feel comfortable using this software, as every section is prominent and there is no complexity. To access the features of this software, you only need a few taps.

Great Accuracy

The predictions of Bitcoin pro are 99.4 percent accurate. It means the software can detect price swings of Bitcoin with more than 99 percent times. That is highly impressive considering the market fluctuations. The software is 0.01 seconds faster than most trading apps and provides traders an early advantage of trading ahead of others.

Market Analysis

The Bitcoin pro is based around futuristic AI technology, which gathers large volumes of market data and analyses it to spot the best possible trading scopes. Also, there are several top brokers aligned with this platform, who share their market knowledge and insights to help users generating maximum income.

Secure Platform

Bitcoin pro provides encrypted security to protect user data and funds from external threats. All confidential user data and their earnings remain completely secure in this platform.

Earning Potential by Using Bitcoin Pro

Undoubtedly, you can generate significant and consistent income using the Bitcoin pro software. Typically, traders make between $500 and $1500 from this platform on average every day. The scope of making large amounts of profits using this app is unlimited, as many existing users have already turned heads by earning incredible amounts of profits within a few months of trading.

4 Expenses Every New Property Investor Should Budget For

Sam Allcock

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15 June 2021

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4 Expenses Every New Property Investor Should Budget For

Once you figure out a budget for your new property, it might all seem smooth sailing at first glance.

But getting to that figure is a toiling act. Not all folks have the same figure they can easily copy off of online since it’s highly specific to your location and needs.

And once you get into shelling out expenses, there’s a high likelihood for even more expenditures to slip through the cracks of your budget.

Let’s take a look at these 4 expenses that every new property investment should watch out for, lest they have a headache once it arrives.

Property Insurance

Have you ever considered insuring your home right before moving in?

It’s always a smart idea to have coverage for your home in case things take a turn for the worse. There’s always the looming tendency for theft, vandalism, impact damage (from a car or tree), kitchen fire, burst pipes, and natural disasters to degrade the quality of your home.

Instead of constantly worrying over the possibility of these expenses, property insurance can give you both the assurance and the help you’ll need for your new property and its wellbeing.

There are three types of property insurance plans:

Building Insurance
Contents Insurance
Contents and Building Insurance

If the new property is fully under your ownership, you might like looking into the contents and building insurance to protect all facets of your new home.

Aside from those types of insurance above, the insurers may include benefits such as temporary accommodation (in case your home becomes unlivable) and legal liability cover (covers payment for when an injury takes place or someone’s property is damaged at your home).

If you’re searching for solid insurance coverage for your new property, learn more about types of property-related insurance here and get an online quote.

Loan Establishment Fee

While you may be familiar with the loan plan of your new property, some (not all) lenders charge this to property owners as a fee. The purpose of this fee is to account for the lender’s expenses for the documentation of the process of undergoing the loan.

These are the expenses that’s covered in the loan establishment fee:

Stamp Duty
Title Fees
Valuation Fees
Conveyancing Fees
Mortgage Insurance

This fee, also called an application fee, gets spent once you first put down your signature on the mortgage. It’s a one-time, upfront fee that goes for about $250 on average and reaches $800 to $1000 on the highest levels.

Ongoing Loan Fees

Aside from the upfront payment, there are also the annual and monthly charges of your loans to take into account. Lenders only charge one type or the other – so have that written down to understand the breakdown of your costs.

The purpose of ongoing loan fees is to pay the operational costs of maintaining the loan of your home. Additionally, it’s also chargeable as part of the mortgage’s package fee if it’s bundled as a set with other banking products.

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all properties have this fee; in fact, more homes on average aren’t annually charged for their loans.

So while the average cost of this loan across the market is $35, the highest that it can go for is as much as $400 per year — with monthly rates spent more than the market average! If you want to save on costs, direct your eyes instead on investors who don’t charge those fees.

Interests

The interest is not considered a fee per se, but don’t skimp on it. It’s the biggest expense you’ll dump on a home loan. If you have a low interest rate, you could be potentially saving thousands of dollars from the purchase of your property.

Typically owner-occupier loans are the low-cost option compared to investment home loans, so keep that in mind while making the purchasing decision for your property.

According to statistical studies, the average variable home rate for owner-occupiers is 3.29%. For a 2-year fixed home rate for owner-occupiers, the interest is considerably lower at 2.29%.

Due to the economic situation Australia and the rest of the world are currently facing, home loan interest rates are at historical lows. And with interest taking the bulk of recurring annual expenses — it might be tempting to consider keeping an eye on the current home-ownership situation of Australia.

Want to know more? Contact us for a free strategy session.

1. Share Clear Instructions

2. Run Through Rehearsals

4. Have IT Support On-Hand

5. Streamline Participation

Bottom Line

The Blockchain

1. Post-trust

2. The Mining Process

3. Halving

4. Hashes

5. Confirmation Time

6. Difficulty

7. Bitcoin transactions

8. Keys and Wallets

What challenges do they face?

How can we help fintech companies with Atlassian tools and ITSM and Agile practices?

1. Integrate knowledge management system

2. Customize Confluence

How does it work?

3. Implement Service Desk

4. Collecting all instances into single goer

5. Implement the change control system

Student Loans: An Unbeatable Crisis (?)

Understand The Loan

Study Your Repayment Options

Adopt a Repayment Strategy

Summing Up

Property Insurance

Loan Establishment Fee

Ongoing Loan Fees

Interests

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