Dominican Republic

there are more and more offers and the requirements They are also more flexible when a user formally enters the financial system.

Offers, discounts for purchases for consumption, affiliations to public or private services and even reimbursement of money is today a new banking model in the country thanks to the new products, the modernity of technological banking and the promotion of debit and credit card brands.

At least, it is what is observed in the country and that can be defined more than financial inclusion as the “democratization” of credit. And, this can only be done with a healthy system, with high liquidity and with the necessary financial regulations in banking that uses technology in its products (Fintech).

Recently banks have launched new products. In the case of the Popular Group, there is Qik, a fully digital business modelas well as the Banco de Reservas with the offer of credit cards to people with less income.

According to information from Grupo Popular, with Qik you can serve more people in a cost-efficient way. It is a completely different design from traditional banking, it can have access to more user information, which allows it to be evaluated and granted credit in a more inclusive and responsible way, by having a better understanding of the person’s profile and their ability to payment, according to your explanations.

“Qik’s value proposition is to give customers control over their financial life and that starts with the fact that the client controls his credit limit and adjusts it to what you need and can afford. For this reason, we not only offer products and services, but also financial education so that clients know how to manage themselves responsibly”, they told Listín Diario regarding the new digital bank.

Gabriel Pascual, executive director of Mastercard for the Latin American and Caribbean region, explained in this regard: There is more and more technology and knowledge for banks to serve small customers, which are many and volumes must be attended to make it a business, but the company he represents believes that leaving people out is a mistake and that is why they believe in banking, Pascual explained regarding the mass use of plastics for lower-income customers.

understand that the small customer must be helped and invited to participate in technology and enter formality, just as transparency is contributed.

In the case of Banco BHD, there are various offers for consumption, added to the availability of several debit and credit card products that can be ordered onlineincluding one for international use and payment of electricity.
state bank

The state-owned Banco de Reservas, in its approach to promoting bank access, has launched several financial services, among which the financial education program, Bancarizar es Patria and the recently launched VISA SER Banreservas credit card stand out.

Banreservas has the goal of including in the financial system one million Dominicans who are not linked to the financial system, which promotes Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Global Compactfavoring an inclusive financial culture, in support of the Dominican State to revitalize the economy, supporting the National Strategy for Economic and Financial Education (ENEEF) and the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (ENIF).

The Reserve Bank says that it impacts excluded groups: low-income people, with volatile and unpredictable income, in uncertain working conditions, with educational levels that do not exceed the average level, generally young people. elderly and women.

Benefits

With the Visa Ser Banreservas credit card, recently launched, the entity seeks to provide people with less income with a reliable financial instrument, at low interest rates (from 2.92% per month), benefits and facilities in businesses and services.

Consumption

The new BR card includes benefits for consumption focused on covering basic needs in supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, education, transportation, health and entertainment. In addition, it will allow purchases to be made locally, internationally and online with billing in pesos, according to explanations from the Banco de Reservas.

Billionaire Elon Musk has announced that his company Neuralink is seeking approval to soon test his brain implant in people.

In a graphic presentation broadcast live Wednesday night, Musk said his team is in the process of applying to US regulatory agencies to allow them to test the device. He added that he believes his company should be able to place the implant in a human brain as part of its clinical trials in about six months, although there is nothing certain about the dates.

Neuralink is one of several groups working on linking brains with computers, with the goal of helping treat brain disorders, recover from brain injury, and other applications.

The field of study dates back to the 1960s, said Rajesh Rao, co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington. “But it really took off in the 1990s. And more recently we’ve seen a lot of progress, particularly in the area of ​​brain-computer interface communication.”

Rao, who watched Musk’s presentation online, said he doesn’t think Neuralink is ahead of its competitors when it comes to advances in brain-computer interfaces. “But they are quite advanced in terms of the hardware in the devices,” he stated.

The Neuralink device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires connecting directly to the brain. Musk noted that the first two applications in humans would be to restore sight and help people with little or no ability to operate their muscles quickly use digital devices.

He said he also envisions that in cases of people with a broken neck, brain signals can be linked through Neuralink devices in the spinal cord.

“We are confident that there are no physical limitations to enable full-body functionality,” said Musk, who recently took ownership of Twitter and is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

In experiments by other teams, implanted sensors have allowed paralyzed people to use neural signals to operate computers and move robotic arms. In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2018, three participants with paralysis from the neck down affecting all their extremities used an experimental brain-computer interface from the BrainGate consortium. The interface records neural activity captured with a small sensor in the brain to be able to use emails and apps.

US automaker Tesla delivered its first electric truck, the Semi, built to tackle long journeys with the ride of a sports sedan, and with a view to revolutionizing the nascent market for battery-powered heavy-duty vehicles.

“It looks like it came from the future,” Tesla boss Elon Musk said Thursday as he handed over the keys to the Semi to PepsiCo executives at Tesla’s Nevada manufacturing plant.

With its sleek design, the Semi has been highly anticipated since Musk unveiled a prototype in 2017, but the full-scale production rollout was delayed well beyond the initial 2019 expectation.

“It’s crazy everything that has happened in five years (…) but here we are. It’s real,” Musk said.

Other automakers have already entered the electric truck market, from China’s traditional Daimler, Volvo and BYD to new companies such as Nikola of the United States.

These competing firms have already started making their deliveries and have many orders on hold.

However, the truck that “the market has been waiting for…is Tesla’s,” said Dave Mullaney, a transportation specialist at sustainability think tank RMI.

What traditional manufacturers mainly did was convert their trucks designed for diesel fuel into electric trucks.

Tesla’s Semi, by contrast, “was intended to be electric from the very first design,” Mullaney said. And if the vehicle lives up to expectations, “it will make a world of difference,” she added.

Musk insisted on Thursday that the loaded truck, with a total weight of almost 37 tons, can travel 805 kilometers without recharging its battery, while the current range of electric vehicles offers a range of 400 to 480 kilometers.

Tesla’s Semi has “all the power you need to get the job done,” Musk explained, assuring that the vehicle will be a “game changer” in the market.

– Environmentally conscious transport –

The use of light electric vehicles for short distances has been constantly growing, but new regulations are leading to accelerate the transition and develop long-distance transport capabilities.

The most populous US state, California (west), passed a law phasing out combustion engine trucks, since then emulated by other states. The European Union is also expected to discuss similar rules in the coming months.

And in the realm of public relations, companies are also facing pressure to take more environmentally conscious steps.

Firms that do not commit to a decarbonisation strategy, some because they say they are waiting for technologies to improve, “are being left behind,” said Marie Cheron of the Europe-based association Transport & Environment.

Although they make up a small portion of the vehicles on the road, diesel-powered semi-trucks account for about one-fifth of globally harmful emissions from motor vehicle traffic, according to Musk.

Mike Roeth, director of NACFE, an NGO that works to improve freight efficiency in North America, said another motivation for the transition is that drivers who tried it “were delighted with electric trucks.”

“They are quiet, there are no exhaust fumes, they are easier to drive,” he explained.

– The price, key factor –

For the adoption of electric trucks to accelerate, their range must live up to promises and their batteries should be reduced, several analysts told AFP.

The charging infrastructure must also allow charging several trucks simultaneously and have storage capacity in the event of power outages.

The most important factor, however, will be the price.

Tesla had indicated in 2017 that it would offer two versions of the Semi, one at $150,000 and the other at $180,000, but no price indication was given at Thursday’s event.

Mullaney noted that today it costs 70% more to buy an electric truck than to buy a diesel truck, but in terms of fuel and maintenance, it is cheaper.

After this first delivery, Tesla must now “show that it can produce on a large scale,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said on his side.

In late October, Musk said that Tesla is aiming to make 50,000 Semis by 2024.

But sadly, according to Ives, Musk is focused on his latest acquisition, Twitter, and “the circus show is overshadowing what should be a great moment in Tesla’s history.”