Keeping an eye on your finances during Christmas, a season of increased spending, is increasingly important. Buying gifts, clothing, or traditional holiday foods requires taking the time to calculate costs, compare prices, and establish payment methods.

Sharing a Christmas meal with family and friends doesn’t have to drain your income. Making a list of necessary items to start comparing prices allows you to choose fresh products and avoid blowing your budget.

Regarding gifts, the key is to choose something truly nice and useful. In this case, it’s helpful to inquire about tastes and preferences to narrow down your search in stores. Currently, people prefer technology; that is, cell phones, televisions, wireless headphones, and game consoles. However, even a string of lights for the Christmas tree makes a good gift.

Ideally, you should prioritize your financial obligations, not only for the present but also for the future. It’s important to remember that the start of a new year is usually demanding financially.

Therefore, it is essential to make sure you pay all outstanding bills and payments due in December, such as mortgages, rent, utilities, and credit cards, before embarking on Christmas shopping without being aware of your own limitations.

Undoubtedly, this will allow you to clearly see how much money you have available and determine how you will pay for your purchases: in cash, with a debit card, coupons, or other methods. This reinforces personal and family financial responsibility.

M.Pino

With information from specialized financial media

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La entrada Planning to protect your finances this Christmas apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Creating a good payment plan before Christmas Day is useful for maintaining good business and family relationships, as well as ensuring continued access to the services you usually enjoy at home or through your mobile phone.

In this regard, it is recommended to establish a payment schedule, perhaps programmed through your bank account, so that services are automatically debited.

On the other hand, if you are up-to-date with your subscription plans, for example, then you can focus on making bank transfers in advance to the family and friends on your Christmas list.

If possible, obtain enough cash for daily expenses or unexpected events, such as gas or a last-minute gift you might have forgotten.

Saving, a word hardly anyone mentions these days, is another option at this time of year. It can be achieved by withdrawing cash in advance or by placing a modest amount of money in a fixed-term deposit, which will surely be very useful in 2026.

M.Pino

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La entrada Getting a plan for Christmas banking holidays apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Recent estimates from the president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, Julio Velarde, indicate that the country stands out as one of the most advanced in monetary digitization, second only to Argentina and Venezuela.

According to Velarde, Peru showed significant progress in this area in 2025, “and currently almost all of its productive sectors operate in this way.”

Velarde emphasized that in Peru, monetary digitization has a different focus than simply replacing the cash that citizens had to carry, instead orienting itself towards “a completely different modernization process, which is currently being applied in almost all productive activities.”

The official estimates that by the end of 2026, the South American country will have made significant progress in implementing “a platform that will be extremely powerful in terms of digital payments, which will have a major impact on the country’s rural areas.”

M.Pino

Source: swissinfo

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Next year, specifically on March 8, 2026, Switzerland will hold a referendum to decide whether the country will protect cash in the face of the rise of digital payments.

The measure was announced by the Federal Council (Swiss Executive) on October 29. According to the proposal, the Constitution is expected to be amended to “guarantee the existence of cash and that the Swiss franc remains the national currency, although the Federal Council’s counterproposal presents fewer obstacles to the future development of digital payments.”

This referendum will be the first time since 2010 that Swiss citizens, who must vote in referendums up to four times a year, will decide the future of both a popular initiative and a government counterproposal on the same issue. If they accept both, they will have to indicate which one they would prefer to see implemented.

With this initiative, Switzerland would become one of the first countries in the world to include the right to use cash in its Constitution, “although similar initiatives in this regard have also emerged in other European countries such as Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia.”

Groups in favor of protecting cash argue that its elimination would harm vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or those without bank accounts. Furthermore, they “emphasize the importance that coins and banknotes could have in times of crisis, such as cyberattacks or widespread failures in electronic systems.”

The referendum on March 8, the first of 2026, will also allow citizens to “vote on a proposal to reduce the tax for public broadcasting to 200 Swiss francs (214 euros), as well as on the creation of a climate fund to promote renewable energy and other measures against global warming.”

M.Pino

Source: swissinfo

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La entrada Switzerland to hold a referendum in 2026 to decide the future of cash apareció primero en Bitfinance.

In the face of a power emergency, shopping and payments become a headache. As an alternative that provides peace of mind and security to the population, the European Central Bank (ECB) has recommended keeping some cash.

This suggestion, in a context marked by electronic payments, cryptocurrencies, and the disappearance of fiat money in several countries, even due to government measures, seems contradictory.

However, it is a way to provide protection for Europeans in the event of another power outage like the one that affected Spain, France, and Portugal, among others, a few months ago. At that time, paying for necessities and utilities was impossible online.

For this reason, in its latest report, the ECB highlighted the importance of having cash in households in the face of global crises. “The European institution recommends having a cash reserve of 70 to 100 euros per person, or at least 72 hours of provisions. This sum, whether for a family of two, three, or four members, would be sufficient to cover basic needs for at least three days.”

M.Pino

Source: 20minutos

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La entrada ECB recommends keeping cash as an emergency alternative apareció primero en Bitfinance.

A study by the Crypto ISAC platform has revealed the preference of criminals for cash for their misdeeds over cryptocurrencies.

Cash leaves no digital footprint, making it almost impossible to detect illicit transactions. Hence, it is the preferred tool of criminals.

In contrast, in the case of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology “offers greater transparency and traceability.”

Crypto ISAC details in the report that although “it is impossible to track the exact amount of illicit activity in the traditional financial space, the estimated amount of money laundered globally in one year is 2-5 % of the world’s GDP, that is, between 800,000 and 2 trillion dollars.”

For its part, the blockchain company Chainalysis detailed that last year, only “0.34 % of the transaction volume on the chain was linked to illicit activities.”

In any case, cryptocurrencies have been linked to illegal transaction for a long time because of the collapse of exchanges that, in any case, only represent a small part of the total cryptocurrency volume.

M.Pino

Source: cripto247

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La entrada Criminals prefer cash to cryptocurrencies for scams apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Jamaica, Richard Byles, announced that the digital currency, CBDC, will be available to the public between the months of June and August in order to improve the quality of life of Jamaican entrepreneurs and consumers.

The objective of the currency, known as Digital Jamaica or Jam-Dex, is “to make life easier for business owners and consumers,” said the governor, who also noted that “Jamaica’s economy is based primarily on cash, and a digital Jamaican dollar offers a safer and more convenient alternative.”

As will be recalled, the financial institution began the pilot test in 2021 with the slogan “no cash, no problem”, granting the equivalent of 16 dollars to the first citizens who participated in the test.

According to Byles, the use of digital currency will save money and the economy will be more efficient because the state currently spends more than “7 million US dollars” annually on the replacement of banknotes.

Jamaica digital currency on the market

The Jam-Dex currency will be for domestic use only and will operate under a hybrid model. It will be issued by the central bank to commercial banks and other deposit-taking institutions, which will be responsible for distributing it to the retail market.

The hybrid operating structure is similar to that recommended by the Federal Reserve, which maintains that central banks are responsible for “minting, issuing and redeeming the digital currency but are not involved in administration.”

The authorities have great expectations for Jamaicans to use the digital currency, as it is an accessible and free mechanism through an application that all Jamaicans will be able to install on their mobile phones.

Governor Byles is confident that people will be more friends with the banking network, which will increase the number of banked inhabitants in the country.

M. Rodríguez

Source: diariobitcoin.com

La entrada Jamaica will launch its Jam-Dex in June 2022 apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Asdrúbal Oliveros, economist and director of Ecoanalítica, stressed that the relationship between the governments of Russia and Venezuela could impact the sale of foreign currency in Venezuela to contain the exchange rate because the country uses “the Russian financial system to triangulate the operations of collection or sale of crude oil.”

The economist recalled that the Venezuelan government required the support of allied countries and “Russia has been fundamental for Venezuela due to the size of its financial system“, which provided the “financial floor”, as well as “cash currencies” to the Caribbean country.

According to the director of Ecoanalítica, the Venezuelan government “charges in cash in dollars or euros” for a large portion of the products (gold or oil) it sells, and much of that money is managed between “Russia and Turkey.” However, with the financial sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe on Russia, “the question remains as to what the provision of cash payments that Venezuela receives will be like,” which could affect the “selling of foreign currency made by the Executive to contain the rate exchange.”

Isolation of Russia

Oliveros said Russia is being isolated due to the severe financial sanctions. “They are even more aggressive than those that Venezuela can have”, thus the Venezuelan government must modify “the strategy to be able to receive foreign exchange in cash by the sale of oil.

Additionally, Oliveros believes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will have repercussions on the country, because it will limit the country’s “economic recovery capacity.”

M. Rodríguez

Source: financedigital.com

La entrada Venezuela could face problems in the sale of foreign currency apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Janet Yellen, reported that the Government will exhaust its cash reserves by October 18, for which it has urged Congress to approve the increase in the debt ceiling to avoid a possible default on debt.

“We estimate that the Treasury will probably exhaust its extraordinary measures if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by October 18,” Yellen said in a letter sent to the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

“At that point, we hope that the Treasury will be left with very limited resources that will be quickly depleted. It is uncertain that we can continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date,” added the Secretary of the Treasury.

Since 1969, the United States Congress has raised the Government’s debt ceiling on 78 occasions permanently, temporarily, or by revising the definition of debt.

Yellen, on the other hand, warned that, according to previous moments of paralysis due to the debt limit, “waiting until the last minute can cause serious damage to the confidence of companies and consumers, raise the costs of borrowing for taxpayers and negatively impact the US credit rating.”

K. Tovar

Source: Expansión

La entrada US announces that its cash reserves will be depleted soon apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Coinbase President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi reported that the reserves that support the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin will be fully secured in cash and US government treasury bonds.

This was established by the CENTER consortium, in collaboration with Coinbase and the financial services company, blockchain Circle, responsible for issuing the USD Coin, who declared that “it will soon be held entirely in cash and US Treasury bonds of short duration.”

Choi used her Twitter account to report the reasons for the policy change, which is a consequence of “a backlash against USDC reserves that expanded beyond cash, cash equivalents and bonds from the US Treasury.”

She also indicated that they had not been able to report the changes originated in the cryptocurrency reserves and that “exacerbated public concern regarding the support of the stablecoin.” They admitted the mistake in not updating the information on the website in July when the Circle company first included a more diversified investment group.

The Coinbase president noted that the policy change will take effect from September, highlighting that the next two certification reports will continue to publish a “diversified portfolio for stable token reserves.”

For the month of May, the USDC certification report showed that the currency was backed 61 % by “cash and cash equivalents and 12 % by US Treasury bonds.”

M. Rodríguez

Source: ezanime.net

La entrada USDC to consolidate capital in cash and Treasury bonds apareció primero en Bitfinance.