2020 is the year that changed everything.

As the COVID-19 effects continue to drag on, it seems that how the new normal will be is not something anyone can predict with certainty. Every time that things seem to be setting enough to at least try to have a look, things change enough as to make predictions hard to make.

This time, the challenge is one that is faced globally. There is no country that has been speared, and we all have been affected by it in one way or another. The only thing that seems certain, is that every aspect of our lives has change in one or another. We are being forced to adapt, no matter if we like it or not.

The Internet, and the technologies around it, have gained far more importance than ever before. Not only that, those who know how to use them, or have the chance to learn them, have an advantage over those who don't have either of them.

Having access to them now is vital to be able to make out the most of the current situation or take the new opportunities as they present themselves. This gives a big advantage to those who already have what is needed to take on those new opportunities.

And more often than not, the best opportunities will be taken by those have access to those tools, and know how to use them effectively. As we stand, there is still a large group of people who either doesn't have full access to the tools we take for granted, or doesn't know how to use them effectively.

If there was a need to change the educational model, and the way we work, the pandemic made it painfully certain that we needed that change. Now, everyone is learning how those changes will look like.

Giving fintechs a chance.

I've been hunting for a credit card, and new savings account, for some time now. Until a couple of months ago, I didn't find anything that fit my needs or expectations.

For the credit card, my income wasn't enough, the fees that they had were to high, or they were secured credit cards that required a high deposit.

On the savings account side, the main problems were that they required so sort of minimum balance so no fee was paid, or a high initial deposit. Both are things that I don't like, since I don't have the money upfront, and I want access my money in case of an emergency without having to worry about maintaining a balance.

Then a couple of Mexican fintech companies came along, and I decided to give their services a try.

For the credit card, I decided to apply for the Stori(link in Spanish) classic credit card. The main reasons I decided to apply for it, where that isn't a secured credit card, it has no no annual fee, and that its backed by Mastercard. So far, I haven't had any major issues with it, and it may become a keeper for me if my credit line is increased with time.

On the savings account side, I decided to give a chance to a fintech called Oyster(link in Spanish). I selected the one with no fees, that comes with some restrictions, like no more than 30 electronic transfers a month. But, none of those restrictions come into play for the use I've plan to give it, and since my main accounts have me covered for the rest of my financial needs. And it comes with a debit card, so I still have access to my money to make purchases in case I need to.

The only major "ifs" that both fintechs have for some, is that neither have physical branches to go to. Yet, both have quite nice apps that give the control over the accounts most user will ever need. Not only that, transfers from my other accounts are a breeze to make, and most importantly they don't incur in fees for the amounts I'm planning to do.

Time will tell if I change my mind, but so far I'm quite happy with them.