A recent study by the company revealed that the online shopping process is often tedious. The study showed that 91 per cent of Spaniards still manually enter their full address and the 16 digits of their card in each of their online purchases.
To try to reduce the time spent making online purchases, Mastercard has decided to carry out its pilot project in 16 towns across Europe, all of them with long names, which makes the task of online shopping more laborious. These include Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav in the Czech Republic and Wasterhaar-Vriezenveensewijk in the Netherlands.
The town hall has stated that participation in the project does not involve any cost for the town, although it is a "unique opportunity" to appear in the company's promotional campaigns and to be a reference in this field at an international level. It also added that the Mastercard representatives showed great interest in visiting the town.
Mayor Juan Luis Gallardo has welcomed the project, highlighting the visibility that it means for the town: "We are very grateful to Mastercard for having selected us, along with other municipalities in Europe, to test this new fast, simple and secure way of paying online. We are very proud of the name of our town, but we also recognise the value of a good shortcut and the usefulness of technology to make our lives easier and safer," he said.
Mastercard has said that the benefits of the 'Click to Pay' system include the process that replaces the card number with a series of random identifiers or 'tokens'. This not only protects consumers from potential fraud, but also safeguards retailers from cyber threats and data breaches.
It seeks to eliminate barriers in the online purchasing process, allowing for more agile and secure payments. According to Mastercard data, 75 per cent of Spanish consumers have abandoned a purchase due to payment complications. The implementation of 'Click to Pay' aims to reduce these obstacles, offering a smoother and more efficient user experience.
With this initiative, the inhabitants of Villanueva del Trabuco will be able to enjoy a more advanced payment system, optimising times and reinforcing the security of each transaction. Participation in this pilot project positions the town as a benchmark in technological innovation, demonstrating that even the smallest localities can lead great advances in the digitisation of e-commerce.
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a dark shadow has been cast over the Britons who retired to the sun
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Even in Thursday's heavy rain showers, the small town of Villanueva del Trabuco high in the mountains above Malaga looks like a British expat's dream place in the sun: buried in olive groves, dozens of whitewashed houses with almond blossom creeping over stone latticework.
Think again: the five British residents gathered in Villanueva del Trabuco's biggest bar nursing drinks as they eye the teeming rain outside estimate there has been a massive fall in the town's numbers in the last four years, from 200 British households to just 30 in 2012. And it's still dropping.
"There is no end to the thinning-out process," Ronny Clarke, a British retiree living in Villanueva del Trabuco, tells The Independent. "As two of my friends said when they left here for the UK again: the party's over."
By many accounts, a cocktail of plummeting house prices, a remorselessly unfavourable exchange rate and a Spanish economy in ruins has dealt a knock-out blow to the economic welfare of tens of thousands of British pensioners living in Spain.
"Those who could move are already in the UK," Mr Clarke says. But what of those who remain?
"We are trapped," says E W, a British pensioner in her 60s with property on the Costa del Sol, who will not reveal her full name because she does not want her relatives worrying. "Your pension doesn't go as far as it did five years ago and people are already leaving. My plans were to stay here for 10 years, but I sold up everything in the UK, so I can't go back."
Professor Jose Luis Suarez, an expert in financial management from the IESE business school, says "foreigners who wish to sell their home face a problem. House prices are falling, so anybody wanting to sell has to make a large discount".
But after years of saving to move to Spain, what is prodding them to move back? The British retirees cite the exchange rate as one of the biggest issues, harking back to when £1 would get you €1.50 compared with €1.20 or €1.10 now.
Estimating exactly how many British pensioners are in stuck in a cleft stick property-wise in Spain is difficult given that many UK expats do not notify authorities when heading south. The UK's Office for National Statistics notes that since 2008, when Spain's economic crisis began, British emigration figures have been dropping.
More eloquent, though, is the way British life has been knocked out of villages like Villanueva del Trabuco. Where once there were four bars mainly catering to the Brits, now there is one.
Some residents believe the much-feared EU bailout, which could see Spain outside the euro, would not lead to the mass evacuation the scaremongers predict. Rather, devaluation could make their pensions go a lot further: "There'd be dancing in the streets," another British pensioner in Malaga says.
But as El Mundo pointed out in a recent editorial, it is the permanent living on the edge of bankruptcy that seems to be causing so much damage to the Spanish economy.
And the longer that uncertainty continues, the more elderly Britons will be forced to pop their key through the letterbox of their former Costa dream home and quit – or sit and await the bailiffs.
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The rest of us are trapped'","description":"As house prices tumble
It is a problem that the local residents living in Villanueva del Trabuco have been living with for half a decade
it is common to see the odd cat when walking through the streets
it has been more common to find these animals run over
injured or abandoned in the town near Antequera
a group of locals banded together to put an end to this problem and start sterilising the stray street cats
25 volunteers are in charge of rescuing these animals and working to save their lives
taking into account that acts of cruelty against their colonies are becoming more frequent
"The attacks and vandalism of the shelters and feeders that we have installed are frequent
which is when there is more misuse of air pistols," explained sources close to the group
which was created three years ago with the aim of uniting different organisations
individuals and volunteers with common principles towards the defence of animal rights and in favour of the defence of life
a total of 184 sterilisations have been carried out
despite the fact that they now have more facilities thanks to the support of the municipal council
they have given us volunteer ID cards and they are working to mark the cat colonies
but the problem continues because there are people in the town who do not care and although we denounce them
the lack of staff due to it being a small town is a problem," said one of the local residents
who works on a daily basis to protect the cat colonies
"If we took a census of abandonment and neutered all the cats
what would happen is that the colonies would be depopulated
but it is impossible because people do not stop abandoning cats and new litters appear," said the group
taking advantage of the fact that people are asleep and there is no police surveillance"
taking into account that the Guardia Civil currently covers five municipalities the local area
so the officers are not seen on a daily basis and the criminals take advantage of this gap in public safety
"Four cats belonging to individuals have been injured by lead pellets
one of them was found dead in the same park where it strolled every day
And to this we can add the destruction of shelters
mutilation of tails and even poisoning of the most defenceless," the group added
Villanueva del Trabuco town hall is calling for greater "reflection and civic-mindedness" to put an end to the unacceptable acts of cruelty that continue to be committed against the feline colonies in the municipality
"It is unacceptable that these acts of animal abuse occur in our town
We strongly condemn any act of violence towards animals and remind all residents that
on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals
which was approved by the Spanish government and has been in force since 29 September 2023
registers these acts as constituting a crime."
The council added that the penalties for these offences range from 501 to 50,000 euros
it will take the necessary measures to enforce this law
the town hall has appealed to the responsibility of all the residents of the municipality regarding the "massive" abandonment of felines since
there are more and more cats abandoned in the municipality
It also reminded owners that it is essential that everyone sterilises and has their pets microchipped to prevent the uncontrolled proliferation and abandonment of these living beings
Another 15 zones will be deemed high flood-risk points in Malaga province following last week's devastating floods
Six years of a lack of rain plunged the province into an extremely serious situation when the Dana weather event hit last week
Despite the reservoirs receiving a much-needed top-up
the excessive rain left some residents with nothing remaining
especially in the Guadalhorce Valley (Álora
Valle de Abdalajís or the Campanillas neighbourhood in Malaga city
and is even worse than when the Tous dam burst (1982)
have reforestation plans for the mountains and carry out cleaning and conditioning work on watercourses every season
Any foresight is too little when the sky decides to unload 200mm in a few hours
as in the case of this latest downpour in Malaga
with the rainfall close to 600mm - a whole year's worth of rainfall in a single day
The regional river basins authority is updating its flood risk map
with another 15 areas being added in Malaga province
This is the result of the third study of the preliminary flood risk assessment of the Hydrographic Demarcation of the Andalusian Mediterranean Basins
hydrogeology and a host of scientific issues analysed
The new zones are: in the western Costa Del Sol
In the area of the Guadiaro in Benaoján and Guadalcobacín river; the Grande
from the junction with the Guadiaro river to Rosalejo
up to where it meets the Nacimiento stream
the stream of El Pinar and the river Guadalhorce from Villanueva del Trabuco to La Higuerilla
La Cueva river and the Arroyo de las Morenas are added as risk zones in the area around Benamargosa
The latest update complies with the European Flood Directive and serves to detect and review Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk (ARPSI)
The study has considered possible flooding due to the sea: from the rise in sea level on the coast and its impact inland
flooding caused by a possible tsunami or tidal wave is not considered to be applicable within the framework of this directive
due to the low probability of it happening," according to the document
The report also includes the possibility of flooding due to groundwater upwelling
where warmer surface water is pushed away from an area allowing colder deep water to rise up and replace it
"This occurs due to a rise in the water close to the surface
coinciding with flat areas with difficult drainage [...]"
Episodes of heavy downpours and floods are already well known
with the drainage capacity of watercourses and infrastructures crucial
The study looks at recent events that have occurred in Malaga province since 2018
there were major floods in March in the Serranía de Ronda and the Campo de Gibraltar areas which led to the overflowing of the Guadiaro and Hozgarganta rivers
was closed with emergency workers protecting houses in the neighbourhood of La Estación
Several factories were partially surrounded by water with several road closures on the road to Ronda
several houses are evacuated when the Guadiaro overflowed
there was significant flooding on the Costa del Sol and Antequera due to the storm Hugo
the N-331 in Antequera and the MA-6404 in Teba were also closed due to the overflowing of the ¡Venta river near the football field," according to the report
The report pointed out further flooding in October 2018 in Ronda
Malaga and Costa del Sol with rainfall of up to 100mm in one day in the Estepona area or almost 400mm in places such as Campillos
It goes on to detail at least ten episodes
including the floods in Campanillas and Campillos
which are perhaps the most severe in recent history
the report pointed out that 19 warehouses or stores; 781 vehicles; 52 businesses; 338 homes; nine offices; four infrastructures or facilities
the value of the damage exceeded nine million euros
The figures for flood claims and insurance in recent years are as follows: Malaga (3,389 incidents)
Ronda (425) and Alhaurín de la Torre (363)
the most significant are those of Campanillas (9.1 million euros)
Campillos (7.7 million euros) and Marbella (6.4 million euros)
They are followed by the rest of Malaga city (5.6 million euros)
Behind come Mijas (4 million) and Alhaurín El Grande (1 million)
Marbella has recorded 54 episodes in the last six years; Malaga
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including a young girl and an elderly woman
died yesterday as floods in southern Spain overturned cars and forced hundreds to flee their homes
At least 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalusia region
with some forced to take refuge on their roofs as torrential rains caused rivers to break their banks
the storms were moving east towards the port of Valencia
A woman in her 80s died early yesterday when a river breached its banks and flood water swept past her home in Alora
two others died later in the same Andalusia region
while three others were killed in the neighbouring region of Murcia
roads were covered in brown floodwater and teams were working to unearth cars while locals swept the muddy pavements
there are 800 staff working to return things to normal as quickly as possible,” said emergency services spokeswoman Pilar Limon
“The rains are decreasing and seem to be shifting towards Granada and Almeria” further east
The state weather agency AEMET said some 245mm of water per square metre had fallen in the area in the morning alone
Airports authority AENA said a flight was diverted to Seville as it headed to Malaga
which lies east of the resort city of Marbella on the Costa del Sol
In the neighbouring southeastern region of Murcia
a highway bridge collapsed in the heavy rains
Valencia’s port authorities ordered the port closed early today as the storms approached
- (c) AFP 2012
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Recent archaeological dscoveries show that the town of Villanueva del Trabuco (in the north of Malaga province) has been populated at least since Roman times
Only a few written testimonies of the names this settlement was known by during the Roman era exist today
although the exact location of these settlements is not known
According to a study carried out by Malaga university
the valley in which the town is located was "practically uninhabited for almost a millennium"
and was of little interest during the Arab occupation of Andalucía
The report suggests that the entire Alto Valle del Guadalhorce "remained depopulated and became an extensive forest" from the beginning of the 7th century until the end of the 15th century
The first time the name Trabuco appeared was during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs
which is attested by sources such as the chronicles of the 15th century royal secretary and historian
The historian claimed that the place received its name from a huge catapult that was installed in the town
was thought to have been used by King Ferdinand II to attack the nearby town of Loja
This type of weapon was also mentioned in the novel Don Quixote
in which Cervantes claimed that a trabuco does not refer to a firearm
It had long been believed by some academics
that the toponym derived from the name of the blunderbuss (trabuco)
This version is based on a 15th-century legend concerning an inn owner known as Tito Trabuco
because he carried a blunderbuss to protect himself from bandits when travelling from Trabuco to Archidona to collect supplies
as the blunderbuss did not become popular until the middle of the 16th century
A large group of school pupils suffered a big scare on Wednesday morning when the coach they were travelling to school on overturned in the north of Malaga province
The school bus heading for Archidona crashed off on the A-7203 road after leaving from Villanueva del Trabuco
but they managed to get out of the vehicle
and another bus came to pick them up and take them to the secondary school," deputy mayor of Villanueva del Trabuco Alejandro Pascual told SUR
as the driver and all the youngsters managed to get out safely
Guardia Civil officers attended the scene to help keep traffic moving through the area while the crashed coach was recovered
only the front window and part of the side because it was travelling at low speed and
some witnesses claimed grass in a ditch caused the driver to lose control
told SUR that "in spite of everything" the company is relieved the incident was just a scare
Navas said the driver is a very responsible person
with a lot of experience and is used to driving the same route every day
He pointed out the asphalt conditions on the road are very poor
so "it is not unusual that accidents like this can happen"
Police officers carried out a breathalyser and drug test on the driver to rule out that as the cause of the accident
"Tests have shown that the driver was driving at 51 kilometres per hour
but the roads in Villanueva del Trabuco are in very bad condition and no longer even have a hard shoulder," Navas said
He called for the resurfacing of the regional road
which is used daily by the more than 5,500 inhabitants of the village and neighbouring towns
Tucked away in the beautiful countryside to the north of Malaga
sheltering below an impressive mountain range
is the sprawling village of Villanueva del Trabuco
It has much in common with many rural locations in Andalucía
predominately agricultural with an unassuming populace made up of mainly Spanish with a smattering of other nationalities mixed in
it has now become a little more exotic with the opening of an Indonesian restaurant in an old mill in the heart of the countryside
her daughter Fleur Der Meer and her daughter's partner
decided to relocate from Alkmaar in the Netherlands
Charmaine admits that her main reason was to find "a warmer climate"
and her mother was a teacher of Indonesian descent
His story alone is one that could be made into a film
Captured by the Japanese during the occupation
he was loaded onto a ship with thousands of other prisoners of war which was then torpedoed by the British
The Japanese were able to rescue only a few hundred men and took them to a camp in Sumatra
he returned to Java and continued to serve in the army
However this was a time of great unrest and bloodshed in the country; the Japanese had promised the Indonesians independence and believing the Dutch would regain control
Indonesian separatists began targeting the Indo-European population
The family decided to return to the Netherlands and safety in 1958
her family continued to enjoy Indonesian-style cuisine and Charmaine learned the recipes and techniques from her mother
also enjoyed cooking and worked in restaurant kitchens
while she was taking hospitality and business studies at college
The family had visited Andalucía on various occasions and loved the area so they decided to take a big step and move to Spain to open an Indonesian-style restaurant
Charmaine had seen an advertisement for Molino Jabonero
an old olive mill that had been converted into a restaurant in Villanueva del Trabuco
their original idea being to stay just three months to look around
The idyllic location and the rustic old mill close to a small stream was perfect for what they had in mind
bringing two horses and two cats with them
who worked in the Netherlands as a student guidance counsellor
All agree that the move has been a massive culture shock: first and foremost has been the language
followed by the Spanish way of doing things
food hygiene and health and safety courses have all been completed in record time and the trio say they that have been helped enormously by the Dutch
Another headache was designing a menu that would appeal to all tastes
with some 'low heat' options for those who like less spicy food
The menu changes regularly but at the moment there are mouthwatering dishes such as satay pork
spicy steamed beef and chicken in coconut and lemon sauce among many others
There are also vegetarian dishes and all are served with rice or potatoes
Desserts feature the traditional Dutch apple pie as well as a luxurious chocolate mousse
Fleur and Thom may have only been in business for only four weeks but they already have great plans for the future with a menu that will change weekly and include Indonesian specialities
They are also looking into having a live music night and celebrating Halloween and Christmas by offering a special menu to attract group bookings
And when asked about how they were liking the 'warmer' climate
"I really like this climate because life is spent more outside
But the 40 degrees can be too much for me sometimes!"
Find them on Facebook. Mesón Molino Jabonero
Inland areas of the province of Malaga are cleaning up after storms brought heavy rain and flash flooding in the early hours of Saturday morning
The sudden downpours were the result of the 'Dana' weather phenemenon - an isolated pocket of cold air that breaks away from main weather systems
termed a cut-off low - which crossed Spain at the end of last week
leaving widespread flooding and six dead in parts of Valencia
Murcia and eastern Andalucía the previous day
The worst damage in this province was suffered in the Guadalhorce valley - especially Alhaurín el Grande - and the area around Villanueva del Trabuco in the northern Noroma district
In the early hours of Saturday the Spanish meteorology agency Aemet raised the amber warning to red as the storms approached
The sudden downpours caused flash floods in several towns and villages
Alhaurín el Grande was the first to see serious difficulties as the force of the water dragged with it dozens of parked vehicles
especially in the vicinity of the fairground
Several homes were flooded in the area known as Camino de Coín
Mayor of Alhaurín el Grande Toñi Ledesma explained that much of the damage was caused to municipal facilities
Both football pitches have been "seriously" affected and three schools suffered losses when water broke through contention walls
The swimming pool roof will need replacing and five country roads were cut off
The Fuengirola road was closed after La Tejá stream broke its banks
Alhaurín was visited on Sunday by the president of the Junta de Andalucía
who announced that on Tuesday emergency funds of at least 10 million euros would be released to help the 133 towns across Andalucía affected by the storms
Villanueva del Trabuco and Archidona suffered flooding on Saturday morning
In Villanueva del Trabuco around 15 vehicles were dragged along by the water when a stream running through the upper part of the town overflowed
Dozens of locals joined the fire brigade and other services to help clear the streets and some houses of mud on Saturday morning
Juanma Moreno went to the town on Saturday
where he praised the work of the volunteers
Several homes were cut off on Saturday in the Tajo del Abanico area of Ronda
In Marbella two people had to be rescued after becoming trapped in their vehicles
Avenida Severo Ochoa was closed for around an hour due to flooding
The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros - a state insurance body that steps in in cases of natural disasters - has estimated the damage in the province of Malaga at four millions euros
Some 800 people were affected by the damage in Alhaurín el Grande
The number of residents affected by the storms in Andalucía as a whole is 2,415
with damaged estimated at 10 million euros
It is a fact that certain things are still lacking: namely some key infrastructure in the public transport network (railway lines
bus lanes and priority lanes for high-occupancy vehicles) and an up-to-date map of bus concessions (renewal of expired concessionary schemes and the awarding of an in-depth study of lines and services are both still pending)
But it is also a fact that the demand for public transport is skyrocketing in the province
Last year almost 100 million public transport journeys were made in Malaga and its surroundings of which 18.5 million used the transport consortium's travel card
The organisation has just announced major expansion plans: almost 80 new routes
20 municipalities in total and serving a population that exceeds one million inhabitants for the first time
The news became official on Tuesday this week with its publication in the Official Bulletin of the Andalusian regional government (BOJA)
The new members add 173,000 potential paying customers to the Consortium
Valle del Abdalajís and Villanueva de la Concepción
million inhabitants are within reach of the Consortium
With these towns joining up the transport consortium will now be serving 67% of the province's population
By adding these seven municipalities to the network
it is reckoned that demand will increase to more than 2.4 million passengers per year
passenger numbers will be around 21 million
This is the first major expansion by the consortium
The regional Ministry of Public Works for the Junta views the expansion as having a dual purpose: adding passengers and helping to maintain the areas current population numbers by also offering transport alternatives to some of the smaller towns
others for summer season or key events such as Easter or 'feria'
there are clear advantages to their ticket becoming part of this unified fare system (ticket sales worth an estimated 700,000 euros per year overall)
Joining the consortium as full members means a revision of the weighted vote for those municipalities
who will now represent 45% of the board of directors compared to 51% for the regional government and 4% for the provincial authority
million trips per year are estimated following this expansion
The population covered is 1.17 million inhabitants
which represents more than two thirds of the total population of the province: Malaga
This agreement is one of the first measures to be implemented under the metropolitan transport plan for the Malaga area
which aims to achieve a 25% increase in public transport use as well as a reduction in road use by more than 52,000 vehicles per day in the metropolitan area in order to reduce carbon emissions by 10% by 2030
The lines mentioned and published in the BOJA involve 14 contracts: Pantano del Chorro and Vado del Álamo (5 services or lines); Casabermeja-Malaga with extended routes to Arroyo Coche and Villanueva de la Concepción (3); Malaga and Cortijada del Peñón extended to Cártama and Torrealquería
Cordoba and Malaga (3); Siles-Malaga-Almería via Cordoba-Granada and Jaén (6)
Malaga's transport consortium beat its previous record number of passengers last year with 18.5 million people using the multimode card
although the company Empresa Malagueña de Transportes (EMT)
the metro and the consortium's interurban buses have done so
This result is much better than even pre-pandemic passenger numbers
more than 10.1 million used the intercity bus network in what were also the best figures since records began
Among the factors that may have helped are the national and regional discounts
both with the 'Green Card' and the 'Youth Card'
introduced in 2022 and held by more than 30,000 users
The discounts applied in this region are among the highest in the country (60%)
That percentage will also be maintained throughout 2024
One in five passengers in Malaga province comes under the consortium's travel scheme
This includes all journeys by public transport
But many municipalities and operators are still to be included
the key point to make is that 70.61 million journeys can be covered under the scheme and the take-up rate is 26%
On Malaga city's metro 5.6 million passengers used the consortium card
This represented 41.17% of all metro journeys made
These figures are largely due to the journeys made by university staff and students coming from neighbouring municipalities and accessing the campus by metro from the city centre
having travelled by bus to Muelle Heredia or Los Tilos
of the slightly more than 46.7 million passengers using the public company's services last year
just 2.5 million used their metropolitan travel passes