Realm: Banking

[choco_frosh]

Is still boggled by the fact that in this country, if you give somebody your account number and your bank's routing number they can deduct funds from your account.

(Just came up in the context of actual work.)

Comments

wacky Germans

[lauradi7dw]

We spent a month in Bonn in the summer of 1991, before there were Euros, but I don't remember anything about banks. I remember about the post office (phone books!) and the trams, but not other infrastructure. We were just this afternoon talking about how organized the Germans are.
While the hosts of many other sporting events are still living in hope, the Berlin Marathon (home to world records, and considered a "major") has already been cancelled, five months in advance. We joked that Angela Merkel has a plan, as strong women do. Actually, it's not AM specifically, but in general, no gatherings bigger than 5000 people will happen there until the end of October.

Re: wacky Germans

[choco_frosh]

As a tourist, you pretty much don't notice banks. Anywhere. Unless you have to use an ATM.
But in Germany, it is pretty common (especially in situations where Americans would use checks) to pay by bank transfer. Payee gives payer their account information, and payer can send funds yo the account, but not withdraw funds. Which ihho makes a lot more sense just from a logical point of view.