Banking Italian Style

***Before I start this post, I should add this disclaimer: Although it may seem that I think things in Italy are inferior to the U.S. I assure you this is not true. Many things are so different, I find them frustrating but in my next post I will be sure to include all that I enjoy about this country just to keep things fair and even***

A bit of background, about three weeks ago, Deme and I went to a bank in Turin and opened a joint account. We could not do this earlier since I did not have my Codice Fiscale number and now I do. About two weeks after opening the account, the bank sent us a note to inform us that our account is open and functional. We are still waiting for our bank cards though, and it’s been three weeks and counting.

If I want to access the money I just have to go to the bank to withdraw it. Today I did just that; I wanted to do and international money transfer straight to my bank account in Seattle. (For the past three months, Deme’s mom has been helping us with this but I would much prefer to give her less to do and take responsibility for our accounts.)

I attempted a bank transfer yesterday at 3:54 p.m. but the bank had already closed. The hours are a bit strange: 8:35-1:35 p.m. and 2:35-3:45 p.m. I missed my window yesterday but made it here in time today. Deme drove me and left me to my own devices while he waited in the car. I entered the bank, made the request and filled out a form to process the transfer. The teller spoke no English and I was surprised to have the transaction go so smoothly. The only glitches were:

1) I did not receive a receipt for my transfer, simply because they don’t do transfers at the branch, they have to fax the request to a main branch and that’s where it’s done and a bit of a mix up regarding the transaction fee which is about 20 Euros.

2) Also when I asked how long the transfer would take, the teller was unsure stating about a week or so. She was also unsure about the actual cost. Deme tells me this is a rare request and many banks never even do it, I told the lady I would be coming in once a month. Maybe next time she will remember me and everything will go more effortlessly.

Now all that’s left for me to do is wait a week and see if they money goes through, when we did this same transfer in Rome, it was quick and painless. While Deme drops me home, he gets a call on his cell phone from said bank. The tellers want to make sure that he knows there is a fee associated with this transaction. I guess a husband’s word is good as gold here since she told me about the fee and I said it was fine with me. Go figure!