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Banking and Finalcial system in Italy
Banking hours -- can vary slightly, but in general are from
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and an hour and a half in the afternoon
between 2:30-4:40. Banks are generally closed on weekends and
holidays (they sometimes close early on days prior to holidays
as well).
the law -- For the moment a resident
of Italy can take up to 20 million lire in cash across the border
at a time, in any combination of foreign currency, Italian currency
and travellers cheques. Residents who want to take more money
abroad can do so legally, but have to go through a financial
institution. There are no limits for non-residents, but over
the amount of 20 million lire you have to notify the customs
officer of the exact amount you're taking abroad. This regulation
is meant to control money laundering and it's a departure from
the European directive, which sees no restriction at all.
Cash cards -- Bancomat cards are very
popular and widely applied. Once you have an account, apply
through your bank to get one. Bancomat is a national card and
can be used in automatic tellers throughout the country. Many
supermarkets and shops have check-out counters where you can
pay with your card (PagoBancomat).
Chequing accounts -- Chequing accounts
are interest-bearing and interest rates and service charges
can often (and should) be negotiated. Interest is withheld on
cheques starting from the date written on the cheque rather
than the date of the transaction, which is why people who give
you a cheque may leave the date space blank and trust you to
fill it in on the day you cash it. Service charges include a
"conventionalised" charge called "giorni di valuta", i.e. how
many days after the transaction a deposit begins to accrue interest
(usually from one day for cash, three days for an in-town cheque,
and between eight and 20 days for an out-of-town cheque, not
to mention the delay on a cheque from abroad).
The actual times required for these
transactions can be shorter or longer than the conventionalised
waiting periods. Withdrawal slips do not exist here; to get
cash you either have to write a personal cheque (filled out
to "me stesso/stessa") or use a Bancomat card. Personal cheques
can usually only be cashed in the branch of your bank where
you have your account (and occasionally in other branches of
the same bank) and cheques from other sources normally have
to be deposited into your account a few days before withdrawing
funds on them. If you withdraw immediately and there are no
other funds in the account, you will be charged interest on
the hypothetical overdraft. You are charged for chequebooks,
and there is a service charge on each cheque written. (Remember
when you are writing numbers to use a full stop (period) where
we are used to using commas.)
Credit -- can be used in most stores
and hotels and in many restaurants. A few stores off the main
tourist routes do not accept them at all, and others require
a minimum purchase. Although stores may refuse your credit cards
for payments of discounted merchandise, they have no right to.
You are advised to insist on having the card honoured or to
threaten to report the store to the card company.
Filling in cheques -- the ink you
use on cheques must be blue or black. Coloured inks, especially
red, will be refused. Write "non trasferibile" (not transferable)
on the back of the cheque (or on the front if there is a special
space provided) as protection against the cheque getting into
the wrong hands. This is the equivalent of "crossing" a cheque.
Opening an account -- resident foreigners can freely open normal
lire chequing accounts. Non-residents (visitors for less than
six months) can generally open foreign currency accounts where
they want or lire accounts at the banks' head offices. You'll
need a codice fiscale to open any account. Some banks may ask
you for a residence certificate, but this is no longer a legal
requirement, only an internal one.
Transferring cheques -- if an uncrossed cheque is made out to
you, you can endorse it on the back and give it to someone else
who can deposit it, once they have endorsed it, in their own
bank account. If you write "non trasferibile" on the back of
a cheque you are protected from its somehow going astray.
Writing numbers Italian style -- Italian usage is to reverse
our use of commas and decimal points: e.g. 1,5%; 98,6o F; $3,99;
and lire 2.300.000. Numbers that are written differently here
include the one, which looks like tired seven, the seven, whose
stem is crossed, and the two, which should be written without
a loop at the corner so it isn't mistaken for a seven. On a
cheque, the amount of the cheque, when written out, contains
no capital letters and all the words are connected, e.g. "trecentocinquantamilacinquecentolire".
From the Informer.it
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