The Fascinating Banking system in Serbia

    OK, I have mentally prepared myself for this post, its about the financial structure and bank establishment that Serbia has.

  I am a pretty well known face at my local bank (after they took my balaclava off anyways).

  My basic and poor level of Serbian language has always been a source of true confusion and fun when confronted with the detailed legalities of the money business. I can almost see the dread on the faces of the bank clerks when I walk in and approach them with 'Imam pitanje' (I have a question). After this we are in a battle of understanding from both sides, this whole charade involves a great amount of acting skills, patience and translating.

  The bank clerks at Intesa Bank where I go, for the most part do not speak English (or they don't want to) I found this funny, because Serbian people as a whole speak very good English and are extremely talented in languages. As far as the South of Serbia I met many middle-aged and older people who are speaking English very well, and of course most of the young people do. However you cannot expect to be understood or have your questions answered if you are a foreigner and need some help with a financial procedure.

  For the most part the bank clerks are polite, kind and to the point. They are not suffering fools gladly (unfortunately for me) and they don't have much patience when it comes to waiting for you to piece together your Serbian words to explain what you want.

  Setting up an account is easy enough, hand gestures and showing them your old bank cards would do the trick. And setting up the account for your business will follow in a similar manner.

  Monday morning is my business day, I set off with great appreciation of adventure every time I step into Banca Intesa on Monday morning. I must pay the money into my account from the income of CE and I must also pay the bills, pay the staff, work through any legalities etc. Every week its slightly different, but I do make my regular appearance there pretty much on time.

  Something to be prepared for, there are VERY long lines on Monday morning, you can always catch the moment when there is not so many people on the same path as you, but its rare. I expect a 45 minute wait every time I go. I remember waiting in a que in the UK at the bank and the outrage by the other people when there was a 10 minute wait, they were exclaiming loudly to each other how unprofessional it was and of course... they made a scene. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated In Serbia, you will wait your turn.

  There are two respective lines, for business and for personal (bills and household things) This always caused a problem for me, because I have to do both of these activities when I go and this means I must wait first in one line and then in the other.. double trouble. Many times when I go to stand in the business line at my bank, I am gently reprimanded by the other business people waiting in line. They just don't think I should be standing there with them, I do not look like someone who has business banking to do, they try to move me back to the personal line, and after much smiling, few Serbian words and gesturing at my paperwork, they admit that I must be one of them and in the right place.

  While waiting in line, you may not use the phone or talk loudly, I have been scolded. It is a serious environment and smiling is frowned upon. Everyone has a very serious face in there, I like to look at them and occasionally make eye contact with one of the very somber and depressive faces, they often whisper something to me in Serbian (obviously some complaint) I just nod with as much understanding as I can muster up.

  I always take this time as a great opportunity to observe the other bank users at Intesa. I swear the oldest people in the world are there, the line of pensioners is astonishing, they are of course adorable. But I have honestly never seen such old people going to the bank to collect their pensions, every time one of them leave the building its a real scene, we all try to assist, doors are held open, hand are held, back up support is called and they are gently escorted out. I remember one time seeing and incredibly old and wrinkled man trying to sign one of his bills, he just couldn't stand anymore and almost collapsed, I was surprised when, instead of being taken home, an armchair was brought for him to sit in and a staff member held his hand to help him trace his signature. He looked like the living dead and I was sure he really wasn't supposed to be out and about.

  There are a lot of grumpy people in there, dissatisfaction with life written all over their faces, I think about their lives a lot when I am in there, it sometimes feels a bit sad. All in all they are not complaining, its almost like they are acceptent of the disappointments in life and are simply going   through the very pragmatic motions that they must to survive.

  Payments and money transactions are pretty reliable and I really have had pretty much smooth sailing in my banking life over here. However it is sometimes surprising the obvious lack of care of your finances that the bank demonstrates. When I go to the bank in the UK, I am welcomed and plied with customer service, they assure me in every way that my money is in safe hand (well I guess they want customers). It almost seems over here that they do not want you to be their customer and couldn't care less that you chose their bank. I remember the time when I had a 5000 dollar check that needed to be transferred from an American account into mine, I brought the check to the bank, they processed it and I waited for my money. It however did not show up in my account, so I went back and explained the problem to them. They were not delighted to see me again, and after much scurrying around and calling around they informed me that they did not know what happened to my check. I asked them what I should do. They had no idea... the lady also refused to speak English to me. I was very exasperated and told them 'listen please explain to me what happened to my money and where it went and what I need to do to get it', cooperation was minimal and done very unhappily. In the end it worked out and the check was re-sent from my American friend and the money got into my account. They however did not seem concerned that I had just lost 5000 dollars, and that's a lot of money over here and a lot of money to me.

  In all this, I have to admit that I am the foreigner, its not their priority to speak English and in no way do I feel they should have to. Its really my bad if I cannot understand them properly and all of these things have been cool learning moments and also moments of great humour.

There you have it, the banking system in Serbia in a nutshell