Yeah, I was living in Poland for 4 years some time ago. (2008-2012) and I was astounded how modern banking is compared to Germany.
Here wire transfers still take 1 day minimum. (Except your transferring within the same bank). Doesn't matter if you send the payment in the first or last scheduled transaction window. For the receiver it won't show up till the next day.
Our bank cards won't double as credit/debit cards either. We still have to get an extra card if we want to perform VISA payments. And NFC is still not wide spread. (though that might be a good thing)
I also like how integrated Polish banks are with public services. You could issue a tax or social insurance payment directly from online banking. Granted on the backend it's still just a normal wire transfer but that most banks have an easy to use form for that is great.
I still have my mBank account and feature-wise (and UI wise) it's light years ahead of what my local German bank offers.
I guess here in Germany when it comes to banking we're the victims of early innovation and have to cope with entrenched old standards instead of adopting all the nice new tech.
Germany has a very bad banking system, mostly due to the high market share of very small banks that don't want to or cannot adapt quickly.
Here in the UK transfers also arrive within seconds 24/7 and debit cards can be used for online payments. No idea why transfers in Germany need 1-3 days (depending when you submit it) in a time when there's no manual work involved.
As a Brit I was surprised when I received a reply on Twitter to a blog post I wrote [0] that said:
...in Germany nearly 80% of transactions are still cash - lots of places that simply don't take cards
Reading this thread that now makes more sense. We have it pretty good in the UK with contactless and chip & PIN (although I hear the Dutch have it better). I always feel the US is so backwards when I visit and they do the stripe & sign thing.
However, I still think there are many reasons cash should always be accepted. I won't repeat them here as they're covered in the post.
The standing joke here is that Germany is a "developing" country when it comes to payment. 10 years ago it would even be difficult to pay with an international credit card.. In Sweden bank transfers are immediate if I use "Swish" and I use cash maybe once a month.
Here in Norway I use cash only at a loppemarked (literally flea market but generally in support of a charity, the local brass band, or sports club). Even these now have payment terminals more often than not, just not enough to go around so it is still quicker with cash.
I feel we in New Zealand, despite our small size, we actually have modern POS systems. I have been using contactless Visa regularly for at least 3 years now and have switched to Apple Pay recently. It is so popular here, that relatively small number of vendors who do not have contactless, have stick a physical label on the POS device saying "No Paywave" so when the customer goes to wave, they know do swipe/insert instead.
I've heard that we are a test bed for some technologies, given that the sample size is small relative to the world. An example of this was Pokemon Go, which was AFAIK release first here in NZ (and Australia).
Actually it is 1 day maximum, which is the legal requirement for transfers within the EWR. If it takes longer at your bank, go sue them. But I can't share your experience. I've lately transferred money between three different banks, on a Sunday, and it all happened in near-real-time (DKB, comdirect and my local Sparkasse where involved).
I think the comedy value of the shock on people's faces when you pay at a place with contactless (some bigger shops have it) with Apple Pay is brilliant, though.
Here wire transfers still take 1 day minimum. (Except your transferring within the same bank). Doesn't matter if you send the payment in the first or last scheduled transaction window. For the receiver it won't show up till the next day.
Our bank cards won't double as credit/debit cards either. We still have to get an extra card if we want to perform VISA payments. And NFC is still not wide spread. (though that might be a good thing)
I also like how integrated Polish banks are with public services. You could issue a tax or social insurance payment directly from online banking. Granted on the backend it's still just a normal wire transfer but that most banks have an easy to use form for that is great.
I still have my mBank account and feature-wise (and UI wise) it's light years ahead of what my local German bank offers.
I guess here in Germany when it comes to banking we're the victims of early innovation and have to cope with entrenched old standards instead of adopting all the nice new tech.