Learning to bank

So over the weekend I was at the HDFC bank. The branch is so under resourced that there is always a big queue to talk to the personal banker. Sometimes you have to jockey for position as people try to cut in. I was standing politely four feet away from the desk since there was one person talking to the personal banker. As I was waiting there, one dude walks into the bank and sits into the empty chair while these two people are discussing their private banking matters. It was then I realised that unless I jockey for position, I will never get to talk to the banker that day. So the next chance I got, I sat down on that chair. I learned quite a lot about the other person who was talking to the banker, his account balance, his tax implications etc. etc. It is a very striking experience when you compare the privacy/personal space you get in US banks compared to Indian banks. In US, the processes are so optimized that you don't have to spend an extra second with the teller if at all you have to see the teller in the first place. In India, even though there is automation and computerization, there are enough breaks in the process that you need to talk to a human.

It is kind of embarrasing when you find out that you don't even know the basics of banking processes. e.g. I did not know that you have to put "A/C Payee" with lines above and below it on every check that you write! Also I did not know how to withdraw cash (since I have not received my debit card, hence the trip to the teller in the first place!) using my own check. Who do I write the check to? Do I fill out any slip?

Where do I go to learn these basic processes? :)