Hello my faithful readers:
It's Sunday here in Leuven and now that I finally have a semi-permanent home (for the next 9 days) I have a little time to blog. Last Friday was the day that I had to check out of my guesthouse room and they knocked on my door at approximately 7:42 AM. Luckily I was awake because I knew that I had to check out by 11 AM and I had an appointment at the bank for 9 AM. I was already starting to pack my things together and the guy at the door wanted to get in and clean. AT 7:42 AM!!! I told him that I had an appointment (at the bank) for 9 AM so I'd be leaving my room at 8:30 and suggested he come back for then to start his cleaning. I got everything packed back into my suitcases and jumped into the shower so that I could make it to the bank on time.
I made my way to the bank where I ran into one of my classmates who was also setting up his account. If I hadn't seen him there I'm not sure I would have realized that the bank is also a branch because at first appearance it looks like it could be, but you can't see any of the office areas because they have a wall that pulls down overnight. The only thing visible to us customers is the bright orange wall and a weird door. This entrance also houses the ATM machines.
After walking in I visited the Info desk where the young woman told me to have a seat while I waited for my personal banker for the day. Just to explain a little about the process, I began the process of opening my accounts by calling the ING Expat Center; they were very helpful here for a fee of around 30 euros. The expat center required scans of my passport, rental contract and letter of registration from the school before they could set me up with an appointment to open up my account at the branch here in Leuven. The man helping me to open my account was very nice and we spent an hour with him explaining everything to me (he also shared some of the potential scenarios/fees for taking out insurance with ING - they offer renters, fire and car insurance to their customers in addition to their banking services here in Belgium.
Banking (at ING) seems to be slightly different here in Belgium than in the US. The main differences are:
-- they don't have routing numbers here - their numbers are called IBAN and SWIFT codes
-- banking online (especially for ING means something different as well (particularly for ING you have to download special software to your computer and you have to pay a fee if you want to bank online from multiple computers
-- bills are paid by wire transfers more often here and I haven't heard mention of checks at all
-- ING can receive transfers in multiple currencies and keep them in that currency (e.g. US$) should I choose to set my account up in this manner
One special note for my Indian friends considering opening an account with ING - one of my Indian classmates called the ING expat helpline and was told that all Indian expats have to go all the way to Brussels to open up their ING accounts.
Getting my banking situation straightened out it was a great relief for me and at the end of my appointment I had successfully opened my current (like a checking account without checks it seems) and savings accounts. So far this was the only thing that I could open without having moved into my permanent accommodations. I couldn't register yet with the city because I haven't moved in, nor could I set up the data plan for my blackberry so opening my bank account was a huge boost for me. After opening the bank account I hurried back to the guesthouse to move my bags into one of my classmates room. I needed to leave them there until I figured out where I was going to stay for the next few weeks. After moving my bags I went to check out of my room and settle my final bill with the guesthouse. I spent the rest of the day finding a temporary room here in Leuven. So that's exactly what I did.
I'll share a little bit more tomorrow about my new living situation, that's a whole new blog topic! Tonight I'm off to another round of dinner and drinks in Grote Markt with my new classmates. Did I mention that I'm loving it here in Leuven???
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
2 comments:
You might want to think twice about data plans on your mobile. See if WiFi around the places you live and study at, is available. Your university password also works for WiFi from the KULeuven WiFi around the town. That way you have internet on your mobile (Apple / Windows Mobile) without taking up expensive European data plans.
Hope you get to your final acco soon :)
For the other Indians, ING might be a pain. The school recommended KBC as an alternative to ING in that case.
Keep posting. This is a wonderful read!
Thanks RP. Good advice - although I'd prefer the mobile plan for those areas that don't have wifi. It's just easier for me to have consistent email access.
:)
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