86 CultureShock! Austria
at the Kassa window. Austrians have a tough time standing in
line. That’s why you’ll often see footprints in yellow on the
ground more than 2 meters away from the window, signalling
that the next person in line must wait at that point.Standing Payment Orders
To make banking easy for yourself, open up as many standing
orders as necessary. If you have fixed amounts to be paid on
a certain date, the orders you want are called Dauerauftrag.
If the amount and date vary from month to month, open
an Einziehungsauftrag. Regular payments to doctors,
dentists, etc. can be made using the Erlagschein (product
of the postal bank) or Zahlschein (product of the regular
banks), account-to-account transfer forms which will be
given to you by the payee. You may also receive a letter from
the payee (Honorarnote) with his or her bank’s information.
You can do all of these payments at the bank. There is an
area set up telling you exactly how to fill out and stamp
the forms and to put one in the box and keep the other for
your records.Bankcards
Bankcards, or debit cards (Bankomatkarte), and automatic
teller machines are widely available in Austria. Some words
you should know in order to use the ATM:
Confirm amounts with the green button marked
BESTÄTIGUNG
Correct a mistake with the yellow button marked
KORREKTUR
Cancel the transaction with the red button marked
ABBRUCH
Once you have your money (take the card first, then the
money), don’t wait for a receipt, as none will be given. You
can withdraw up to € 400 per day.Bank Credit Cards
Bank credit cards give you a one-month grace period before
the total amount you charged is due. They are not set up to
charge a monthly minimum amount, so beware! They can