Banking and money matters

German money moves by bank transfer rather than by cheque, and almost everything recurring runs on one of two instruments. A Dauerauftrag is a standing order: you tell your bank to send a fixed sum on a fixed day. A Lastschrift is a direct debit: you authorise somebody else to take money out, and you can get it back for eight weeks without giving a reason. Everything is addressed by IBAN, and it is worth learning to read one out loud in German — bank details are still dictated over the telephone far more often than an English speaker expects.