Jean Galea

Here are some of my notes on opening and maintaining bank accounts in Malta with the island’s two biggest banks: HSBC and Bank of Valletta.

Internet Banking

Although BOV just revamped their internet banking system, they only made it even worse than before, both looks and functionality-wise. HSBC offers a clean interface and an easy way to contact bank officials and get your queries resolved in a timely manner via the internet banking interface. I’ve previously sent messages to BOV from the internet banking that I never got replies to.

The internet banking key of HSBC is also much thinner and thus is easier to carry around.

Branches

HSBC is a clear winner here. Staff is professional and smart, and the offices are modern and well appointed. BOV offices seem to be older and badly designed.

Getting Things Done

HSBC has a reputation of being tougher with their requirements than BOV. Nowadays, however, both of them have strict procedures to adhere to, and if you follow the procedure, I’ve actually found dealing with HSBC to be a more pleasant experience and always very efficient.

Crypto-Friendliness

I’ve written about BOV’s ridiculous stance on crypto before.

ATMs

Again, I think the HSBC ATMs are easier to use and easier to access.

Conclusion

I’ve always believed that it’s always safer to use two banks rather than one. It gives you more peace of mind in the unlikely event of things going south. It also gives you the opportunity to compare and contrast banks and take your business to the one that serves you best. It might very well be the case that one bank excels in one area but is poor in another and vice versa, so this gives you better choice to getting the best deal/service.

I’d be interested to know others’ feedback, so just leave comments below and share your experience. The above is just my subjective opinion based on my particular usage of both banks’ services.

I’m very safety conscious in general, and so I always liked the idea of wearing a helmet when cycling. However I recently came across a few articles that made me think twice.

If you’re a cyclist, read through these two pages:

• https://cyclingfallacies.com/en/29/people-should-wear-helmets-when-cycling
• http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets

My take is that if you live in an area where motorists are well aware of cyclists (e.g. Amsterdam), and there might be potential obstacles that can snag your helmet, you’re probably better off without it. If, on the other hand, you live in a place where car drivers basically hunt cyclists (e.g. Malta) you’re better off wearing as much protection as you can. The same goes for competitive cycling anywhere. A fall at high speed will always be more dangerous if you’re not wearing protection.

In general, we need to keep working towards more bicycle awareness and creating more bike lanes (Barcelona is doing a great job at this), while also designing car traffic routes in a way that reduces potential crashes with cyclists. For example, while Barcelona is always increasing the number of bike lanes, there are some areas that are real death traps.

The most common ones involve a green light for car traffic to go straight or make a 90 degree right turn, while the bike lane on the right hand side runs straight on. Around 80% of the time I ride through such bike lanes, I have a lorry or car turn onto me by mistake. While the drivers lack awareness in such cases, the way the traffic system is designed certainly exacerbates this problem.

 

This is one of the topics that is not really a fun topic, but it’s very important to know your rights and duties if you’re driving in Spain.

First of all, you should know that you have the right to indemnification for both material and personal damage.

Material damages refer to the car you’re in and other objects in it (laptops, phones etc) as well as economic damages such as foregone income in the case of taxi drivers.

Personal damages refer to physical injuries to the driver and passengers of the vehicle as well as any psychological issues caused by the accident. These damages are assessed by a medical expert after the accident.

If there are any injuries, you have the right to choose where you will receive free medical treatment and rehabilitation, be it public or private. You can check all the centers available by clicking on this link.

According to Spanish law (Real Decreto 1507/ 2008), and Ley 41/2002 the costs of medial attention received will be borne by the insurers of the car. This does not depend on whether the patient has a private health policy or whether he chose a private or public hospital to get treatment.

You also have the right to receive consultancy for diagnostics of any injuries. Note that both the driver and passengers are always covered in accidents, provided the cars are insured.

Procedures to Follow

If you’re involved in an accident that is not a serious one, you should always fill in the papers that you’ll find in your car together with the other party. It’s best if both parties can agree on how the accident occurred. Remember that both parties must sign the forms.

If an agreement cannot be reached or there is serious material or personal damage, you should call the national police or the Guardia Civil. In this case, when the police arrive on the scene they will take notes of the accident themselves. If the other driver is not collaborating you should take down his details just in case you need them further down the road when dealing with insurance and tribunals. You must inform your insurance that you were involved in an accident within the next 7 days.

If you will be asking for damages to objects damaged in the accident, make sure you keep the damaged objects and the original purchase receipts if possible. You also have the right to ask for a replacement car while yours is being fixed.

Further Reading

• Accidentes Trafico
• Further details in Spanish