A chartered accountant who moved to Germany says India’s banking system is “criminally underrated” — especially after experiencing the bureaucratic maze that comes with opening an account in Europe’s largest economy.
Sahil Choudhary, writing on LinkedIn, compared India’s streamlined digital banking to Germany’s paperwork-heavy setup, calling out the stark difference in convenience.
“In India, you just walk into a branch, show your Aadhaar, deposit ₹100, and by evening you’re already paying with UPI to eat paanipuri,” he wrote.
In contrast, Germany’s system, he said, requires scheduling a bank appointment weeks in advance, verifying ID at a post office, and producing a residence certificate from the city office. On top of that, a credit history check is mandatory — and the wait for a debit card can stretch up to a week.
While he acknowledged Germany’s strong data protection laws under GDPR and the absence of aggressive loan marketing, he argued these advantages don’t outweigh the friction.
“Indian banking wins hands down in convenience. We don’t really value our privileges until we lose them,” Choudhary added.
The post resonated with many in the diaspora and finance community, who echoed his praise for India’s fintech leap. India’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has become a global benchmark for instant, secure, mobile-based transactions — a system far ahead of many developed nations.
Choudhary’s takeaway? Indians may be sitting on a world-class banking system without realizing it.
