On Friday, September 28, I went to the Bank of Valletta’s branch at Balluta Bay at 11.30am to cash a cheque. The security guard told me to wait in the line outside the bank because there was a long (slow-moving) queue inside. He informed me the bank did not cash cheques after 12 noon (even though closing time on Friday was 3.30pm). At noon, I was still standing in the queue outside the bank and my cheque was not cashed. The following Monday, I tried again.

Same story: a long, slow-moving queue inside the bank and another outside.

At noon, I told the security guard I wanted to speak to the manager. The manager promised me my cheque would be cashed. Finally, after waiting for 45 minutes, I stood in front of the teller. She told me she could not cash my cheque because the computer was not working. I told her I wanted to speak to the manager. She went to speak to him while I waited another 10 minutes. My cheque was finally cashed after a lot of hassle.