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    Home » The Plain Columns » The Amish Editor

    Banking on the Amish: Amish Banking

    Published: Apr 6, 2013 · Updated: Feb 2, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 5 Comments

    CAPTION:  Ann, an Amish Cook reader, shared this photo with me which is a fun illustration of Amish banking. It was taken at a bank in Berne Indiana. I've been to this bank before, and I think it's the First Bank of Berne branch on US 27.  Anyway, it illustrates that the Amish, even though they don't have cars, still might need to use drive-up banking. Why not just go inside? Good question.  My guess is that the buggies aren't practical for the drive-thru lanes, so they probably park and walk up, or these are just Amish that work nearby and come on foot. Interesting, fun photo, for sure.

    By Kevin L. Williams

    AMISH BANKING: Sometimes people are surprised that the Amish embrace the banking system so heartily. The Amish are generally cash customers, meaning not many actually use credit cards (although some do, especially for business), but many have debit cards with the Mastercard or Visa logo.  Still, others mainly use checks and cash.  While checks are diminishing in popularity among the general population, the Amish still use them a lot.

    There's also a notion that most Amish pay cash for their homes and while that is true in more cases than the general population, the Amish need home loans also. I write a little bit about this in an upcoming book of mine.  Joe Caffee is the vice-president of commercial lending with the First Bank of Berne in Indiana and he estimated that about half the bank's loan portfolio was made up of Amish customers. Caffee says the Amish are subjected to the same considerations when applying for a loan.

    “The same rules apply to them as anyone else.  But lending to the Amish IS different than to other groups, because there are cultural considerations,” Joe said

    “How so?” I asked

    “Well,  when a young man comes of age, gets married, he often won’t have a credit history, so he’ll have someone, usually his father-in-law, co-sign on the loan.  The young man will pay his bills on time for a few years and then he can have the loan just in his name,” Joe said.

    The more conservative Amish may not use banks as much.  When I was in Pearisburg, Virginia last year buying some baked goods at an Amish bake sale, it was three months before the check I paid them with posted to my account.  Ditto when I bought some baskets from a Swartzentruber Amish family in Ohio, the check took a couple of months to post.

     

     

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mona G.

      April 06, 2013 at 1:56 pm

      Wow ! thanks for this info....I did not know this....I do not like my checks held that long without being cashed.....I bet a lot of people didn't know this either....

      Reply
      • Kevin

        April 06, 2013 at 2:04 pm

        Mona, it does vary. If you're writing a check at the "Rise n Roll" in northern Indiana, a busy bakery, I'm sure that check will post within a few days. But if you're buying some homemade bread from a small roadside stand in a Swartzentruber Amish settlement and you pay by check, yes, it COULD be a long time before it clears...of course, I'm sure plenty of even the most conservative Amish make more regular runs to the bank, it's just a guideline...if you don't want a check taking forever to post, take cash.

        Reply
    2. nancy

      April 06, 2013 at 2:02 pm

      many banks discourage walk-ups at drive-thru window.
      a local concession??

      Reply
      • Kevin

        April 06, 2013 at 2:02 pm

        Could be....probably a cultural concession to the Amish in the area who don't have cars...

        Reply
    3. Lori N.

      April 06, 2013 at 11:32 pm

      That is hilarious! My husband used to be a service station manager about 20 years ago and he was inside the bank doing some banking when one of the tellers asked him, "Isn't that one of your guys out there?" He looked and there was my cousin, Fred, in his Chevron uniform standing in the drive-thru! He said, "No!" We have laughed often about that incident. Maybe he was before his time!

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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