Best Bank Accounts in Germany [2022 Update]
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- Опубликовано: 20 июл 2024
- We compare German bank accounts for English speakers so you can choose the best one for you.
✍️ RELATED GUIDE:
www.simplegermany.com/best-ge...
💶 BEST BANK ACCOUNTS FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS
🔥 N26
www.simplegermany.com/n26-yt-22/
🔥 Commerzbank
www.simplegermany.com/commerz...
🔥 Tomorrow Bank
www.simplegermany.com/tomorro...
Vivid Money
vivid.money/en-de/
🔥 Wise
www.simplegermany.com/wise/
📣 The links marked with 🔥 are affiliate links. When you click on the links of products we mention and purchase them we will receive a small commission. It will not make any difference to you in price, however, it allows us to keep Simple Germany alive and striving.
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👉 The Schufa in Germany - [EXPLAINED in English]
• The Schufa in Germany ...
👉 How To Open A Commerzbank Account
• How To Successfully Op...
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:52 - Disclaimer
01:05 - The Dilemma
02:48 - Banks we won't discuss
07:00 - Best Banks for English speakers
22:41 - Can I open a German bank account outside of Germany?
25:33 - May I have more than one German bank account?
26:55 - Cash withdrawals at the supermarket
28:19 - What's the deal with EC cards?
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We know how frustrating and painful it might be to move to a new country, especially if you don't fully speak the language. That's why we created Simple Germany.
Simple Germany provides tips & information in English about living in Germany as an expat. We talk about services that are friendly and easy to use to beat German bureaucracy. We also cover the cultural aspects of living in Germany. All of this brought to you from the eyes of an expat and a German duo. We want to help you settle in Germany more smoothly.🍻
🍿 Visit our website for more in-depth information on life in Germany:
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#expats #germany #expatsingermany #lifeingermany #expattips
![Top 4 Bank Accounts for Foreigners in Germany [2024 Update]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GjRG1IBV5hU/mqdefault.jpg)
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I just wanted to say thanks to your thoroughly researched videos! You two have been a beacon for my move to Germany. Your interactions are also very positive with each other, which I really appreciate :) Happy holidays from Hamburg!
Thanks for your kind feedback @o6o6o6! We're so happy our videos have helped you out. Happy holidays to you too!
Very clarifying and helpful. Thanks a lot, girls!
Thanks for the shoutout! We're super happy to be included in your list 💜
you ladies totally saved my butt .. thank you so much for your content. highly appreciated! Danke!!!
your videos are very complete, very detailed and very helpful. please keep up the good work.
I love your videeeeos!! Life saver! So eloquent, organised, straightforward, digestable :) thank you!
Awesome video!
I have a dual national friend with US nationality, which I guess makes tax processes more complicated. He registered with many online banks (over 5), and the only one that accepted him after a month was Monese.
Just sharing my very recent experience. I came to Germany from Honduras, one of those countries that don't need a visa, and the only banks that have allowed us Hondurans to open accounts without visas or Resident Permits have been Monese (online) and Sparkasse (in person with Anmeldung). All others ask for either visa or Resident Permit. Monese, additionally, did not ask for Anmeldung, just passport and video/photo identification via app.
Thanks for sharing your experience! 😊
Thanks for the update...very helpful! : 0 )
Thank you so much for the video it's so helpful ❤
Thank you for making this.. germany although full of promises but also has many challenge.. ur video helps people like me who like to give it a shot and hope everythong works out okay while we reach there..❤ love from indonesia
Thanks for this super useful information and @Yvonne -- your shirt is 👌👌👌👌👌
I have n26 and I like it a lot. For people from the US, it’s somewhere in between a usual bank and Venmo. Super easy to quickly split bills with friends (with gifs and emojis), really nice security features, etc.
Is it safe?
i tried opening an account online in N26, and after filling all my data, they just send me an email saying that they cannot validate my ID documents, they didn't say why, just that they couldn't......
Thanks for the updated video...One experience that I would like to share is with Tomorrow Bank...
1. The sign up is easy but then after the sign up the Customer Support team sent a mail with questions like: what is your occupation, what is your net monthly income, to share the anmeldung, to share the proof of income and so on...
2. The customer support was slow...I had to email them for two weeks regularly to get details regarding an account...
3. The bank, stores the data of an account (even after the account has been closed)...I had request separately via email to delete all the data related to the account...I was under the impression that, according to privacy loving country like Germany the data has to be deleted after the account is closed...
4. The app is quite glitchy...I had problems with logging in and so on...
Just wanted to share my experience...
Thanks a lot for sharing!
Great video as always! As far as I know, even when Vivid offers investment options, they are not available for all countries they allow to open the account.
Sparkasse aachen has 90 branches anf and is very popular. When i opened by Girokonto although the paper work was in german obviously, the employee explained everything and every paper in English.
About the cash withdrawal from the supermarket, it also definitely works with Apple Pay. I have withdrawn money in this way multiple times ever since you mentioned this tip in the earlier video (thank you!!!), and I generally pay by my Apple watch and it has worked for me in Rewe.
Ah, great to know!
I have been using vivid money since a year and I am pretty satisfied. It is worth mentioning that i also own a Sparkasse account which I use to save money and draw money out of my account. So vibid for digital and sparkasse for analogue things.
For N26 you need a residence permit.
You both are Amazing 🤩
Very useful, danke schön from Brazil ☺️🇧🇷
Hi girls, I really appreciate your content!
That's awesome! Hope we can meet you one day :)
Intersting and insightful video (also website counterpart). It would be great to include "bunq" in next year(s) version :)
Hello
Commerce Bank: I am not from EU - but I walked in directly, gave them my passport and opened an account immediately. I did not have a job at that time but it was ok - I don’t use the bank for my salary, now I transfer 750 euros every month from my Sparkasse (saving). But if you transfer money to another bank or deposit money, there is a charge. Another problem is, there are not many ATMs so, you pay for each physical transaction. That’s why I use Sparkasse.
Hi, thanks for the very detailed and helpful infos you share, I'd really appreciate if you made a video about moving funds from outside germany into your german bank account regarding to tax considerations, example: selling a property in your home country and transferring/bringing that amount of money into germany.
Thanks :)
For such questions you would need to consult a tax advisor as details change from country to country.
Hi, Thanks for the video. Just wanted to point out one thing regarding Commerz Bank on how they calculate 'minimum incoming payment. In their website under FAQ section it is mentioned that 'minimum incoming money is determined from the sum of the incoming money per calendar month, with the exception of securities transactions, own transfers and credits from the posting of return debits/returned checks or refunds.'. I think that clarifies whether 'self' fund transfers are counted or not.
Thanks for sharing 😊
Great info! Danke! Tomorrow now has investments option. They are the winner for me
I read everything and honestly, I had to open my bank account with Sparkasse and let me tell you that at least here in Bochum they have good working hours, and excellent customer service in English (and believe me, I asked a lot of questions). Maybe I'll change later but it was easy with them when most just gave a hard no if I didn't have my Residence Permit (which I still don't have at this moment and I've been here for 2 months now).
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Hey thank you for your feedback. I am moving soon to Germany and was wondering if it was possible to get your mail or any contact information to ask you few questions if you don't mind
@@moemoebis6433 I can advice based on my knowledge but things change and also depends on your nationality, my advice is to look on the list of nationalities the banks that you’re interested have and what is it that you need because it may be different for you. Mine was very restrictive in most banks but it doesn’t have to be your case.
Loving Yvonne’s shirt 👕 ✨💕.
I have had a very good experience with Revolut. I have been using it frequently since 2021. They also have a great customer service that is easy to contact. For example, they managed to refund my money for two cancelled flights. I've been with N26 since 2017 and decided to switch to them completely a year ago. Great videos. Greetings to Yvonne
Thanks for sharing your experience! 😊
I opened with Sparkase in Berlin. So easy and they speak English for foreigners. I would have loved N26 but they don't verify identity for many passports including Nigeria's. This was a common problem for many online banks I tried including Bunq.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thank you for your effort in constantly improving and updating previous contents 😊 so that we wont be looking at dated info! Really appreciate it!
In June I jumped through all the possible hoops to have a German bank account before moving to Germany (aka without anmeldung).
Deutsche Bank was the only one willing to open it, while N26 in general was a good alternative, BUT if you are from some countries that N26 serves natively, even if you start the registration from the N26 German website, they will create an account based on the address that you input (in my case Italy).
Exactly, which is why we point out that it is not possible to open a German IBAN account from outside Germany, like you experienced with N26. Good to know about Deutsche Bank, although it probably highly depends on your nationality as well.
@@simplegermany @Fabio C I was actually able to open an N26 account online while in the US at the end of July 2022. I had a work visa to come to Germany in August. I downloaded the app, did a video call to verified my identity online late at night to match the German working hours, and added a minimum deposit. The deposit took several tries to work, but the transaction eventually went through with an American travel credit card.
Come ti trovi in germania?
Thanks for the video but Commerzbank has different rules in different branches/ for people. Sometimes they ask for resident permit and sometimes they don't. The Commerzbank executive in Bonn was super rude.
Agree with the different rules in different branches. So sorry to read that the executive in Bonn was rude :/
Hi,
Thank you for all the amazing content and research, it helps a lot for expats like me :)
I would like to highlight that based on the previous video recommendation I tried to open a bank account in Commerzbank in Cologne and my experience was very bad. I filled the online form and for verification they asked me for different things each time like tax id, employment contract and what not. The online customer support will say one thing and at the branch the representatives will say entirely opposite things. After struggling for a week and multiple visits to the branch with all the documents they asked for I finally decided not to open an account with them.
Just wanted to share the experience :)
Regards,
Adil Raj
So sorry to read about your experience. Unfortunately, it seems that the bank evaluates each case based on things they don't make public. So the customer service phone might say one thing that applies to general applicants, and in the branch itself, the agent might evaluate other things. Have you opened your bank account with another bank with a better experience? Thanks for your feedback :)
@@simplegermany With very less hope I took an appointment at Deutsche Bank and to my surprise I was amazed by the service I received. The account got opened in like 20 minutes. Based on my employment contract they waved of all fees for account and debit card. They even provided me with a free credit card (for 1 year). I then took appointment at a different branch for my wife's account and the experience was exactly the same. I think Deutsche Bank is changing and trying to be more expat friendly. :)
Thanks you ❤
Again, well done. :). Thanks.
Do you have a Facebook group? I think it would be useful and a lot of people who follow your RUclips channel can post in your Facebook group and, based on the frequency of questions, you can decide what type of video to do next.
Great channel btw, keep up the great work.
I'm still in the middle of the video but I wanted to note that Revolut did change. After Brexit all European operations have moved to Lithuania. Now you are able to open accounts in a lot more currencies and they are in that currency(no exchanges like before with the pounds). The exchange rate within the EU is 0, meaning you don't pay any taxes for conversion between the currencies within EU and you don't have taxes for bank transfers anywhere in the EU which is dope.
Edit: now that I watched the video I can say that Vivid sounds a lot like Revolut in my opinion.
Thanks for your insights :)
Thanks for info bro
Hello
Hey, Thanks for the video and is it possible to use N26 standard account for SEPA direct debit transactions (for the landlords to deduct apartment rent directly) ?
And I was looking for a nearby branch of commerzbank from maps to identify my self, but I was amazed at the google reviews and ratings of them. There were like only 2 branches in whole Munich with a above 3.0 rating. All others were with bad reviews.
Could you please also make a video about investment options in Germany? I mean the most effective way of saving, to add some amount of money every month. Keep it in the bank account doesn’t look good because of inflation. I read that there are some Festgeld, ETF etc. You are doing amazing videos and very good at presenting information in a short comprehensive way. Thank you for that!
Thanks for your suggestion Elvira! We will add it to our ideas of possible videos in the future ☺️
Partner account for N26 it's also a "Jein". You can make shared account. Tested that with my girlfriend, this month.
Very informative.
I recall the horror of finding a personal bank accoint.
Currently and so far I am using and still happy with DKB (after one time rejection) and Revolut (sorry for your bad experience, I think they changed a lot recently for good 😂)
Love your content always!
Happy to hear!
Thanks
great video. However, the link to the commerz bank in the description is the same as N 26?
Thanks for spotting it! Now it is the correct link 😉
By the way does owning more than two credit cards negatively affect SCHUFA score. Even if your history shows you using less 10% of your credit limit?
Are any of these banks compatible with Capital forming benefits (Vermögenswirksame Leistungen)?
If not, do you recommend any?
Hi Girls, amazing content as always. You didnt review Wise, what about that one?
We talk about it here: ruclips.net/video/B0jxzA_JYhc/видео.html
@@simplegermany gracias!!
FYI for all my Americans out there, I would not recommend N26. I actually used them when I was living in Germany in 2019 and loved their services. However, since this past year they have cut off the American market and you won’t be able to make an account with them! (I don’t even have access to my old account). Hope this is helpful. Anyone that is based in Europe, I would highly recommend using N26! FAST and EASY setup with minimal to no fees!!
Thanks for your insight. As far as we know, N26 no longer provide their services in the USA. However, if you are a USA citizen living in Germany, you shouldn't have any issues opening or accessing your N26 bank account. N26 account access is heavily linked to having a German phone number. So if you leave Germany and no longer have your German phone number, then that might be a tricky situation.
Hello, may I ask if you have a video on Sparkasse Bank here in Germany?
To explain the Revolut situation - they issue the debit card and it has a country code. Given they are a UK startup now with EU banking licence, the card can still be recognized as UK card. When you use the card, it's the payment processor asking if you want to do currency conversion as you have a UK card but paying EUR in the post office in German. The payment processor will write in tiny line says they charge ~ 3% on top of the conversion. And usually users under the pressure of paying money asap just choose random option when presented two buttons. - so be short it's not Revolut's fault. But when presented with options when paying, always choose local currency wherever you are visiting.
That would make sense, however, Revolut is also based in the Eurozone in Lithuania and prodividng a Euro bank account and card. So that scenario should not take place.
@@simplegermany yes. They are now Lithuania licensed bank, but i guess with historical reason there are still have a lot of operations in UK. My IBAN with them is still starting with GB while I have no problem processing SEPA payment for free in EUR. So in the most of card they issue I guess it's still recognized as UK card. anyway it's important that with any card it saves money to choose local currency when paying, most importantly when traveling. Using N26 will be recognized as EUR card so no option will be provided in EUR zone, but once travelling it's the same trick that the payment provider trying to make a bit of your money. btw the trick is called DCC.
Great video. What is your view on Ing-DiBa bank? A friend of mine recommended it, but I see you not mentioning it. Is it not good?
We have no personal experience but would compare it to DKB. It is all in German, which is why we don’t talk about it.
Ing Diba wouldn’t allow opening an account without a residence permit card. Fiktionsbecheinigung won’t work.
@@ajaylamba31 yeah, they rejected me politely by post 😅
Based on my experience, I have had only problems with Tomorrow bank. Blocked account, no successful response from chat support, etc.
Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear!
Hi ladies @simple germany !
First of all i'd like to say your channel and the website is just amazingly good and well explained in general!
But there is one thing related to the banks which I did not get very well and I hope you can maybe give some more light.
Isn't there any bank in Germany , where you can open an account, like a standard debit account where your employer will transfer your salary, and from this same account to get a physical debit card VISA/Master, which you can also use to draw money from ATM, as well as use it for online shopping, transferring money to other (external) bank accounts, etc? I do have such here in BG and its a simple single solution.
Yes of course :) Commerzbank could be a good option. With other modern online accounts like N26, you have limited amount of cash withdrawals a month and you need to pay to get the debit card.
@@simplegermany as far as I saw N26 is not available for Bulgarians.
And also in your banking topic i saw this:
"However, the girocard is not a Mastercard and can’t be used for online purchases. "
Where the benefits of Commerzbank you listed as:
"Free virtual Mastercard debit card
Free girocard"
So, i am confused really. :)
With a minimum income clause, my experience with Millennium bank in Poland was, and I asked that t he branch, the 3000 Zloty, a little more than 700 euro, only has to be in the account for 1 second.
22:28 please share comparison between commerzbank vs deutschebank
Its absolutely facts in Germany ,I experience all of those situations .
Is tomorrow bank safe to open an account. I have heard that some online banks will automatically close the accounts of users without any notical and the account holders will have a hard time to get their money back. Is this true? What is your opinion in this regard!!
Seems like N26 no longer operates in the US..."An Update on N26’s US Operations...As a result, our product is no longer available to customers in the US."
Hello
N26 is just the best!
Thank you for the comparison! Could you add dkb to it?
We particularly talk about DKB in this section: ruclips.net/video/B0jxzA_JYhc/видео.html
@@simplegermany Thanks, sorry! hahah
It's really sad that the Sparkassen (or Volksbanken) are so 80's. Although living (again) in Düsseldorf it makes no sense to transfer all my banking business from the Sparkasse KölnBonn to Sparkasse Düsseldorf because of my saving plans with the popular "PS Los Sparen" or a stock saving plan. You simply cannot transfer them 50 clicks to the north. Even Google Pay on a mobile device isn't possible with a master card of a Sparkasse because they want to push their own mobile payment method. The only advantage is that if you need cash at any place in Germany (and you need it), you will find an ATM even in village with only 3 houses...
Thanks for your insights :) That sucks to read. Wow, good point about the mobile payment.
I am not exectly sure but for me the Vivid looks like have no English service and during the identification instead of accomplish this, agent start speacking German and after I asked to speak English he just disconnected...and reporting of the problem in app leading to nothing.
Thanks for sharing your experience, very interesting to hear.
I recently opened a Commerzbank account. And I don't know why, I'm not able to transfer money through SOFORT. It says we do not accept this bank. I was trying to make an international transfer. And also it's not letting me add the bank into Google pay. It's wierd that the Commerzbank app shows the option of connecting it to google pay. But says unfortunately it cannot be done now. And it's also not letting me connect my PayPal to Google pay.
A bank transfer with traditional banks like Commerzbank usually takes 1-2 days. Not all banks offer the Sofort option and if they do, it is usually for a fee.
Regarding the Google Pay issues, try contacting the customer service, we once had issues connecting with another bank and they were able to help out.
They didn't except my Kosovo nationality and that's why i didn't go with them, I am talking about N26, and now I am very happy with Sparkasse,
can u please tell me if u do online banking bcuz i cannot connect my sparkasse card with my paypal and its driving me nuts cuz i wanna order some things online
@@besianabrahimi po te ben me lidhe me Sparkase pa problem, une per me shume i kam 2 kartela n paypal t lidhura, sparkase dhe Revolut edhe kur te don me bo dicka pay, ta jep me zgjedh nga cila po don me ekzekutu pagesen
Maybe because Kosovo is not a separate nationality? Its serbian
DKB is one of the best online Bank in Germany
You don't mention ING, probably because their website is in German. Reason I looked at it is that ING is a Dutch bank. Giro konto is free with at least 700 euro coming in or if you are under 28 years old. Sign on is online. Extra card is 0.99 per month.
Thanks for your videos,
The thing I want to add is, I was able to open a bank account at Commerzbank without residence but only with my work visa (6 months duration).
Also, can you give more explanation about cash group ATM's? In the country where I came from it is an unusual thing, every bank has it is own ATM, but here in Germany I see mostly some third-party ATMs. In Turkey, whenever I want to withdraw cash I go search the ATM of my bank, and bank mobile apps usually have a built-in feature to find closest ATM on the map
Hey Nuri, with Commerzbank you can withdraw money from any ATM within the "Cash Group". These banks are Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HypoVereinsbank, and Postbank. You can also find an ATM through Commerzbank's ATM finder: filialsuche.commerzbank.de/
Commerz Bank : visited them today at Paderborn branch after online application for identity validation, gentleman told that as per their new policy they will not offer account to students who are less than 1 year in Germany…. I was shocked to hear it.
N26 : completed my application halfway but couldn’t complete video verification as they don’t do that for Indian passports. Did raise with N26 on chat for visitors but did not get a solution
I simply need account for day to day use and link it to blocked account but not sure why is there so much of issue in getting a simple account
Sorry to read that. Have you tried to ask your university for any recommendation? If nothing works, you can always try with a super traditional German bank like Sparkasse as a starter account.
Thanks for sharing this, same happened to me, WISE saved me. Try to, simple online, you need to pay deposit of 20 euro from any other account then it's all ok
Hello
Revolut is a great bank, great services and flexibility.
Commerzbank also accepts work contracts and your passport for registration, you don't necessarily need a residence permit, if you have a long term contract.
Why didn't you included the Revolut. That is one of the best.
There is an Commerzbank App in English? Mine is only in German. I ask in the Bank, but they couldn't answer me... Could you could share the download link?
If your phone is in English, the app should automatically be in English. Apps usually follow the language of the phone. To change the app language you need to go to the app settings and adjust it there.
Can a person having residency permit of Germany open a joint account with a relative in Home country in a Germsn Bank ??
OR is it possibe for yhe Getman resident to nominate a relative in Home country as "next of kin" to claim the bank balances in event or any unfortunate circumstances??
For joint bank accounts, I think both people need to be residing in Germany. You can look into creating a "Vollmacht" (power of attorney) or will where you name your next of kin in the event of an unfortunate event. You can get advise from a German lawyer. These speak English: se-legal.de/
One correction on N26: you can have a dedicated shared account option with another N26 user, multiple accounts with IBAN options and, my favorite, create an account, add an iban and move the card from the main account to that one. Excellent solution for cost control. Of course, not sure if is available on the free version, but really worth the 5 euro monthly fee(in my case). Note: all available on the app itself.
Oh interesting! Thanks for the info! Just had a look and yes, it is shared spaces with the premium accounts. So not fully shared accounts per se. But valuable to know that it is possible 😊
And do not forget the Income Sorter, I have been using all features of N26 and it's perfect for finance OCD guys like me.
Thanks for the updated video. Somehow I can't find which nationalities need to provide residence permit in Commerzbank and the list of nationalities N26 accepts. Both lists would probably change before I move to Germany, but I'm still curious
Commerzbank doesn't have a list as the technically accept all nationalities. You need to identify yourself in person if you are from outside the EU. Whether you need a residence permit depends on your local branch, as we have multiple experiences where sometimes you do need it and sometimes you don't. For N26, you can find the list in the comparison table of our guide: www.simplegermany.com/best-german-bank-english-speakers/
Hi, thanks for video. I just have a quick question. is it possible to use WISE account when moving to Germany? as I could see that I need an address to open bank account. thanks
Yes, the beauty of Wise is that the open a multi-currency account. So if available you can already open it in your home country or open it once you are in Germany and also use it to transfer money from your home country to euros.
@@simplegermany can I use it as salary payment account as well ?🤔
Yeah as long as you use the euro account, we don't see why not 😊
@@simplegermany thank you 😊
I want to get n26 but they won't let me without a social security number 😭
Could you please talk about c24 bank too? It has new interest rate coming in September 2023.. TIA
Their offer is available in German only. Our criteria are banks who offer their banking in English.
Personally i dont trust a bank where i cannot go to in person incase i need help. I have already seen a very bad case of person, probably an international student IIRC loosing access access to all his money for weeks in his only bank account he had, which was in N26. He claimed he complained to N26 multiple times but to no avail. Ironically N26 replied to his social media post and asked him to do the exact same thing he had mentioned doing multiple times. So hell no for me.
great
So if i wanted to Sign Up for Commerzbank, do i still need a residence permit and Anmeldung if i have Dual Citizenship Between US and Germany
As a German citizen, you of course don't need a residence permit.
Hello @SimpleGermany, I will be coming to Germany in March. My employer said, I need bank account to pay (and mention) for the rent contract. But bank account needs Anmeldung and for House I need a bank account to pay them (Chicken or the Egg situation). Is it possible that landlord will accept this wise account (for rent contract and paying them)? Thanks in advance!
Wise gives you a European IBAN that you can use for SEPA transfers, which is how bank transfers are done in Germany. So there is no reason why your landlord shouldn’t accept the Wise bank account.
@@simplegermany Thank you very much.
The answer to moving back and forth the 700 euro for commezbank to avoid monthly fee is YES. Students do this all the time
You two are amazing! Thank you for providing so many people with these resources and advice.
Hello
I think Tomorrow has now some investment possibility
Hello girls! About Commerzbank, what if your balance is negative and when you sent 700 euros the balance is 650, will it still be recognized as monthly deposit of 700 and the account will be free? I tried hardly to find this info but failed :(
The terms and conditions from Commerzbank state cash inflow excluding securities transactions, own transfers and credits from posting returned debits/checks. Nowhere does it state a minimum current balance 😊
Ah, and we are back to the tradition when I think of doing something and you happen to make a video about it :D sticking to N26 though apparently...tried Vivid, but my lousy out of EU nationality is not allowed to do any investing through them :/
quick question, you are not planning to make a similar update video about credit cards by any chance? I am missing some sweet perks I was used to in my home country, like a free Priority Pass card that allows you to use the VIP lounges in the airport (a huge money saver and you don`t have to be a Rockefeller to be admitted) and other stuff like that, but I haven`t seen that to go with any of the German credit cards :(
Hehe, glad we are back in the tradition 😉 Regarding credit cards there are not as many changes on the market, so no new video planned at the moment. And yes, Germany is not really that big on perks such as airport lounges. Maybe American Express has some of those, but then you would also pay a yearly fee for the cards.
@@simplegermany bummer, would need to become a Rockefeller after all :D thank you for the video and the response! :)
Oh and whenever you have a certain topic in mind, you can also always check our website. We update the guides more often than we can record new videos on a specific topic 😉
Postbank Platinum and Revolut Metal have vip lounge entry
Ah thanks for the info! Just had a look at Postbank Platinum and in our eyes it is a rip-off. The card is super expensive, you pay cash withdrawal and foreign currency fees and you still have to pay extra each time you want to enter an airport lounge. It makes more sense to get a free credit card, which we discuss in our guide: www.simplegermany.com/best-free-credit-card-germany/ and become a member of priority pass directly.
N26 asks me to choose a plan among which all have monthly charges
The Standard account is free of charge.
I literally am in the middle of this whole bank search and getting accounts. Thank you for the video, right on time
What about ING
Anyone tried Resolut?
Thanks for the recommendations! I signed up with N26 and the experience has been great. One important thing to note with N26 - there is no interest baring savings account with them. This was an unexpected shock to me after I paid the annual fee hahaha
There are very few interest baring savings accounts in Germany. You would need to look for Tagesgeld or Festgeld and even there you will only find 0,5% interest or similar.
Thank you very much for the info! I can also confirm that the Commerzbank guide is very useful.
I do have a few questions:
1. A few months ago, there was some controversy regarding N26 closing accounts and disabling people from withdrawing their funds, under the pretense of detection of fraudulent activity. According to r/n26bank subreddit, it is happening currently as well. Is this a legit issue? And if it is, how many people are affected by it?
2. Which banks allow for international transfers, apart from Wise? I didn't see this being mentioned in the video, and I just noticed that Commerzbank app does not allow me to transfer money to a non-german bank. And yet, receiving money from the very same bank is not an issue
Regarding your questions. 1) Generally, accounts of any bank get closed for presenting irregularities, that sometimes can be very small, that can indicate a possible fraud. In order to avoid actual fraudsters from learning how financial institutions undertake these account audits, and learn how to possibly evade them, banks do not share this type of internal information and they are legally encouraged to act in that way. That's standard practice in most countries. Unfortunately, sometimes they do flag innocent accounts, and once they decide to close them, they never really turn back.
2) Most banks allow for international transfers, they are just quite expensive compared to Wise or similar platforms. Commerzbank definitely allows international transfers. Maybe it only works from the desktop app. When selecting Überweisung you have the options at the top for own account / inland or SEPA / Ausland or foreign currency. Select the last one 😊
What about ING bank?
It’s a good bank but only offers everything in German.
Has commerzbank stropped offering bank accounts to people without permanent residency?
Like we mention in our video and guide it is a case by case situation. We know of experiences where a residence permit was needed but also when it was not. So you would need to try for yourself.
@@simplegermany thanks for your reply. I tried to open a BSW Girokonto at Commerzbank since I am a beamter, but they refused since I do not have a permanent residency. They told me it's a recent development. I was a bit surprised.
Once again great info ladies thank you :)
Muchas gracias por el contenido que generan, es EXCELENTE!!! Hago una observacion sobre VIVID, desde hace un par de meses que permite el deposito en efectivo. Hasta €200 por mes sin comision, y despues de ese monto te cobra 1.5% de comision por deposito. y creo que tiene un maximo de €999 por semana. Saludos!
Is Deutschebank considered not a good bank ?
It is a totally fine bank. It just is more expensive than e.g. Commerzbank and doesn't offer any benefits in our opinion.
A completely free physical bank is Santander to complement an online bank.
Cons: everything in German (local branch may talk in English if requested), few ATMs.
Pro: instant transfer upto 5k EUR, free credit card, account
Gracias! Me acabo de mudar a Alemania toda la información es muy útil estoy muy agradecida con ustedes 😊
Bienvenida 😊
Your channel is so underrated, hope you hit 100k soon✨️