A free of charge bank account is nowadays not everything, it is worth reviewing the offers of each bank and choosing the bank closest to our needs, which may include a special German Girokarte, free ATM use and even a free Visa / MasterCard credit or debit card in addition to the free of charge wire transfer within the SEPA payment system.
March 2021 brought a big change in the pricing policy of German online banks, the so called direct banks. Unconditional free bank accounts and the free Girokarte associated with a bank account are a thing of the past. ING Bank was the first to cancel the free bank account from its portfolio, followed by DKB and comdirect.
2021 was the year, when most banks started to charge a monthly fee for the Girokarte, which is a relict from the time when Germany wanted to have its own card processing system. The Girokarte is a special sort of a debit card, associated to the bank account and was cheaper for the merchants compared to accept Visa / MC cards. Most shops still accept the Girokarte, but Visa / MC cards can be used more widely, than before the covid pandemic. There are still small shops, which accept only the Girokarte, be careful, with your Visa or MC you can not pay there.
Before opening a bank account, it is worth answering the following 2 questions:
- Do I need personal banking?
- Do I need an ATM close to where I live because of my cash use habits?
If you answer yes to the first of the above questions, it is not advisable to open an online bank account with a direct bank, but to find and open an account at the nearest Sparkasse or Volksbank / Raiffeisenbank or another bank, even if the account management fees and other bank charges will be very high.
The use of an ATM does not immediately mean that you have to open an account with your local Sparkasse or Volksbank / Raiffeisenbank at your local small branch, despite the fact that most ATMs in the countryside are operated by these banks. You may have a CashGroup or VISA signed ATM near you and you can already look for a cheaper online bank.
Compare the 3 cheapest German online banks
In the following, I will compare the 3 cheapest German online banks based on a number of parameters. Everyone can then decide at which bank they want to open a new bank account.
Most students can open a free bank account at these online banks. Be prepared, that the online banks use the so called Postident process, where you have to identify yourself at a Post Office, after filling out the application form of the bank of your choice.
I have included the current accounts of comdirect , DKB and ING in the comparison , as these are the banks whose conditions will be adequate for most people in 2022 in addition to general use.
All three banks have the option to use Apple Pay and Google Pay, so we can pay with our NFC-enabled phone in most stores without a physical credit card.
Most German banks are required by law to provide a basic bank account for everyone, but in most cases they have a monthly fee. Above a certain monthly income amount (average of 700 €), online banks (Direktbank in German) waive this monthly fee.
What parameters do I test?
- Account management fee, minimum monthly income transfer for free account management
- Free cash withdrawal
- Credit cards, annual fees, usage fees
- Monthly fee for a savings account, fee for regular savings, fee for the purchase of shares.
Account management fee
Both ING bank and comdirect waive the monthly bank account management fee over €700 per month incoming wire transfer or under the age of 28 (otherwise €4.9 / month for both banks), while DKB does not require a minimum monthly wire transfer to the bank account for the free bank account. At DKB, all new accounts for 6 months will be granted with the “Aktivkunde” status, which will allow you to use most services at a lower cost or free of chrage (the commission free non-euro payments with a Visa credit card should be emphasized, if you come from a non euro EU member satate and wants to use this card if you visit at home).
Credit cards
Girokarte
This card was earlier a non-embossed Visa Electron or Maestro card. It is worth mentioning that Maestro cards will be phased out of the market, so the German Girokarte really remains a German specialty and can only be used within the country.
All three banks provide a Girokarte. The card is assigned directly to our bank account and can be used for purchases up to the amount in the bank account. Card acceptance in German retail chains is guaranteed, but it is no longer possible to use this card abroad. Comdirect adds this card to your bank account for free, but ING Bank and DKB also charge € 0.99 per month. The number of stores that only accept this card is low, so everyone can decide if they need it.
Visa debit and Visa credit card
All three banks provide Visa-based debit and credit cards for their bank accounts, the visa debit card is free of charge. If someone prefers to use a Mastercard-based card, they have the option to open an account with Hypovereins Bank or N26 and request this card issuer.
Out of the three banks, ING Bank only issues Visa debit cards. The advantage of this card is that the amount you can spend is the same as your bank account balance, so you can’t overspend. The disadvantage is that the card is not available for car rental or in many cases, it cannot be used to pay at a hotel when traveling abroad, as the card does not have a credit line. The advantage is that it can be obtained without a prior credit rating. In the euro area, it is free to use, while there is a 1.99% charge for payments in other currencies.
Both DKB and comdirect add a Visa debit card to their bank accounts free of charge. If Aktivstatus expires at DKB, the card usage fee (payment, ATM cash withdrawal) will increase to 2.2% outside the euro area. In the case of comdirect, the card usage fee is free of charge when paying in euros, while outside the euro area, the bank charges 1.75%. Cash withdrawals are free 3 times a month with the debit card.
Both DKB Bank and comdirect only issue Visa-based embossed credit cards. For DKB, the card fee is € 2.49 / month, while comdirect charges only € 1.9 per month. With the DKB card, you can pay and withdraw cash from an ATM at no cost everywhere, while comdirect only provides card payment for free, with a cash withdrawal of € 4.9 in each case.
In most cases, after using an active bank account for at least 6 months, you can request embossed credit cards. If someone needs an embossed debit card in any case, the alternative is to open an N26 bank account with a Mastercard debit card and then request a credit card after the minimum bank account usage time required by DKB or comdirect.
DKB Bank also offers the possibility to apply for Mastercard Gold credit cards, their annual fee is 65 euros, respectively. Miles & More membership is € 86.
Free cash withdrawal
Comdirect, ING Bank and DKB Bank offer free cash withdrawals with Visa based debit cards from ATMs with the Visa logo.
Beware, comdirect charges € 4.9, not only in Germany but also abroad, if we withdraw cash with a Visa credit card.
Savings securities account
For many, a savings securities account (Depot in German) is not the primary bank account selection criterion, but in the future, it may be interesting to know the conditions under which our own bank issues a savings account.
All three banks provide a securities account free of charge. Both ING Bank and comdirect provide a free regular ETF saving, in the case of DKB Bank there is no way to open a free, small amount of ETF savings per month, DKB Bank charges a flat fee of 1.5 euros.
If you want to buy shares, it is worth considering opening a securities account with other service providers.
Summary
Based on the above, if someone wants to open a bank account in Germany and will need an embossed credit card in the future, an offer from DKB Bank or comdirect is the best choice. Due to the complicated debit and credit card usage fees of comdirect, if we regularly use our card abroad, it is worth opening a bank account with DKB Bank and requesting a credit card.
If you do not need an embossed credit card and a monthly salary transfer of € 700 is guaranteed, ING Bank can offer a good alternative.
If you only need one cheap bank account, the possibility of saving is irrelevant, then it is worth examining the offer of the already mentioned N26 Bank.
The used price lists can be downloaded here:
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