Here is a quick overview about the types of bank account you can open in Germany.
Girokonto (Current Account): This account is for receiving your salary or paying bills.
Sometimes some
banks might offer special deals for students and young people.
Sparkonto (Savings Account): As the name implies, this account is for your savings. You can
have either
a Tagesgeldkonto, which you can access instantly or a Festgeldkonto, which is a higher interest
account
where you have to deposit at least a certain amount and the money has to stay there for the
descripted
period of time.
Digital and Mobile Accounts: There are banks in Germany that do not have any physical
branches and
operate completely online/from your mobile device. Their fees are usually lower (not always) and
sometimes there are no monthly fees. They might not have full English customer support.
ⓘ If you aren't a citizen of EU or haven't received your residence card yet: Digital and mobile accounts option might not be immediately available for you when you first arrive. Please check with the bank for their policy.
Most of the banks charge you a certain monthly fee for your account (depending on the services you
choose for an account) . Sometimes if you are earning more than a certain amount per month, this fee
may be waived.
Now that you have a bank account, you can do a lot more in Germany!
→ If you are a citizen of EU or overall have a bank account from a country that's part of
SEPA, and
just do not want to deal with opening a bank account just to receive your salary, you might be able
to do so! In this case, contact our Human Resources Department.
(Though we recommend having a German
bank account for convenience reasons).
