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!

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 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 for the shoutout! We're super happy to be included in your list 💜

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

you ladies totally saved my butt .. thank you so much for your content. highly appreciated! Danke!!!

Very clarifying and helpful. Thanks a lot, girls!

your videos are very complete, very detailed and very helpful. please keep up the good work.

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

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.

I love your videeeeos!! Life saver! So eloquent, organised, straightforward, digestable :) thank you!

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.

Thanks for this super useful information and @Yvonne -- your shirt is 👌👌👌👌👌

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!

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.

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 the update...very helpful! : 0 )

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.

Hi girls, I really appreciate your content!

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.

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."

Thank you so much for the video it's so helpful ❤

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!

Thank you for your effort in constantly improving and updating previous contents 😊 so that we wont be looking at dated info! Really appreciate it!

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,

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!!

Great info! Danke! Tomorrow now has investments option. They are the winner for me

Intersting and insightful video (also website counterpart). It would be great to include "bunq" in next year(s) version :)

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 :)

Very useful, danke schön from Brazil ☺️🇧🇷

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.

DKB is one of the best online Bank in Germany

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.

Do you have a Facebook group? I think it would be useful and a lot of people who follow your KZfaq 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.

You both are Amazing 🤩

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

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.

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.

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).

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 you ❤

Again, well done. :). Thanks.

Partner account for N26 it's also a "Jein". You can make shared account. Tested that with my girlfriend, this month.

You two are amazing! Thank you for providing so many people with these resources and advice.

The answer to moving back and forth the 700 euro for commezbank to avoid monthly fee is YES. Students do this all the time

Loving Yvonne’s shirt 👕 ✨💕.

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

great video. However, the link to the commerz bank in the description is the same as N 26?

Based on my experience, I have had only problems with Tomorrow bank. Blocked account, no successful response from chat support, etc.

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?

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.

I literally am in the middle of this whole bank search and getting accounts. Thank you for the video, right on time

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

Hi Girls, amazing content as always. You didnt review Wise, what about that one?

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.

Its absolutely facts in Germany ,I experience all of those situations .

Thanks

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

N26 is just the best!

Once again great info ladies thank you :)

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.

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...

Don’t put all your children in one basket

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.

Are any of these banks compatible with Capital forming benefits (Vermögenswirksame Leistungen)? If not, do you recommend any?

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

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?

Hello, may I ask if you have a video on Sparkasse Bank here in Germany?

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!!

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

Thank you for the comparison! Could you add dkb to it?

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 :(

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!

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

Gracias! Me acabo de mudar a Alemania toda la información es muy útil estoy muy agradecida con ustedes 😊

Why didn't you included the Revolut. That is one of the best.

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 :(

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.

I want to get n26 but they won't let me without a social security number 😭

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??

great

I got my bank account in Deutsche Bank for my salary two months ago and yet to receive my ATM card.. Then I opened with Revolut with virtual card and it works like a charm..

N26 is asking for German resident permit. So one without permit can't open account with N26 with valid Visa and passport?

Your channel is so underrated, hope you hit 100k soon✨️

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.

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

22:28 please share comparison between commerzbank vs deutschebank

Could you please talk about c24 bank too? It has new interest rate coming in September 2023.. TIA

I think Tomorrow has now some investment possibility

What about ING bank?

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.

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?

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!

Thanks for another nice addition to your series of wonderful videos. May I know whether changing my bank account from one bank to another affects my Schufa score? Thanks

Thanks for Continous update, I have not pleasant experience as rejected by Commerz bank, without giving me transparent reason, but I believe because my nationality, while I have very satisfied and pleasant experience with WISE online bank, they literally saved my live in all term, transfer fees and speed are the best, online, Apple and Google pay, visa, every thing as a payment are great

What about ING