Dollar account with up to 3 % interest
Lately, we had quite a lot of inquiries regarding the opening of a USD account. This article presents the best option for a Dollar account in Germany. I hope that you will find here just what you have been looking for.
For fast readers: the IKB offers the Dollar account with the best interest in Germany since long (call money and fixed deposit from $ 5,000): www.ikb.de.
Your additions via the comments box at the end of the page are welcome!
1. Introduction: Why open a Dollar account?
Contents
In contrast to the Euro-zone, interest is paid on balances in the “Dollar-zone”. However, the exchange rate between these two currencies changes every second. That means that if I exchange money from Euros into Dollars and then exchange it back again, the probability is very high that the currency exchange will be executed at a different rate.
That may be good for me – I make currency gains – or bad: despite the interest in the USD-area, there are losses, because the exchange rate has changed (exchange rate risk).
To invest Dollars instead of Euros purely for generating interest is a (currency) speculation. I would not recommend that!
However, if someone wants to hold some of the account balance in US-Dollars for the sake of protection (risk diversification), then this may be a meaningful strategy.
… and if I absolutely want to have a Dollar account, then it should be the one that yields the most interest and is still safe, shouldn’t it?
2. Tagesgeld – call money account in US-Dollars
In my research, I encountered the IKB again, a bank that I observe since quite some time.
It is one of the few banks with a direct service in Germany, which offers an account on a US-Dollar base at all, and the IKB has the Dollar account with the highest interest in Germany!
Highest interest for US-Dollars in Germany!
An overview of the conditions:
- 0.7 % interest at a daily availability of the deposit
- free account management (online banking)
- minimum investment amount only US$ 5,000
- exchange EUR/USD for only Euros 0.0038 per Euro (38 pips)
- free incoming and outgoing transfers on the Euro settlement account
- outgoing or incoming transfers in Dollars are subject to charge from USD 101 (USD 28), does not apply to internal transfers from the Euro account!
- online account opening with following PostIdent-procedure
Always up-to-date conditions and account opening ► https://www.ikb.de/privatkunden/sparen/geldanlagen-us-dollar.
3. Festgeld – fixed deposit in US-Dollars
At the IKB, there is also the possibility of investing fixed deposits in US-Dollars with a term from one month to ten years, in addition to the call money.
Interest rates at the time of the article creation. Go directly to the ► current conditions!
DThe Dollar accounts of the IKB are addressed to private persons with their place of residence in Germany.
4. Why can the IKB pay such high interest?
The answer is simple and logical: the IKB provides loans in US-Dollars. Especially in the areas of export and project financing. The interest earned through loans are higher than the interest paid by the bank for the deposits of private customers. Classic banking business!
Excerpt of the IKB website for corporate customers
5. Account opening of the Dollar account
The opening of the Dollar account at the IKB is very simple and works just like with other online banks:
- fill the online application on account opening
- legitimating through the PostIdent-procedure
- wait for the welcoming documents including access data
- transfer the investment amount
- internal transfer to the investment account (call money, fixed deposit)
- enjoy the interest credits 😉
Further questions (► comments box at the end of the page) or continue with the account opening?
“Unique in Germany”
… open the free Dollar account!
6. Experiences with the Dollar account of the IKB
Of course, I am interested in the experiences of our readers with the dollar account of the IKB. Finally, it is also about whether we will officially include this bank in the list of the constantly observed banks by us and prepare more content regarding the subject of foreign currency accounts.
If you look at other guiding articles on our special portal, you will see that the reader engagement via commenting and guest posts has contributed significantly to form opinions and recommendations. In particular, when it was about the clever use of bank accounts.
Bonus: Video interview with the head of the private customer department
At the trade fair “Invest”, I met Jörn Schiemann, who is responsible, among other things, for the IKB Dollar accounts. He spontaneously was willing to answer a few questions live on camera for the fans of DeutschesKonto.ORG (video in German language).
… and here you can subscribe to our YouTube channel 🙂
If you have further questions that whether I nor other readers can answer, then perhaps there will be another video interview … 😉
Further articles about the subject USD account:
- How to convert an investment account into a USD checking account
- Open a bank account in the USA (remote account opening for German speaking people)
Dear Mr. Gregor,
I am a mexican national who has lived good 40 years abroad when working for the Mexican Foreign Service, but now I am retired in Mexico. I own some property which I am trying to sell in dollars (around 500 K). I would like to make the most of this money while I live and wish to know which is the bank that pays the highest interst rates.
Also, I would like to open the account via internet and need to know what documents I need. I could open the account (with approx. USD $ 20,000) and I could send checks from Citibank NY and Bank of America, San Francisco, accounts that I have had for the last 20-25 years.
I would deeply apprecite your professional assitance and shall be looking forward to hearing from you.
Dear Mr. Virtudes Mier,
DeutschesKonto.ORG is a web portal, comparable with a magazine about clever banking. Just as it is with a magazine, there is neither consultancy nor assistance, but instead a lot of information and inspiration you can make use of for your own plans. Good luck with that.
Dear Gregor,
Thank you for your kind reply. I will try to contact a bank directly in order to try starting the process of opening a USD account.
I wish you the best in your very valuable position of bank advisor.
Kind regrards,
Virtudes Mier (Mrs.)
Puerto Vallarta Jalisco México
Hey Gregor,
Can this account be used by self-employed people to receive USD invoice payments? Not high volume, but low volume, for example less than 5 incoming wires per month.
Thanks for all the great info on the website.
Alex
That is a good idea! I don’t know the answer, because I don’t get money from other people in USD in Germany. Is there somebody who could try this?
Hi Gregor,
With a IKB USD-Tagesgeldkonto is it possible to get a credit card with the account?
Many thanks,
Leander
This is a savings account, and generally savings accounts do not have a credit card. At IKB at least, there is not credit card attached with the savings account.
Hello,
I am EU citizen living and working in Saudi Arabia. I’ve got a job offer in Germany therefore I will be moving to Germany in a couple of months. Before the move I have to close my bank account here. How can I open a dollar account and transfer my savings to German bank account before leaving Saudi Arabia and getting established in Germany.
This account it should probably be the easiest way. Best of luck with the implementation!
Hello,
I have some cash in USD which I would like to put to the savings account. Is it possible to deposit cash in USD in IKB?
Yes.
Hi Gregor,
Thank you for your reply. However it is still not clear for me how can I put my cash into IKB saving account. As I understood IKB doesn’t have any offices for the private customers where I can come and give them my money. I’ve read on their website that I can make a transfer in USD but then I need to put my dollars into another bank first. So when it’s still a question: how can I do it in Berlin?
IKB is a direct bank and only accepts money by bank transfer. If you work with cash, it makes sense to go to a bank branch such as the Reisebank. Whether that’s the best tip, I can not tell you because we specialize in direct banking.
I will be retiring soon, looking for a bank that I can send my pension in USD to a bank in Germany.
Thanks
RayC
The easiest and cheapest is this provider. Here you can open a US account and receive US dollars. German banks very rarely offer USD accounts and when they do, it is difficult to use.