Bank account for German Citizens Abroad
About 15 million people outside Germany, Austria and Switzerland speak German fluently. Of some people, it is the mother language, of others a learned foreign language.
Many of them feel connected with Germany. So why should one not hold part of ones assets in Germany – at least at a German bank? Quite some facts speak in favour. And for you, being someone who knows the language and culture, it is easier than for others to find a good bank that accepts you as a customer.
Everywhere on earth are German speaking people. Some of them really appreciate the German financial services. Are you one of them yet?
Germany is a paradise for bank customers
Especially, if you want to hold or grow your assets outside your country, a bank in Germany is favourable. Just like non-taxpayers in Germany, you do not pay taxes on capital income.
You receive 100 percent of the interest and dividends without any deductions credited to your bank account. And even without deductions of bank charges. It is prohibited for German banks to charge fees for the crediting of capital income.
No taxes, almost no bank charges!
In addition, there are free savings accounts (call money, VISA-Sparen) and many cheap investments (purchase of shares and bonds, fund savings plans and direct savings plans on individual shares).
In almost no other country one can find such a variety in detail. And this without or only low bank charges.
On this special web portal, we provide information about investments in Germany, give tips and instructions and are available for advice and ideas.
International Payments
With a current account in Germany, you can participate conveniently and cheaply in European payments. Transfers within the SEPA area (33 European countries) only take 0 to a maximum of 2 days.
International transfers are also possible from most German bank accounts.
At transfers in the currency Euro to another account in Euros, most German banks do not charge any fees.
Cash position in Euro
If you want to hold a cash position in Euros, it is advisable to use a current or savings account in Germany, because
- Germany is the economic core of Europe. If it really should come to a splitting of the common currency, then the Euros in Germany will belong to the “harder” part. This means currency gains!
- Germany is the country with the best deposit insurance. Anywhere in the European Union, 100,000 Euros are stipulated by law. In Germany, there are private banks that offer a deposit insurance in the millions or there are state-owned banks with an unlimited deposit insurance.
Account applying possible from abroad
Account and card are free of charge. Possibility to apply for many German citizens abroad. Further information.
A special service (regarding the terms: free bank account with VISA credit card, worldwide free withdrawals from ATMs) is offered by the Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB): The application for the bank account + legitimating is already possible in 40 countries without having to visit Germany.
Requirement: You have to speak German language!
The DKB is working on making this possible in even more countries in the future. We support abroad account openings with our instructions.
Moreover, we search for further outstanding services with which German people abroad can
- build up their assets in Germany
- hold their cash position
- participate optimally in monetary transfers
Please contact us for any special request.
Perfect for German people abroad!
DKB: A bank for all German citizens around the globe!
Thanks to the new WebID procedure, people with a German federal identity card or German passport can open a bank account from anywhere in the world.
The application for account opening is made online. The bank waives on sending documents by mail and the ID verification is done through the Internet via webcam.
It cannot get any better … so, what are you waiting for?
Pictures: DKB AG · WebID Solutions GmbH · white (fotolia.com)
DKB looks like a really good option when you’re living inside the EU, and it possibly is still your best option outside. I, however, have run into an “interesting” problem with them:
For many years, I have been sending money to my account with Deutsch Bank using XE (now part of Continental). They offer transfers at a small upcharge to live currency rates. When using SEPA, there are no other costs for the transfer. They have partnered with banks in the EU so that SEPA transfers are possible. Unfortunately, they have been unable to use SEPA to transfer to DKB. Reason: DKB is not listed as SEPA capable in the SWIFT directory(!?). With an incoming SWIFT transfer costing EUR 12.50 at DKB (vs. 0 before), monthly transfers are not an option.
The customer service at DKB has been less than helpful with this. It has taken them 1-2 weeks on average to respond to emails, and since a new person is answering each time, I have received the same non-answers multiple times, having to explain everything from the start again and again.
So, except for people in the same predicament as me, DKB is a good choice. But if you’re trying to do the same that I do, you will be out of luck.
I ran into the same problem last year. I switched to TransferWise and that solved everything.