Online loans in Germany tested and the benefit for you!
Comprehensive report of the large-scale online loans test
The German consumer magazine “Finanztest” examined in the current issue 22 banks that grant online loans.
Test result and tips for your online loan in this article!
You can get the magazine at a kiosk or read the most important facts in our article … supplemented with helpful tips, because we observe some banks since years and therefore know exactly where to focus on at an online application regarding the payment of a loan!
How to take advantage of the German online loan market!
In Germany, there will soon be more loan applications and payments online than through the classic way, so the loan application in a branch office. The reasons for this are obvious:
- Demonstrably low interest rates
There are banks that have specialized on internet loans and do not have to bear the high cost structure of a branch bank. - Faster loan payment
Partially within 24 hours – however, this always depends on the bank, some also need up to 7 days. - Loan granting to persons, who would not have gotten a loan in a branch office
Money does not grow on trees, not even on the Internet – however, investigations show that online providers also grant loans to people, who were rejected by a bank branch beforehand.
Moreover, it is perceived by some people as more convenient to fill and send the loan application comfortably online.
Apply online, afterwards counseling optionally by phone.
As soon as the personal data is entered and sent, often, a loan consultor is available free of charge by phone, who navigates you through the loan procedure. More on that in the course of this article.
Test winner: Best German online loan bank!
Only the SKG Bank has been rated with “very good and was elected test winner with an overall score of 1.2 (German school grade principle: 1 best and 6 worst number) by the Finanztest-editorial.
At the SKG Bank, everything starts out good: clearly presented website and easy, comprehensible online loan application.
On the rankings 2 and 3, the Deutsche Bank (1.6) and the DKB (1.7) follow.
Why did the SKG online loan win and what is the benefit for you?
The editorial assessed, how easy the loan application is and whether the bank fulfills with all legal specifications (specifically the consumer protection). This is the test result of the SKG online loan:
- very good information on the website, as well as very easy data entry
- customer is informed about the data storage
- personal situation of the customer is captured very good
- renouncement on a prepayment penalty at early loan repayment
- free unscheduled repayments possible
- delivery of the consumer information according to EU-standard
- creditworthiness-neutral query at the Schufa (Germany’s biggest information bureau for loans)
- attractive loan interest rate
Make your loan application at the test winner
For whom is the SKG the right bank?
The online loan of the SKG Bank should be interesting for you, if you:
- have your place of residence in Germany
- have your current account in Germany (DE-IBAN necessary)
- have an income as an employee (empoyees, workers, officers)
- want to apply for a loan between Euros 2,500 and 50,000
- and agree to repay within 12 to 120 months.
Moreover, the SKG Bank requires to have an average to good creditworthiness. If all this applies to you, then it would be a good idea to make your loan application online at the SKG? https://privatkredit.skgbank.de/online/
If that does not apply to you, please keep reading – maybe you will still find an online loan that fits your requirements! 🙂
Does the SKG fit to you?
For whom is the SKG not the right bank?
In principle, this results from the reverse arguments of the already mentioned list:
- You have no place of residence in Germany
place of residence in Germany is to 99.9 per cent a requirement of German loan banks. Exceptions are own real estate financings, if the real estate is situated in Germany, or at securities loan with relinquishment obligation as a security. - You do not dispose of a German current account
at the online loan of the ING-DiBa (https://www.ing-diba.de/lp/ratenkredit) a current account in the SEPA-area is enough. Alternatively, you can get a German current account number through the Online-Konto of PayCenter within a few minutes. - You do not have a permanent job
If you are self-employed or a freelancer, you can also make a loan application at the ING-DiBa (https://www.ing-diba.de/lp/ratenkredit) or use our loan comparison – herein, further banks are shown that grant loans to self-employed persons. - Loans of less than Euros 2,500 or more than Euros 50,000
At smaller or higher loan amounts that are not financed by the SKG Bank, it is recommended to also use the loan calculator, because exactly those banks are determined that generally offer your desired loan volume. A special provider is Vexcash, where short-term loans up to Euros 500 for 30 days are possible.
Continue reading for further alternatives!
How and what was tested by the editorial?
The editorial has tested 22 German banks that offer online loans. As real test persons, in Germany living people with an average to good creditworthiness were chosen.
For each bank, the same loan application was queried three times by different people: Euros 5,000 instalment loan at a term of 48 months.
Where there strikingly-negative cases?
Yes, unfortunately, there were! Some banks have:
- not gathered the customer data particularly well
- presented the loan offer unclearly
- hustled the applicant to conclude an (unnecessary and expensive) loan insurance
- not provided necessary consumer information
- or made wrong entries into the Schufa and therefore even harmed the creditworthiness of the loan searcher!
Wow!
Thanks to this listing, you can see how important it is to make the online loan application at the “right” bank. According to the magazine Finanztest, this is the SKG Bank, if the above mentioned criteria apply to you. Here again the link https://privatkredit.skgbank.de/online/.
At the DKB, one of the best German direct banks that we intensively observe since 2004, the rating reduction was due to the customer data gathering. This is why it “only” managed to be on the 3rd place. However, if you use our video instructions, it will be easy for you to get through the application procedure.
What alternatives are there for you?
At the point “negative cases”, you were able to see what can go wrong at the online loan. The attitude, “The bank gives me money, isn’t it, so I do not have to pay attention to anything else”, does not apply to the minds of us “smart bank customers”.
It could happen that you will be hustled to an expensive, but unnecessary insurance or that you won’t be granted a loan, but mess up your creditworthiness by entering unnecessary notes, so that you won’t have any chance to get another loan in the coming years!
This danger actually exists, if you head to the wrong loan providers on the Internet. Nevertheless, only few stood out negatively during the test. Most German loan providers work honestly, seriously and reliably!
However, there can be changes at the loan granting or mistakes.
Loan comparison only with certified banks!
If you are not eligible for the SKG Bank (test winner), then we recommend to take advantage of the loan comparison that we have embedded here Loan comparison through calculation tool.
This recommendation has the following reasons:
- The loan comparison is always up to date.
- There are only “good” banks that are checked beforehand.
- You only enter your personal data once and there will be made only one creditworthiness information query. From this, a data set is created, which is provided to all banks in the comparison, which create an according loan offer for your loan amount, term, earning capacity and creditworthiness. In the best case, you will receive several loan offers and can then choose, which you like best!
- Higher chances on a loan payment, because several providers are queried at the same time (very beneficious for persons, who do not dispose of a great creditworthiness).
- Faster loan payment through an outstanding automatization, at certain loan amounts and terms even within 24 hours, just as shown by this article: How to get a loan up to € 5,000 within 24 hours!
Here again the link to click on Loan comparison through the calculation tool.
Summary and final recommendation
The decision on concluding a loan through the Internet is a very good one, because the interest rates are lower, the processing is faster and one can comfortably compare different providers through the loan comparison.
Moreover, the chances on a loan payment are in many cases higher.
Online loan better than offline loan
More and more people in Germany apply for their loans online and get the money within 24 hours up to 7 days – depending on the provider – transferred to the current account.
It won’t work for everyone with the online loan. A place of residence in Germany, a regular income, as well as at least an average creditworthiness are required. Additionally, most providers need a current account in Germany for the loan payment.
There are some dangers at online loan, as the test has shown: insufficient data gathering, incomplete information for the customer, concluding expensive, but unnecessary insurances and worsening of the creditworthiness rating through the provider.
The risk of tapping into such a “trap” can be avoided most of the time, if you submit your loan application at the test winner, the SKB Bank https://privatkredit.skgbank.de/online/ or at one of the other top-providers of the test.
From our point of view, also recommendable is the DKB on the 3rd place, where we ourselves have applied for an online loan and have been granted the loan. In the following article, we show how the DKB pays a loan: Part 3 of the DKB-loan-series.
If you do not exactly fit into the scheme of the SKG Bank, then it is recommended to take advantage of this loan comparison, where only good and serious providers are listed Loan comparison through the calculation tool (this is indeed done by most people!).
Our editorial wishes you success for your financing plans!
For questions and additions, the comments box is activated at the end of the page!
Further loan articles rated as helpful:
- Smava: Instructions on how to fill the loan application
- How to get particularly low interest rates
- Apply for the DKB-loan – Part 2 (documents)
You are welcome to ask questions through the comments feature!
Looking for a loan on a very good business idea. Where would you think I could go best in Germany for business financing? Small to medium business. Existenzgrunder!
As an entrepreneur/founder, you can use the smava credit comparison tool as well – at best at a time wehen you are still regularly employed! Credit amounts of up to 120.000 Euro are basically possible. Otherwise, for business/commercial loans, a prior existence of the business for at least one year is required.
State-subsidized loans are not included at Smava (since they are a provider that mainly organizes financing opportunities for private individuals). If such loans are what you have in mind, please contact a local bank. As a web portal, our focus is a different one. Best of luck with your financing!