What you need to know if you plan to move to Germany in 11 Steps: Step 5 Open a Bank Account

If you have followed the steps, now you have job, a map, an apartment, and you have done the registration at the stadtsamt, so you are a legal citicien. Now you may want to get your salary by the end of the month, so go open a bank account!

But don't rush! You could do the same mistake as I did, going to the first bank you see in the city! It happened to be the most expensive one, the slowest ever and the one that makes you pay the highest fees if you want to get money from any other cash dispenser.

Take your time and compare banks and kinds of account. If you are young and you are addicted to internet, it's possible you would prefer a bank with online service. This is a comparison of the main services you can expect from both kind of banking:

For both options you will need your ID card and your "Anmeldung", and you'll be asked for your salary.

Whatever you decide:

1. Have always cash in your pocket! You cannot pay with card everywhere... I think Starbucks is the only place where you can pay a coffee with a card...
2. Forget about the VISA, and go for EC-Card! I had to pay with 3000euro in cash in IKEA because they don't accept credit cards!
3. If you have decided to open an account in a "classic" bank with offices in the city and customer service, be sure you print the abstract of your account every 3 months and save it for your records, if you don't want to pay for receiving it per post at home...

Now you are ready to get money in Germany! And also ready to pay in Germany (taxes, insurances, other fees...). We will talk about it on next posts...