Opening a bank account in Germany: the Basiskonto no bank may refuse, within ten working days

Opening a bank account in Germany is possible straight after arrival, and it is one of the few German steps where the law gives you more than the bank does. Banks usually ask for your identity document and your Meldebescheinigung, and an ordinary Girokonto is then opened quickly. But if a bank turns you down because you have no German credit history yet, the Zahlungskontengesetz applies: every bank offering payment accounts to consumers must conclude a Basiskonto with everyone lawfully resident in the EU, and must offer it within ten working days of the application. If it refuses without a legal ground, the supervisor BaFin can enforce the opening, free of charge. Until then your Dutch IBAN is simply usable — a German employer, landlord or authority may not refuse it.

What do I need to open an account?

A valid identity document, and for an ordinary account in practice your Meldebescheinigung from the Anmeldung. For the Basiskonto the bar is lower: BaFin says a postal address suffices, and that a residence in the sense of the registration law is not required — whoever has a fixed address gives it. The bank may only turn you down if it would otherwise breach anti-money-laundering or banking law, or if you already hold a payment account in Germany.

	Girokonto (ordinary account)	Basiskonto
Who	at the bank's discretion	everyone lawfully resident in the EU who has no payment account in Germany yet
Deadline	none	offer within ten working days of a complete application
What it includes	as agreed	deposits, withdrawals, transfers, direct debits, card payments
Overdraft	possible	not included
Costs	free to set	only a reasonable fee, measured against what is customary; no penalties
On refusal	find another bank	written refusal, then BaFin or the dispute resolution body

The bank must give you the application form for the Basiskonto free of charge, also on its website; once you have filled it in completely, it can no longer say the application is incomplete. That form is the reason a spoken "no" means nothing: ask for the form, fill it in, and the clock of ten working days runs.

What does a German account cost?

That varies, and the European rule is the same as elsewhere: before you sign you get a fee information document with the most important services and their costs, and afterwards a statement of fees at least once a year. A Basiskonto may cost money, but section 41 limits it to a reasonable amount, measured against market-customary fees and how you use the account, and prohibits contractual penalties. BaFin also gives the limit on the other side: the bank may only terminate a Basiskonto if you have paid no fees for more than three months, the arrears exceed € 100 and further unpaid claims are to be expected.

Can I keep using my Dutch account?

Yes. Your Dutch IBAN is a SEPA account, and IBAN discrimination is prohibited: whoever in Germany accepts direct debits or transfers from a German account — an employer for your salary, a landlord, an energy company, the Familienkasse for the Kindergeld, the Finanzamt for a refund — may not refuse your Dutch account. If it happens anyway, you file a complaint with the competent German authority. In the first weeks, before the Meldebescheinigung, that is your safety net.

Keep the Dutch account afterwards for pension, tax return and refunds, as the article on bank account and DigiD explains. And know that a wrong or excessive direct debit can be refunded within eight weeks, cross-border too.

Why do I want a German account quickly anyway?

Because Germany works through SEPA mandates and many counters therefore ask for one: the Kfz-Steuer for your car can only be paid by SEPA mandate, and the Rundfunkbeitrag and the Krankenkasse want one too. Formally that may be a Dutch IBAN; in practice a German account saves arguments at every counter. And from the first account you build the credit history German landlords ask about for your next rental contract.

If you switch banks later, the law helps too. Section 20 of the Zahlungskontengesetz obliges both banks to Kontowechselhilfe: at your request they transfer standing direct debits and transfers. That applies within Germany, in the same currency — not to the switch from the Netherlands.

Is my money safe?

Up to € 100,000 per person and per bank, under the European deposit guarantee scheme; a joint account of two partners up to € 200,000. Whoever temporarily parks the proceeds of a sold house is protected above that for at least three and at most twelve months. Spread larger amounts over banks, not over accounts at one bank.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Germany or go straight to step 4.5 in the open plan.