🏦 Account for everyone and bank fees
In brief
Without a current account, taking part in economic life is hardly possible: rent, salary, social benefits and contract payments today run almost exclusively through an account. The Payment Accounts Act (Zahlungskontengesetz, ZKG) therefore gives every consumer legally resident in the EU an enforceable right to a so-called basic account – even with a negative Schufa record, over-indebtedness or no fixed address. Banks may refuse opening only in narrowly limited exceptional cases.
Step by step
- Apply for a basic account at a bankYou can apply for a basic account at practically any bank in Germany, not only at your own bank.
- Do not accept a refusalA bank may refuse opening only on the grounds exhaustively listed in the law (e.g. if you already hold a payment account at another bank in Germany) – for other grounds for refusal you can object.
- Keep an eye on processing deadlinesThe bank must process the application within the statutory deadlines and give written reasons for any refusal.
- If refused or if nothing happens, complain to BaFinIf the bank does not respond in time or wrongly refuses, you can complain to the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin, Federal Financial Supervisory Authority).
- Compare feesA basic account is not automatically free of charge either; the law only requires an "appropriate" fee – a comparison between banks can be worthwhile.
Deadlines
- A basic account is not free of charge by law – only an "appropriate" fee is required (§ 41 ZKG); what is appropriate is assessed by BaFin or the courts in a dispute.
- A bank may not refuse opening solely because of a negative Schufa report, over-indebtedness or lack of a fixed address – such blanket refusals are inadmissible under the ZKG and should be challenged.
- If you already hold a payment account at another German bank, you generally have no additional right to a second basic account – exceptions exist, for example, if the existing account is to be terminated.
- A basic account may be restricted in how it is run (e.g. no overdraft), but must allow basic payment services such as transfers, direct debits and a Girocard (debit card).
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Basis of the entitlement
The Zahlungskontengesetz (ZKG) implements the EU Payment Accounts Directive and in § 31 ZKG establishes a right to conclude a basic account contract for every natural person legally resident in the European Union, regardless of residence status in detail, without an address in Germany necessarily being required. The grounds for refusal are exhaustively listed in § 34 ZKG.
Deadlines and procedure
Under § 32 ZKG, the bank must process a complete application within ten business days and, in case of refusal, communicate the reasons in writing (§ 34 Abs. 3 ZKG). In case of violations, a complaint can be lodged with BaFin as the responsible supervisory authority (§ 48 ZKG); recourse to the civil courts also remains possible.
Fees
§ 41 ZKG requires that the fee for a basic account be "appropriate"; the law names benchmarks for this such as the average market fee for comparable account models, without setting a nationwide maximum amount.
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