Before Studying

To open a bank giro account you will need your passport or your ID card. Most of the banks offer the online banking possibility. With the EC card it´s possible to get cash at the dispenser and it doesn´t depend on the bank´s opening hours. You can pay the rent or the telephone bills with the debit advice procedure or with a standing order. All of the Bank institutes offer accounts free of charge for students.

Important:

Before you open your account, you should compare the rates of the different banks.

Make sure that later you can use the debit advice procedure and the standing order.

Links:

Allstudents

Money

EC-Card

With the EC card it´s possible to get money at dispensers almost all over the world. The opening hours of the banks are different, but most of them have the following opening time: Monday-Friday from 9 until 16h, Thursday until 18h. At lunch time some of them close from 13h until 14:30h.

Credit cards

Credit cards are in Germany absolutely residuals. In other countries it is possible to pay everywhere with them, but not here. Usually only big companies accept it, but it´s also practical to book flights or train tickets. Some banks have special offers and they give a credit card with a giro account.