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So you have managed to open a personal bank account in Germany.
You will find bank procedures from now on are generally in line with your experience in other countries, with some variations.
If you have a normal card marked EC you can use your automatic teller card at any machine with the same marking. Some machines offer multi-lingual services, but these are normally not offered if you use a locally provided card.
One word of warning. It is common practice for German machines to keep providing money even if you do not have funds in the account to meet the withdrawal. This seeming generosity will initially expose you to an interest charge of more than ten per cent and in time to a very stern warning from your bank if you remain significantly overdrawn. So it is best to keep an accurate track of your balance, if in doubt.
Another tip - it is common for functions to be split between different machines, so the cash dispensing machines will not provide information on account balances etc. If you can't see the function you want on the machine you are using look around for alternatives.
On credit cards...
While they are everywhere, you are likely to find they are much less commonly used than in your homeland and you cannot assume with certainty that they will be accepted in shops or restaurants.
Cash is still king in much of Germany and many payments are made either in cash or by Überweisungen (bank transfers).
Cheques are not uncommon, at least Eurochecks, but you will have to show your EC card when paying by cheque.
Some useful phrases:
For Automatic Tellers -
Bitte Karte eingegeben: | Please insert your card |
Bitte Geheimzahl eingegeben: | Please insert your PIN number |
Bitte wählen Sie: | Please select the service you want |
NB: If you make a mistake the screen will display something like: Falsche Eingabe! Bitte Geheimzahlen neu eingegeben - that means "try again". You may need to pres Korrektur (for correction) and Wiederholen (try again.)
Bitte Betrag durch eine Taste auswählen: | Please enter amount |
Bitte Bildschirm berühren: | Please touch screen where needed |
Einen anderen Betram: | Another amount (other than shown) |
Other useful words:
Abbruch: Bestätigung: bitte warten Sie einen Moment: die Taste: wählen/auswählen: drücken: einstecken/einführen: bitte warten/gedulden Sie sich: | cancel transaction confirm please wait key select press insert wait |
A final point on translation: In dealing with numbers Germany reverses the usual Anglo-US traditions with points and commas. Thus what you might write as $2,500.00 - appears in German as $2.500,00. The same holds in spoken German.
Happy banking!
Want to move to Germany but haven’t figured out the details? Check out Expatica’s overview of the German permit system.
In part one of our two part series, we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.
Our comprehensive guide includes information on how to find work, recruitment agencies, employment contracts and labour law.
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