Moving from UK to Germany - How and What bank account is best to open?

Tom82uk

Hi Forum

I'm moving to Germany to work and live permanently in around 5 weeks and now have the task of swapping my banking (amongst others).
Has anyone got any experience or advice with this? I'm considering out of laziness sticking with Lloyds and their International banking but know all too well if i don't shop around i'll get burnt.

My main questions are:

1. Who's best to bank with in Germany (less charges, more flexibility etc..)
2. How am i best going about this?
3. Is there anything i should watch out for?

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Tom

markbodega

My understanding is as follows:

When setting up a bank account in Germany, anti-money laundering regulations require you to appear in Germany with your passport at a Post Office or somewhere that is appointed to help you to prove that you are who you say you are.

The 3 largest banks are Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and Commerzbank. All have branches in some UK cities.

Quite a few of our clients recommend Deutsche Bank who's online banking is in English. They will also have a presence in the UK, so it might be possible to open a German account from a uk office? or at least to present your documents there.

I've also been told by some of our clients who moved to Germany that they found the link below really useful as it explains how to set up an account and runs through the various different types.

http://germany.angloinfo.com/countries/germany/banking.asp

When transferring money to and from the UK - don't forget to compare the exchange rates offered by your UK / German bank with those of one of the many currency specialists in the UK as you'll often avoid unnecessary bank charges and get a better exchange rate.

Hope this helps.

Mark
Director - HiFX