Are you wondering how to open a German bank account at comdirect?
Comdirect’s sign up process is in German, so we created this step-by-step tutorial to guide you through the application. Click on each screenshot in order to enlarge it. You can also use Google Chrome and its automatic translation feature, then the comdirect application form is automatically translated live while you are filling it out.
If you would like to read more about the benefits of the comdirect debit account and see potential fees, go to our comdirect overview page.
The first step is to go to comdirect and click the button “Jetzt Girokonto eröffnen”. Then select “Ich bin neu bei comdirect” if you are a new customer:
On the next screen you can select if you would like to open a personal bank account for yourself (Einzelkonto) or a joint bank account (Gemeinschaftskonto):
Look at the screenshot to see the English meaning of each field. Geburtsort is place of birth and Staatsangehörigkeit is your nationality. Your name needs to be provided exactly like it is in your passport.
Provide your personal address, which has to be the address that you registered with the local municipality. This address needs to be confirmed later in the identification process. “Wohnen Sie hier länger als 2 Jahre?” means have you lived there longer than 2 years. If you have lived there less than 2 years, you need to provide your address in Germany before you moved there. If you lived outside of Germany before your current address, you don’t need to provide that address.
On the next screen you need to provide your email address and your phone number:
Provide your employment details. “Angestellter” means employee, which is probably what fits most people. If you don’t have an employment, you can select “Ohne Beschäftigung“, which means “unemployed”. If you are a stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home dad, you can select “Hausfrau/-mann“. “Berufsstatus seit” means since when you have this employment status.
You can optionally provide your tax ID as well (“Steuer-ID“) and the last checkbox asks you if you are currently taxable in other countries as well (e.g. USA).
Estimate your monthly incoming transfers (“Geldeingänge pro Monat”) and your cash withdrawals or cash deposits (“Bargeld-Einzahlungen pro Monat”). Tick the checkbox if you are regularly sending or receiving money from abroad via bank transfer and indicate the countries.
The comdirect debit account includes a free debit card but you can also add the Germany-specific “girocard” for €1 per month.
You can optionally request a monthly overdraft credit line (Dispositionskredit), locally called “Dispo“. This enables you to overdraft your balance for emergencies but it also has a high interest rate.
If you like, you can add a free trading account from comdirect, which enables you to invest your money into stocks and funds.
Check if your details are correct. If everything is correct, click on the button “Weiter” on the bottom of the page.
Read and download the terms and conditions and agree that Commerzbank can send data to SCHUFA (a standard procedure in Germany). Caution: If you want to receive the sign-up bonus, you also need to agree to receiving promotional emails from comdirect (werbliche Informationen per E-Mail).
After you selected your choices, you need to click on “Antrag senden” in order to send your application to open the bank account.
You will now receive an email with a link to your identification options. Once you have completed the identification (required by law), you will be able to create your online login details. For the identification, you will need to print the PostIdent Coupon and go to your nearest post office with your identification documents (e.g. passport).
The first option “Kunden-Ident” only works if you are already a comdirect customer. If you are a new customer, you need to select the second option “PostIdent“, which is a common process for verifying your identity via the local post office.
When you select the PostIdent option, you will receive a PostIdent coupon QR code. You need to save this on your smartphone or print it and bring it to the post office. Also bring your ID or passport so that they can verify your identity. After 1-2 working days, you get an email confirmation and you can create your login details and use your new bank account!
