TOP 5 German Mobile Bank Accounts

We collected the Top 5 German mobile bank accounts that are mobile-first in the list below. Most of them have no monthly account fee and offer various new features that the old-school banks don’t have. They all have great smartphone apps that will make your life easier. If you do not need a personal contact in one of their branches, an account with one of the online banks is absolutely sufficient and probably even easier. If you prefer to have a physical branch where you can go to, have a look at our overview of traditional (offline) bank accounts in Germany.

Vivid is the current front runner in terms of digital bank accounts and mobile banking, providing Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The best online bank accounts and mobile banking apps in Germany

We recommend to choose a bank, which offers online banking and an English user interface. At the moment, only a few banks have (online) customer support in English, but most banks offer online banking and an app. However, only some apps and online banking portals are actually in English. Currently, Vivid, Tomorrow and Revolut offer an English interface and great mobile banking apps for your smartphone.

Why should you open an account with a German bank?

If you are a citizen from the European Union (EU), you will be able to use your bank account from home to make transfers or withdraw money. However, when you start working in Germany or want to buy an insurance policy, it is often required to provide a German bank account. The same goes for renting a flat or a house in Germany, because the landlords often require a German bank account number and also private liability insurances, which in turn require a German bank account.

It can be challenging to find the right bank for your needs, because Germany has many different banks, which offer different perks and charge different fees.

Which are the most popular banks in Germany?

German bank accounts can roughly be categorised into payroll accounts (checking accounts) and saving accounts. Until a few years ago, the terms and interest rates for saving accounts played an important role when deciding on your bank, but in times of very low interest rates saving accounts are not relevant anymore.

For checking accounts (payroll accounts), the five most popular German banks in 2016 were:

1. Sparkasse
2. Volksbank / Raiffeisenbank
3. Postbank
4. Deutsche Bank
5. Commerzbank (Dresdner Bank)

Source: Statista 2017.

However, most of these “old” banks charge quite a lot in monthly fees. You might be better off choosing a new online bank like Vivid, DKB, Tomorrow, comdirect or norisbank.