How to Open a Bank Account in Germany Without a SCHUFA Score

If you're brand new to Germany with zero SCHUFA history, opening a normal current account can feel like a chicken-and-egg problem — some banks hesitate to open accounts for people with no credit file at all. The good news: German law solves this specific problem directly, and it's not a favor a bank does for you, it's a right you can insist on.

Under the Zahlungskontengesetz (Payment Accounts Act), every bank that offers current accounts to consumers must offer a Basiskonto — a basic payment account — to anyone lawfully resident in the EU, regardless of income, credit history, nationality, or even having a fixed address. This covers asylum seekers and people without permanent housing too, not just typical newcomers.

The grounds a bank can use to refuse you are narrowly defined by law and specifically exclude "no SCHUFA history," "no German address," or nationality alone. If a bank turns you down, ask for the refusal in writing with a specific legal reason — a vague "we don't do that" isn't a valid basis, and you can escalate a wrongful refusal to BaFin, the federal financial regulator, which has the power to order the bank to open your account anyway.

A Basiskonto works like a normal current account for most everyday purposes — debit card, SEPA bank transfers, direct debits for rent and bills — but it doesn't come with an overdraft facility, so you can't spend more than what's actually in the account. That's a reasonable tradeoff for a product designed to guarantee access rather than extend credit.

Once you submit a complete application, the bank has ten business days to process it and give you an account — a real, legally enforceable deadline, not a vague timeframe. Walk into a branch (Sparkasse, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Postbank, and most savings banks all offer one) and explicitly ask for a "Basiskonto nach dem Zahlungskontengesetz" — using that exact term tends to get faster, more accurate service than just asking for "a bank account."

It's not free, but it's capped: banks can charge a reasonable monthly fee for a Basiskonto, and BaFin's online account comparison tool lets you check what different banks actually charge before you pick one — worth five minutes before you commit, since fees do vary.