Best German Bank for English Speakers Reviewed

Hey, welcome to my review of the best German banks for English Speakers in Germany.

I have spent over 50 hours researching and testing 10 of the most popular banks in Germany for expats. I review the 4 best choices for expats in this guide.

Let’s get started with a quick overview:

1. Commerzbank – 2nd largest branch bank in Germany. Online banking in English. Sign-up in German only, but we translated the sign-up process step-by-step. Awarded as the best and safest branch bank in Germany. €4,90 monthly account fee. I’m a happy customer since 2010.
2. N26 – The most established mobile fintech bank. Free bank account & 100% in English. My wife is a happy customer since 2019.
3. bunq – A Dutch bank account with a German bank account (DE IBAN). Free bank account & 100% in English.
4. Tomorrow Bank – Ethical online banking starting at €0. 100% in English.
5. Bonus 1 – Wise – The best interim banking option for anyone without a residence permit. Based in Belgium. Provides a European IBAN. 100% in English.
6. Bonus 2 – Vivid Money – Financial investing platform with crypto investment options that also offers a free bank account. 100% in English. My last choice.

To help you compare the individual banking features and fees, I have built this clean comparison table for the 4 bank accounts I reviewed.

*the girocard is the most accepted payment card in Germany. It is a debit card, and lots of small shops, restaurants, or cafés might only accept cash or girocard payments. Supermarkets and larger shops accept Mastercard and Visa without any issues.

How did we choose the best bank accounts for English Speakers in Germany?

For this review, I researched the German market for current accounts with English banking options that have a good reputation, customer-friendly pricing, and ease of signing up and use.

Based on my experience and research, I ranked them on English-friendliness, usability, digital-first, reachability, and, of course, product quality. I provide a final score for each bank account using our Simple Germany Scoring System.

These are by far the most accessible German bank accounts that offer their online banking in English. Imagine you’d have to do your banking in German – an unnecessary stress factor.

If you would like to know more about other great German banks that don’t offer their services in English, please read my guide on the 10 best banks in Germany.

What is the best German bank for English Speakers?

Here are our top picks for the best bank in Germany for English speakers and foreigners.

1. Commerzbank

Commerzbank was founded in 1870 and is the second-largest consumer bank in Germany. It is a private bank and part of the Cash Group (Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HypoVereinsbank & Postbank). 

It gets continuously voted as the best branch bank, as well as the safest bank in Germany.

In the past years, Commerzbank has invested heavily to keep up with the competition from Fintech banks. It is the most digitized branch bank and offers at least parts of its website in English. More importantly, Commerzbank provides online banking, a mobile app, and customer support in English. On my iPhone app, the in-app chat is currently only available in German. You can reach customer service in English via phone or at your local branch.

Next to their checking account (Girokonto), they offer a lot more banking options. You could open a securities account with Commerzbank, get a loan, and pick up foreign currencies in their branches. You can also ask for a personal consultant if you wish. Commerzbank accepts every nationality since you can verify your identity in person at a local branch.

You have unlimited free cash withdrawals at around 6.000 ATMs that belong to the Cash Group (Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Postbank, Hypovereinsbank). You can also deposit cash in bills and coins at those ATMs.

One drawback is the online account opening process. Although they pride themselves on offering the fastest online sign-up in Germany, it is only available in German. To support you step-by-step, we have written an in-depth guide on how to open a Commerzbank account online.

The second drawback is the checking account from Commerzbank has a monthly maintenance fee of 4,90 euros. You will not be charged the 4,90 euros if you have a minimum balance of 50.000 euros invested as a sum in all of the Commerzbank portfolio (savings account, securities investment account, and, of course, the checking account).

You will get a physical girocard, the most accepted payment card in Germany. You will also get a virtual debit card for easy mobile payments via Google & Apple Pay.

You can also easily open a joint account online without paying any extra fees, as is the case with other bank providers.

Our Simple Germany Rating for Commerzbank

Here is our rating for the Girokonto from Commerzbank:

The Commerzbank Girokonto scores great in all areas. The area for the most improvement is to expand their English-friendliness. Currently, they offer an English landing page and the most important customer area (online banking); however, the sign-up process and T&Cs are only in German and they recently introduced a monthly account fee.

My experience as a real Commerzbank customer

I have been a Commerzbank customer since 2005. I use it primarily as my salary account. I am a very happy customer and have never encountered any issues.

The online banking and app are easy to use. The app shows me the nearest branch and ATM that I can use with my girocard to withdraw or deposit money (even coins). The mobile app is protected by security measures (password or face ID).

I mainly pay with Apple Pay and use the girocard in restaurants and stores that don’t accept Visa or Mastercard. Those are usually smaller local shops. 

Follow our in-depth step-by-step guide on how to open a Commerzbank account online: How To Open A Commerzbank Account Online [Step-By-Step English Guide]

2. N26

N26 was founded in 2013 and has since become the biggest mobile bank in Europe. It challenges the status quo of traditional banks. They cater to the digitized generations with a clean and easily navigable mobile real-time banking app.

They have integrated Wise into their app, which allows fast, low-cost international money transfers. N26 also offers the option to request a loan for up to 25.000 euros and overdraft. 

The entire product is available in English, from sign-up to mobile banking to customer service. It is one of the favorite German bank accounts for foreigners and accepts all nationalities. However, nowadays, most non-EU passport holders must have a residence permit to open a bank account.

N26 offers four different bank account types. From the free Standard account to the premium Metal account. N26 no longer offers a free physical debit Mastercard with the free Standard Account. You will get a virtual-only debit Mastercard. Should you still wish to have a physical banking card, you can order it with a one-time 10 euro fee.

For all the premium N26 accounts, starting with the N26 Smart for 4,90 euros a month, the physical debit Mastercard is included for free. For in-depth information on N26, take a look at our N26 review.

Our Simple Germany Rating for N26

Here is our rating for the Standard Account from N26:

The Standard account from N26 also achieves a very good score. The main area of improvement is the customer service channels. As a Standard customer, you solely have access to a chatbot and need to jump that hurdle to reach a human in the chat. Their customer phone service is hidden behind the paid Premium wall.

Our experience as a real N26 customer

My wife Jen has been an N26 customer since 2018 and used it as her daily transactional account. We switched it from a private account to a business account for Simple Germany. The downside is that you can only have one account, private or business.

The in-app banking experience is very smooth and comprehensive. Sometimes, the app crashes on our iPhone, but it has never caused any bigger inconvenience. The mobile app is protected by security measures (password or face ID).

3. bunq

bunq is not a German bank; however, they offer a free bank account with a German banking number (IBAN starting with DE). They are a Dutch bank offering a modern mobile banking solution.

Even though the so-called IBAN discrimination is not legal, we know firsthand that some companies and service providers in Germany don’t accept bank accounts from other European countries. This is why having a German bank account starting with DE is so crucial.

A great benefit from bunq is that you can open a bank account with them without having done your Anmeldung or gotten your tax ID yet (you should be in Germany, though). They offer a 90-day grace period to hand in those documents. This makes it super easy to get access to a German bank account without all the paperwork in place.

Unfortunately though, bunq does not accept all nationalities who can benefit from that grace period. You can find a list of the accepted passports in their FAQ section.

Once you have a German residence permit, you can use that to identify yourself and also open a bunq account if you want to.

As a mobile bank, bunq offers a lot of cool features but hides most of them behind their paid premium wall. Also, basic banking features such as free cash withdrawals, a banking card and phone customer service are only accessible via a paid account.

4. Tomorrow Bank

Tomorrow Bank is an ethical mobile banking service provider. They use their banking services to reinvest in sustainable projects. It was founded in 2017 in Hamburg and provides bank accounts via its partner Solarisbank, as it doesn’t have its own banking license.

Tomorrow offers 3 different types of checking accounts starting at 0 euros per month. It includes a free Visa debit card and climate contribution. Of course, it comes with a consumer-friendly real-time banking app, and everything is 100% in English.

Tomorrow Bank focuses on managing their customers’ money more sustainably for the environment. This comes with a price tag, which you can notice in higher fees for basic banking transactions such as cash withdrawals, voluntary account fees, and cash deposit fees.

Our Simple Germany Rating for Tomorrow Bank

Here is our rating for the Now Account from Tomorrow Bank:

The Tomorrow Now account is a great everyday bank account; however, for us, the product is too expensive. Banking is only possible on the mobile app; no website access leads to a lower digital-first score.

Bonus 1: Wise

Wise is not a German bank. However, I list them as a bonus option, as they

Wise seems to accept any nationality as long as you reside in Germany and have completed your Anmeldung. They might want to see your proof of residence (Meldebescheinigung) as well.

If you’d like to have a physical debit card, you can order it for a one-time fee of 7 euros.

Wise is a fintech based in the UK, with a license in Belgium since Brexit. This allows you to have a European bank account with an IBAN based in Belgium (starting with BE – the IBAN of a German bank account starts with a DE). You can use this bank account in Germany without any additional fees. 

Next to offering a European bank account, Wise is also amazing for travel and sending money internationally. We have been using Wise for 8 years now and are very happy customers.

Bonus 2: Vivid Money

If none of the previous mentioned banking options are available to you, Vivid Money might be a good interim option until you get your residence permit and have access to the above mentioned banks.

The reason why I mention Vivid Money is because they have recently opened their banking solutions to all expats who have a D-Visa. This is huge, as it makes it available to practically anyone.

However, I don’t trust them, and I would not be their customer. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t like to badmouth people or companies; however, I want you to have the whole picture to make your own choice.

Here are a few reasons I am not a big fan of Vivid:

• their focus lies on investing with crypto and stocks
• their checking account is just a side offer to get you to use their investment options
• they push hard for a customer to use their paid premium accounts
• they were involved in a scandal within the investment world in 2023 and a lot of customers lost their investments

Additionally, they don’t have a German banking license. In the past, they had partnered with the German Solarisbank. This changed in 2024 when they did some internal changes and now operate on a license from the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

5 important criteria for choosing your bank account in Germany

Everyone has different banking behaviors and preferences. Yet, it is also important for you to understand the German banking culture. That way, you can make an informed decision on which features are important for you to have access to. Let’s look at five criteria that are important to me while living in Germany.

1. Online vs. Branch Bank

In my opinion, there is no better or worse in this category. Both types of banks have their perks. Online banks offer great starter accounts with easy sign-up and intuitive banking apps. Personally, I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket. I have several bank accounts with a mix of traditional branch and modern online banks.

2. Your preferred payment card

The bank accounts I list in this review offer three different types of free payment cards:

• Girocard (also called EC Karte)
• Physical debit card (Visa or Mastercard)
• Virtual debit card (Visa or Mastercard)

Girocard is the most common debit card in Germany. It operates on a specific banking system only found in Germany. Any payment gets directly deducted from your bank account balance. In certain retail areas in Germany the girocard is the only accepted payment method next to cash. This is the case at my hairdresser, in smaller shops, and in some restaurants and cafés. On the flip side, you can’t use the girocard for online payments. Commerzbank is the only bank in our comparison that offers a girocard. Mobile banks don’t issue girocards.

All five banks in this review offer a Visa or Mastercard debit card, either as a physical card or as a virtual card. You can add either version to your Apple or Google Pay and use it for in-store and online payments. In the past year, I only had to use my physical Visa card once or twice, as Apple Pay is quite common. If you don’t have a girocard as well, just remember to carry some cash with you next to your Visa or Mastercard. 

What about credit cards? The only bank in this review that offers a credit card is Commerzbank. However, it costs 39,90 euros a year and doesn’t have very consumer-friendly features. There are better credit cards available independent of your checking account. I have written a detailed guide on the best free credit cards in Germany as well.

3. Access To Cash

Cash is still a very popular payment method in Germany. Thus, having access to cash withdrawals is crucial. You can find many restaurants accepting cash only (especially in Berlin). The banks in this review follow two different philosophies to give you access to cash:

• Unlimited amounts and withdrawals at specific ATMs: This is the case for Commerzbank. You can withdraw cash for free with your girocard at all ATMs that belong to the Cash Group (Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Postbank, HypoVereinsbank). If you use ATMs of other banks or in shops directly, you will pay a fee of 5 euros.
• Limited amount and/or withdrawals from any ATM: This is the case for N26, Vivid, Tomorrow, and Wise. Once you have used up your free withdrawals, you will pay a fee of several euros as well. 

Next to ATMs, you can also withdraw cash for free at any supermarket or Drogeriemarkt, like dm and Rossmann. This is only possible with your girocard up to 200 euros with each purchase. You simply tell the clerk at the checkout before you pay that you would like cashback and the amount. Aldi Süd is the only supermarket that also offers cashback with Mastercard credit and debit card payments.

4. Bank Account Fees

All bank accounts listed in this guide have either no or low account maintenance fees. In my opinion, good and reliable banking is a basic need and should be affordable. You can choose to upgrade to a Premium account to receive more banking features.

5. Investment Options

Being able to save and invest money is important for your financial future. However, in my opinion, it is not a crucial criteria for choosing your everyday checking account. You can access saving and investment options from specialized service providers. I have also written detailed guides for saving and investing money.

Conclusion

• Commerzbank is the best branch bank for English speakers and is available to all nationalities.

• N26 is the most established online bank and a favorite amongst expats.

• bunq is great as a first bank account for select nationalities, as no paperwork is needed.

• Tomorrow is the only sustainable bank with great features for everyday banking.

• Wise is the best alternative for internationals who struggle to open an account with any of the above options + it’s great to have anyways to send money internationally.

It is perfectly ok to open several bank accounts in Germany. Just don’t open them at the same time. Let some weeks or months pass in between so that your credit score does not get affected. Jen and I each have two to three bank accounts, which we use for different purposes. 

FAQs

What is the most trusted bank in Germany?

Comdirect is the best bank overall and the best online bank in Germany. Commerzbank is the best and safest branch bank, and ING is the most popular bank in Germany. These are the results of the biggest and most recent banking test done by the €uro Magazin. Comdirect and ING are fantastic but offer all of their services in German only, which his why they are not part of this guide.

Is N26 better than Commerzbank?

Both banks have their perks, which complement each other quite well. Commerzbank offers a free girocard (the most accepted debit card in Germany), while N26 doesn’t. N26 has its sign-up process in English and is great as an everyday transaction account in Germany as well as while traveling. It also has a free Standard account, while Commerzbank will no longer offer a free bank account starting May 1st, 2025. We are satisfied customers at both banks. Why not open a bank account at each bank as well?

Which is the best bank to save money in Germany?

Banks constantly change their offer for savings accounts. At the beginning of 2024, the best banks to save money in Germany are TF Bank, Comdirect, Consorsbank, and Commerzbank. Take a look at our detailed guide on finding the best savings account in Germany for more details.

Which bank account is best for foreigners?

The best banks for foreigners in Germany are Commerzbank, N26, Tomorrow, Vivid, and Wise. Some may only be accessible to expats when having a residence permit, though. Check out our tool, Banky, to find which bank is best for your nationality and immigration status. 

Is Deutsche Bank a good bank for foreigners?

Deutsche Bank is not a good bank for foreigners. Although it offers some of its services in English, it is not very consumer-friendly. Any bank account with Deutsche Bank comes with higher fees than Commerzbank. You can find the same banking portfolio at Commerzbank with better conditions.