Did anyone of you open an account with one the biggest german banks?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Godfather said:
Yes, there can also be a 3rd world war... :confused: :eek: :confused: :eek: :confused: :eek: :confused: :eek: :confused: :eek:

All hypothesis of course...
Click to expand...

Sure, Lehmans will never collapse, FF will always be the biggest party, bank shares are as safe as houses, put your money into property (land) and you can't go wrong, Ireland can't go back to 2001, pensions will never be cut, private pensions will never be stolen....

Everything is on the table, up for grabs, its survival of the state........ tax deposits in Ireland @ 15%, tax foreign deposits @ 75%................
 
monagt said:
Sure, Lehmans will never collapse, FF will always be the biggest party, bank shares are as safe as houses, put your money into property (land) and you can't go wrong, Ireland can't go back to 2001, pensions will never be cut, private pensions will never be stolen....

Everything is on the table, up for grabs, its survival of the state........ tax deposits in Ireland @ 15%, tax foreign deposits @ 75%................
Click to expand...

Monagt - interesting point, but do you not think the State would *need* foreign currency in that situation and it would be counter productive to put a tarriff on it? I could see them stopping currency going the other way, but not so much in. Could be wrong though.
 
monagt said:
Sure, Lehmans will never collapse, FF will always be the biggest party, bank shares are as safe as houses, put your money into property (land) and you can't go wrong, Ireland can't go back to 2001, pensions will never be cut, private pensions will never be stolen....

Everything is on the table, up for grabs, its survival of the state........ tax deposits in Ireland @ 15%, tax foreign deposits @ 75%................
Click to expand...

I'm sorry for the sarcasm in my previous post but I found it very counter-productive to impose tax on foreign capitals... Sorry I really don't understand the rationality unless Ireland wants to completely isolate from the rest of the world and then that rule would allow a few loyal people to the country to stay here and govern themselves how they want forgetting about any need to import anything or about any need to have non irish people here... :(


horusd said:
Will do Godfather, I applied for the same account, and will include a cover letter by way of explanation.

I don't want the credit card they are offering at all, just the savings account. I assume electronic transfers back & forth are easy enough ?
Click to expand...

Sorry why not? I don't use the credit card at all as a mean of payment but it allows me 1.65% interest and that's credited every month... It's just beautiful... Yes transfers back and forth are absolutely very easy with BIC-code and IBAN.

horusd said:
If you (or anyone else) has opened this, have you got iban details etc ?
Click to expand...

Yes
 
Just got the application from DKB, about 10 pages of German... Mark Twain was right, German looks like a mountain range across a page! I will attempt to fill it in with my trusty Google translate at my side. Thanks for the responses Godfather.
 
horusd said:
Just got the application from DKB, about 10 pages of German... Mark Twain was right, German looks like a mountain range across a page! I will attempt to fill it in with my trusty Google translate at my side. Thanks for the responses Godfather.
Click to expand...

You're welcome, glad I can help where I can... In my case I could also make an offer they couldn't refuse but I never got to that option... :D They were nice and friendly but beware of the credit-check call you might get after lodging the application in which they'll ask you how much you want to transfer. That will be the moment of truth so have some kind sentences ready. ;)
 
Godfather said:
.... They were nice and friendly but beware of the credit-check call you might get after lodging the application in which they'll ask you how much you want to transfer. That will be the moment of truth so have some kind sentences ready. ;)
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by "kind sentences ready" GF?

I posted off the form today. I got mine stamped by the bank, I asked them to post it, but the girl (rightly) pointed out that they wouldn't know who posted it! Reviewing back the DKB 's cover letter, the options are either by a notary or a bank. (Bei einer bank).

I got her to complete a bank compliment slip and include bank addess etc and sent it myself. I also enclosed a copy of my passport and got the bank to stamp that too as a "true copy- original seen" stamp. I also sent original gas bill, visa & banks statements, phone bill and a payslip. Hopefully that covers all they need.
 
Last edited:
Hi Horusd,
Did you not pay a notary to aythenticate the passport and other documents? Was your bank a suitable substitute as I understand from your entry.
I Find it all a bit confusing but eager to do transfer. Thanks Browtal
 
Are there any company directors out there who have opened or tried to open an account in Germany ( where they are not trading) for their company?
 
Gervan said:
Are there any company directors out there who have opened or tried to open an account in Germany ( where they are not trading) for their company?
Click to expand...

That's very confidential... :confused:

georged3rd said:
For those who opened a DKB account in person at a DKB branch in Germany with an English speaking DKB agent, did you also happen to have adequate conversational German? Or if you did not speak German did they ever hit a roadblock in your application because of this? E.g. did they not say you could not open an account because of their German-only correspondence rules?
Click to expand...

I can speak a good german... :(
 
DKB application form query

For those that have posted a DKB Cash application form;
The very last page of the printed application form contains the following;

  • A Deutsche Post logo.
  • A note in German saying;Wichtig! Bitte nehme sie diesen Coupon und lassen Sie sich bei einer Postfiliale mit einem gultigen Personaluswies oder Reisepass identifizieren [ Which I've loosely translated online as: "Important! Please take this coupon and identify yourself at a postal branch with a valid passport". ]
  • A billing number (random) and a reference number (in the form of the name of the product being applied for).
  • Barcode einscannen (barcode scanning)
  • Postident Basic - Formular nutzen (use form or formal use?)
  • Formular an absender (form to sender?)
  • Barcode
  • Postident Basic logo.
I take it from the above that;
1. This section of the form needs to be cut out & needs to be placed on the outside of the envelope?
2. It does not constitute free postage?
3. That the Wichtig! section can safely be ignored in our case?
Reason: I can't see a notary taking the time to bring their passport or ID with them to an Irish post office just to pop my envelope into a post box (I do realise they need to be the one to post it however)...or the necessity for it.....besides Irish post office staff would likely just laugh or ignore the notary & wonder what they're on about.

Any thoughts on this part of the form from those who have posted it before?
 
georged3rd said:
For those that have posted a DKB Cash application form;
The very last page of the printed application form contains the following;

  • A Deutsche Post logo.
  • A note in German saying;Wichtig! Bitte nehme sie diesen Coupon und lassen Sie sich bei einer Postfiliale mit einem gultigen Personaluswies oder Reisepass identifizieren [ Which I've loosely translated online as: "Important! Please take this coupon and identify yourself at a postal branch with a valid passport". ]
  • A billing number (random) and a reference number (in the form of the name of the product being applied for).
  • Barcode einscannen (barcode scanning)
  • Postident Basic - Formular nutzen (use form or formal use?)
  • Formular an absender (form to sender?)
  • Barcode
  • Postident Basic logo.
I take it from the above that;
1. This section of the form needs to be cut out & needs to be placed on the outside of the envelope?
2. It does not constitute free postage?
3. That the Wichtig! section can safely be ignored in our case?
Reason: I can't see a notary taking the time to bring their passport or ID with them to an Irish post office just to pop my envelope into a post box (I do realise they need to be the one to post it however)...or the necessity for it.....besides Irish post office staff would likely just laugh or ignore the notary & wonder what they're on about.

Any thoughts on this part of the form from those who have posted it before?
Click to expand...

No it's not a free post stamp, and it only applies in Germany at Deutsche Post. You don't return this from Ireland.
 
Rabobank

Hi all,
Some of you may remember I posted few months ago about planning to open a Rabobank a/c in the Netherlands. Like many, I had assumed Germany first but to be honest, got scared off by the hassle some people appear to have had and (this may be an admission of stupidity but..) to be honest in spite of all the details provided my many helpful posts, I didnt feel confident that I wouldn't encounter problems and I have zero German!

A friend of a colleague gave me direct contact details for an english speaking supervisor in Rabobank whom I emailed and enquired about opening an account.
Truthfully, in short, it couldn't have been easier, he was extremely helpful, all I had to do was send a scanned copy of my passport over to begin with. He opened the account and then I arranged a trip over to complete the details.
All I had to bring with me was my passport and a bank statement for the account from which I will be transferring money. He opened a savings and current account, sent me the IBAN number the next day by email, and I'm currently waiting for my passcode to arrive by registered post. The details for transferring money online are in English on the Rabobank website and all I have to do is call if I have a problem.
A thoroughly simple and stress free experience so far.

BTW, for those considering making the journey to Rotterdam (Rabobank Amsterdam no longer allow non-residents to open accounts), I took a 6am flight from Dublin, 2 short train rides (1 of 20 mins, 1 of 5mins) and a 5 minute walk to Rabobank and comfortably got the 3pm flight home. Tempting to try to get a 1pm flight home but i'm glad I didn't go for it as it could have been quite tight and I didn't want to be under any pressure.

Hope that helps someone
I'll update once I've successfully completed my first transfer!!
 
georged3rd said:
Thanks Godfather, but I thought you opened your DKB via post rather than flying to Germany to open it at a DKB branch, no?
Click to expand...

Yes but they called me a couple of times after lodging the application and I was ready to speak german while one of them wasn't ready to speak English...

georged3rd said:
1. This section of the form needs to be cut out & needs to be placed on the outside of the envelope?
2. It does not constitute free postage?
3. That the Wichtig! section can safely be ignored in our case?
Click to expand...
You don't need to include unless you go to a german post office and send from there. Doesn't constitute free postage. Yes if you are not flying to Germany to get your ID checked by a german post office
 
Godfather said:
Sorry why not? I don't use the credit card at all as a mean of payment but it allows me 1.65% interest and that's credited every month... It's just beautiful... Yes transfers back and forth are absolutely very easy with BIC-code and IBAN.
Click to expand...
Why? Do you need to apply for the card to get the 1.65%. If you don't need a credit card do you get less interest if you don't apply for it?
 
Redisland. You seem to have had the most straightforward experience of everything i've read so far. Can you, please go back a step for my education.

Do you just phone the branch? You say you want to open a Deposit Ac. You then make appointment, go to Berlin and Hey presto! What documents do I need to bring.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Redisland said:
So I have successfully opened an account at DB in Berlin. Flew there end of last month booked into hotel Gat Checkpoint Charlie and walked around the corner to the DB branch on Friedrichstrasse. This branch is a test branch and pretty amazing. Looks like a cafe/bar. There is actually a bar counter at the back. We were greeted and offered a coffee or drink while we waited. Our contact came to meet us and showed us a selection of differently designed meeting rooms to choose from. She was extremely friendly and professional. Bear in mind we were making a relatively small lodgement to some of the figures mentioned in this forum but still felt we received star treatment. A very different experinece to opening an account here. We don't speak German but she explained everything thoroughly.

So to the details: We opened 1 year 2% fixed rate account and also a seperate savings account called a Spar account. There is no monthly charge for this. She issued us with the account numbers for the Spar accounts on the spot and asked us to transfer the agreed amount of money for the fixed account in there when we arrived home. She would then transfer this into the fixed rate accounts for us. We opted for online banking and she gave us a demo. She explained that we could make as many additional transfers to the Spar account as required and could make withdrawals through a netwok of ATMs. Closest being Barclays UK. We cannot make withdrawals within the 1 year period from the fixed account unless we die or some very serious reason not just because we want the money back. If we want to withdraw the money at the end of the term we must notify them 3 months prior to year end to advise, otherwise the money is reinvested for another year automatically. We must advise them of an account to return the money. We now can also open more accounts with DB without returning to Germany.

So we arrived home. The only hitch occured when our contact emailed us to say she had given us the wrong account numbers for the Spar account. I had yet to make my transfer so was ok but my mother has already transferred and is waiting hers to return before making the correction. I was a bit anxious but checked our contact's email and the sort codes checked out with same branch so I made the transfer to new account number. I have received confirmation that my fixed account is now open and have received my ATM card and pin number but await my online banking details.

Will update you as to the result of my mother's arrangements once I hear anymore info.
Click to expand...

Redisland - what is the rate of interest on the spar savings account you opened?
I did a google search but couldnt find any info on the spar account - do you have a link I can look at?
Thanks
 
The thing I have been wondering is how you established a contact with somebody in the bank? I am now in the 6th month of trying to open a simple account here with Ulster Bank and all this sounds too good to be true!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top