Best Savings Account in Germany - Comparison, Interests and Taxes (2024)

Instant access savings account: flexible, safe, more profitable

There are reasons for the popularity of the instant access savings account: Unlike a savings account in Germany, you as a customer have complete flexibility with an instant access savings account or call money account. You can move as much money as you want at any time – there are no monthly limits or notice period with overnight money.

Perhaps the most important advantage of instant access over savings accounts, however, is that interest rates are usually somewhat higher. Furthermore, with many overnight deposit models, the banks in Germany pay interest on the deposited amount every month or every quarter – this creates compound interest effects that improve the effective interest rate.

Otherwise, all the advantages of the savings account in Germany can also be found in instant access savings accounts. For example, the security of the investment is just as high. Also, you usually do not have to pay fees for account management or for opening a call money account. There is usually no minimum deposit either.

Open and close a savings account in Germany: Online or at a bank branch?

If you want to open a savings account in Germany, you have two options: online or directly on site at the bank branch. You basically only need your ID card to complete the formalities. Also note that some banks require a (usually small) initial deposit as well as a minimum deposit – so you should have some cash on hand for an initial deposit. Furthermore, there are providers who charge penalties if their savings account does not have a certain minimum deposit.

When opening a savings account online, you enter your data in the appropriate fields of the application form. If you are already a customer of the bank where you want to open the savings account with passbook, you may not need to enter all the data again. The actual contract is usually sent to you by mail, it becomes valid only after you sign it. New customers must prove their identity in accordance with the requirements of the Money Laundering Act (GwG) – in most cases this is done using the so-called Postident procedure. The documents required for this are usually sent to you with the contract documents. At the post office, you will have to identify yourself, and then the postal employee at the counter will confirm your identity. Once all the documents have been received, the savings book – if a physical book is part of the contract – will be sent to you by mail.

Or customers use the increasingly popular VideoIdent procedure. VideoIdent is short for video identification and is also a procedure for confirming a person’s identity online. The online legitimation has already been approved by BaFin since 2014 and is carried out via video chat. With the help of a webcam on the computer or a smartphone or tablet and a valid identification document, the customer receives a link from the bank, whereby he is redirected to a corresponding page. There, the VideoIdent procedure is then carried out by an employee of the company.

Unless you are a customer of a direct bank, you can also simply open your savings book at a bank branch. A bank employee will go through all the points of the account opening application with you, and you will identify yourself with your ID card. The advantage of this procedure: Any questions are clarified directly on the spot and you can take your savings book with you immediately.

Time deposit: Long commitment, higher yield

The great benefit of this long-term commitment with a fixed-term deposit: Interest rates are fixed for the entire term – and are generally higher than for savings accounts and overnight deposits in Germany. Potential fluctuations in interest rates, as is the case with overnight deposits, do not occur with fixed-term deposits due to the fixed interest rate. The exact amount of interest varies slightly from provider to provider, but is generally based on the market interest rate. Basically, the conditions depend on the term and the amount paid in. The longer you commit and the more money you invest, the better the interest rate conditions are as a rule for a fixed-term deposit account in Germany.

Instant access and fixed-term deposits: How the accounts in Germany work

Call money and time deposit accounts work via a reference account – this is usually your checking account. Accordingly, you must provide bank details when opening an account. Cash deposits and withdrawals are not possible with these German accounts; all transactions are processed via the reference account. There are usually no fees for bookings.

If you want to open a reference bank account first, check out our comparison of the best German bank accounts.

Thus, deposits to a call money account are made by transfer from your reference savings account in Germany. Note, however, that the call money is only a credit account – you cannot pay bills via this account, for example. If you want to withdraw money from your call money account, you must transfer it to the reference account. Cash withdrawals are not possible. Although the overnight deposit account is considered a very flexible investment, you do not have immediate access to your money.

With the time deposit account, you pay the amount to be invested into the account after signing the contract. Over the entire term, the amount remains untouched, so there are usually no transactions.