There are fewer and fewer free checking accounts without conditions. “Financial test” found only 14 free accounts in a comparison of 380 account models.
If you want a free current account without conditions, you have to search a lot. The magazine “Financial test” compared 380 account models from 152 banks and found just 14 free accounts. That was significantly less than a year ago when “Financial test” still counted 20 free accounts.
The current industry comparison covers around 70 percent of the market. All nationwide financial institutions as well as direct and church banks, all Sparda and PSD banks as well as the largest savings bank, Volksbank and Raiffeisenbank in each federal state were examined.
The financial testers calculated the fees for a model customer who receives a salary and uses online banking. Free means at “Financial test”That there is no basic price for the account management, online banking including paperless transfers costs nothing and a free girocard is included.
According to this definition, accounts from ten national providers are free of charge:
- 1822direkt
- C24 Bank
- DKB
- Edekabank
- KT Bank
- Raiffeisenbank in the Hochtaunus
- PSD Nuremberg
- Santander
- Sparda Hessen
- VR Bank Niederbayern-Oberpfalz
There are also four regional providers: the PSD banks Hessen-Thuringia, Munich and Rhine-Ruhr as well as the Volksbank BraWo.
Keep an eye on extra fees
In addition, some banks waive their customers the basic fees if they can show a monthly receipt of money in the amount of a certain amount such as 700 euros. Under this condition there are therefore a few more free providers.
Conversely, however, additional fees may also apply to the generally free accounts. In the “Financial test”-Definition of free of charge does not include charges for a credit card or paper transfers. Since interest rates are so low, many financial institutions have increased their fees in many small tweaks in recent years – often wrongly because customers were not asked for consent. (You can find out how to get this money back here.)
Anyone looking for a cheap financial institution should therefore keep an eye on all costs that are relevant to their own usage behavior. Last but not least, this also includes the question of where and how often you can withdraw cash free of charge – even when you are on holiday abroad. It is also becoming increasingly relevant whether the institute charges penalty interest on credit balances.
If all the fees together do not exceed the limit of 60 euros per year, then speaks “Financial test” still from a cheap provider. The financial experts recommend anyone who pays more to switch to a cheaper account model with their own bank – if available – or to switch entirely to another institute.
The complete “Financial test”-Comparison of current accounts can be found on
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
