Cash rule: plenty in Germany still runs on cash. Withdraw free within your bank ATM network or at supermarket tills (cashback from a €5–10 purchase).
Set It Up: Rent, Salary, Insurance
Three first-week settings: a standing order for rent, your IBAN to the employer, direct debits for insurance and the broadcasting fee.
✓ Verified: 15/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
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Max recommends:
All debits sit on the 2nd-3rd — right after payday. One glance at the app on the 1st and the month is paid.
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Lea recommends:
When switching banks use the statutory switching service: banks must move all direct debits and notify recipients. Takes a week.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Should I enable the overdraft? ▾
The most expensive credit in Germany, 10–13 percent. Useful as bounce insurance, ruinous as a lifestyle.
Standing order vs direct debit? ▾
Dauerauftrag: you send a fixed amount (rent). Lastschrift: the recipient pulls a variable one (power, phone). Wrong debits come back within 8 weeks with one click.
Is direct debit risky? ▾
It is the standard: the recipient pulls the money, but you can reverse any debit unconditionally for 8 weeks (SEPA rules). Late rent is more dangerous than any direct debit.
My employer refuses a foreign IBAN — what now? ▾
That is prohibited IBAN discrimination (Art. 9 SEPA Regulation). Cite the regulation in writing — the obligation applies regardless of which EU country holds the account.