Step-by-step:
Open Your Joint Account
Marriage is not required in Germany — any two adults can open a joint account, and Comdirect lets you do it without a single branch visit. The tricky parts come after: who can drain it, who pays gift tax, and how the free-account conditions work for two holders.
Go directly to account opening →The steps, in order
Both holders complete the online form, then verify by IDnow VideoIdent separately. Account live once both verifications clear — usually within 1–2 business days.
Start the application together
Start the application together
Click "Open Joint Account" to begin. The first holder enters name, date of birth, nationality, and the address from their Anmeldung. Then add the second holder's details. The application is one shared submission — no need to apply twice.
Tip: Both holders need a valid passport or EU ID and an Anmeldung. Different home addresses? Comdirect accepts it, but the application form has only one shared address field — pick the address you both currently match for the bank record.
Choose Oder-Konto or Und-Konto
Choose Oder-Konto or Und-Konto
Oder-Konto: either holder can move money, sign contracts, and apply for a Dispo (overdraft) alone, no consent needed. Und-Konto: every transaction needs both signatures. Most couples pick Oder for convenience — but read the next tip before you do.
Tip: Oder-Konto = either of you can drain the entire balance, alone, without notice. That includes after a breakup. If trust is anything less than full, Und-Konto is the safer pick — even if it means co-signing every transfer.
Save the email confirmations
Save the email confirmations
Both holders get confirmation emails: shared IBAN, an IDnow Vorgangsnummer per holder, pre-contractual documents, and order confirmation. Each Vorgangsnummer is personal — do not mix them up at verification.
Tip: Check spam if nothing arrives in 5 minutes. Save both Vorgangsnummern in a shared password manager so neither of you blocks the other's verification.
Both holders verify via IDnow VideoIdent
Both holders verify via IDnow VideoIdent
Each holder runs a separate IDnow VideoIdent call (5–10 minutes). Open the link from your email or use the IDnow app, show passport or EU ID, and answer the agent's questions. Comdirect uses IDnow exclusively — no branches, no PostIdent. All done from home.
Tip: You can verify at different times and from different cities. If one of you is still abroad waiting on a visa appointment, the other can pre-verify and the account waits for the second person — no penalty. Use external mics if your laptop's built-in mic is weak; ~10% of IDnow first attempts fail on audio alone.
Activate photoTAN for both
Activate photoTAN for both
After both identity checks clear (usually next business day), each holder gets their own participant number and PIN. Download photoTAN, log in separately, scan the activation graphic. Two independent two-factor setups, one shared account.
Tip: Three-hour activation window per holder. Miss it and Comdirect mails a paper activation letter — 3 to 5 extra days for one of you, even if the other is already set up.
Receive cards, start banking
Receive cards, start banking
Each holder gets their own free Visa Debit card with a separate PIN, in separate envelopes. Activate at any ATM or with the first contactless payment. Both cards draw from the same balance. Add both to Apple Pay or Google Pay on day one — see fee tip below.
Open Joint Account Now
We've guided 10,000+ expats through German banking since 2014, including hundreds of joint-account setups. This is the Comdirect flow — plus the three legal traps and the fee condition most couples never hear about until something goes wrong.
Open Joint Account Now →Three legal traps and one fee condition most couples miss
The gift-tax trap (unmarried couples)
If one of you regularly deposits much more than the other into a joint account, the Finanzamt can treat the imbalance as a gift. Unmarried partners only have a €20,000 tax-free allowance every 10 years. Married couples get €500,000. If you are unmarried with very different incomes, route shared expenses through the joint account but keep salaries in personal accounts.
Shared liability and the Schufa
A joint Dispo (overdraft) makes both of you liable for the full amount — not 50/50. If one holder runs up €5,000 in overdraft, the bank can demand it from either of you. Both holders also get a Schufa entry for the account; missed payments hit both credit scores. Worth knowing before signing.
How the free-account conditions work for two holders
The joint Girokonto is free for 6 months. After that, the same conditions as the single-holder account apply, but they apply once per account, not per holder. One €700+ Geldeingang to the joint account, or one Apple/Google Pay payment from either of you, or one Trade in the connected Comdirect Depot — any of these keeps the account at €0/month. If your rent comes from the joint account but neither of you routes salary through it, set up one €1 Apple Pay coffee per month from either card — easiest condition to hit.
Before you start
Have both passports and Anmeldungen ready. Decide Oder vs. Und in advance — switching later means a contract amendment. Plan ~25 minutes total including both IDnow calls. Set up standing orders for rent and utilities immediately after activation; that's the whole point of having one.