Comdirect GiroKonto

Yes. The Comdirect app and online banking are in German, and our free step-by-step English guide walks you through the application. Short support requests get answered in English, though the phone line runs mainly in German.

You need a German registration (Anmeldung) and a German address. Comdirect may check your residence status, and it accepts a wide range of visa types. EU citizens apply with their national ID alone.

Online banking opens one to two working days after your VideoIdent call and photoTAN setup. The physical Visa debit card reaches you in about a week, and you can pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay well before then.

Nothing for the first 6 months. After that, €0 in any month you stay active: €700 of income, 3 Apple Pay or Google Pay payments, one trade plus one savings plan execution, or a holder under 28 in education. A month with none of those costs €4.90.

Comdirect pays back 5% of what you spend with the Visa debit card, in shops and online. It counts purchases up to €1,000 a month, so you collect at most €50 in a month and €150 across your first 3 months. Cash withdrawals, wallet top-ups, crypto, betting, and gambling stay out of the count, so a month without shopping earns you nothing. You have to be new to comdirect, agree to marketing emails from Commerzbank AG while you open the account, and keep that consent for those first 3 months. Comdirect credits the money to your GiroKonto on banking days, and your complete application has to arrive by 18 October 2026.

Nothing, as long as comdirect has your status on file. Holders under 28 who are studying, at school, in an apprenticeship, or on an internship keep the GiroKonto Aktiv free without hitting any income or payment target. That covers most people arriving on a student visa, and it is the one condition you never have to think about again once you have proved it. Turn 28 or finish your studies and the usual rules take over: €700 of monthly income, 3 mobile payments, or a trade plus a savings plan.

Yes, and it pays off twice. The GiroKonto handles salary, rent, and direct debits like any current account, and a monthly income of €700 or more keeps the account free on its own.

Tagesgeld PLUS is the savings account that comes with your GiroKonto. Open the two together and you earn 1.75% a year for 12 months, on balances up to €1,000,000. Past that balance, and once the 12 months are up, comdirect pays the standard 0.75%. Your money stays available every day.

Yes. Comdirect is a broker as well as a bank, so you open a Depot in the same login and buy shares, funds, or run any of 500+ free ETF savings plans from €1 a month. That is why expats who want to invest pick Comdirect over a plain neobank.

With the Visa debit card at any ATM showing the Visa sign, anywhere in the world: 3 times a month on the Aktiv, 5 on the Extra, without a limit on the Plus. Every withdrawal above that costs €4.90. Unlimited free cash at the Cash Group ATMs (about 5,000 machines at Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HypoVereinsbank, and Postbank) needs the girocard instead, and that card costs €1 a month on top. Supermarkets like Rewe and Penny hand out cash at the till when you shop.

You confirm each transfer by scanning a photoTAN image with the app, and you open the app with your fingerprint or Face ID. It replaces SMS codes, which fraudsters can intercept.

Yes. The free Visa debit card handles daily spending, and you can add a Visa credit card from €1.90 a month if you want a credit line or deposit-free car rentals. You apply for it separately in online banking.

SEPA transfers inside Europe are free and often arrive in seconds via instant payment. Transfers outside the SEPA zone carry a fee and take one to three working days. You start both from the app or online banking.

Yes, on request and subject to your credit check. Comdirect grants a Dispokredit of up to three times your monthly net income, and charges a variable 8.90% p.a. on it, 9.20% effective. Keep it for short gaps rather than long-term borrowing.

Comdirect is a brand of Commerzbank AG, supervised by BaFin and the ECB. German deposit protection covers your balance up to €100,000, and photoTAN plus biometric login guard your access.

Yes. Comdirect has no branches of its own, so you pay cash in at Commerzbank machines. On Aktiv and Extra the first three deposits each calendar year are free and every one after that costs €4.90; Plus has no limit.

Yes. The GiroKonto handles SEPA direct debits for rent, utilities, gym, and subscriptions, and you can view or cancel any mandate in the app whenever you like.

Aktiv is €0 with active use, free for its first 6 months, and gives 3 free ATM withdrawals a month. Extra at €2.90 adds a Visa credit card and 5 withdrawals, and it charges that fee from your first month. Plus at €9.90 brings unlimited withdrawals and a travel insurance package. All three share the app, the free Visa debit card, and Apple and Google Pay. The 5% cashback for new customers runs on all three and always on Visa debit card purchases, so your tier does not change what you earn back.

Yes, any time in online banking or the app. Your new tier and its price start with the next billing cycle, so you can begin on Aktiv and move up if you travel more.

Aktiv works for most people: free with €700 of monthly income, free again for anyone under 28 in education, and free for its first 6 months whoever you are. Weigh the Extra against it: €2.90 a month buys a Visa credit card and 5 free withdrawals instead of 3. Pick Plus if you travel often in Europe and want the travel insurance and unlimited free cash.