Important changes

• The Berlin-Hamburg train route will close from 1 Aug 2025 till 30 April 2026.
• France, Italy, Spain, Czechia, and Croatia have increased their toll prices.

In our last newsletter, we explained your rights in case of flight delays and cancellations. If you missed it, you can read it here.

How many bank accounts should you have in Germany?

Before we dive into how many bank accounts you need, let’s first understand the need.

• Bank account blocked: German banks have the right to block your account without reason. This has happened to many. Search “my bank account got blocked,” and you’ll find hundreds of people complaining about it online. So, you must be prepared if this happens to you.
• Retirement planning: Germany's statutory pension system is struggling. Hence, you must take care of your retirement. If you don’t save money, you’ll end up in poverty in your old age. No one wants this.
• Emergency funds: Life is unpredictable. From AI to war, anything can happen overnight. Add health issues and accidents to the mix, making plans more challenging. This is why you must build an emergency fund. Your emergency fund should cover your 4 to 6 months of expenses.
• Plan for Future Purchases: Some expenses occur after every few years, e.g., buying a laptop, mobile phone, car, etc. It’s important that you set aside a small amount for such purchases every month. The reason is that you know these expenses will occur, but don’t know when. By setting aside some money, you are prepared when these expenses arise.

As you can see, you must set aside money for different purposes. It’s impossible to do this by having a single bank account. This is where a multi-account system comes to your rescue.

Here is what a multi-account system looks like.

Multi-account system

You must have at least two bank accounts with different banks. The reason for having bank accounts with different banks is diversification.

Suppose your bank account gets blocked. In this case, you must have a second account in a different bank to pay for your personal expenses.

If your bank offers subaccounts, managing your finances is even easier. Here is how to manage your bank accounts in Germany.

• Bank account 1 - Main Personal Account (Checking account): You use this account for daily spending and monthly bills. You can even create subaccounts to separate fixed costs (e.g., rent, utilities) and variable costs (e.g., travel, food). This will give you a better overview of your expenses and areas where you can cut down costs.
• Bank account 2 - Backup Account (Daily account): It’s your backup and big purchase account. If Bank 1 blocks your account, you can use it to pay daily expenses. This account also serves as a reserve to pay for big purchases like a car, a laptop, holidays, etc. You should open a daily account (Tagesgeldkonto) so that you earn some interest. You should deposit a fixed amount monthly into this account. Setting up a standing order is the best way to automate it.
• Subaccount in one of the banks (Emergency savings): This is for financial security in case of job loss, illness, or any other emergency. Aim to save enough to cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses.
• Trading account - Retirement or investment account: For long-term wealth building (e.g. ETF portfolio). As your portfolio grows, you should open new trading accounts with different brokers. This reduces the risk of losing all your money if the broker goes bankrupt.

Which bank accounts and trading accounts do we find best?

Here are the free checking bank accounts we find the best.

• ​C24* (only in German)
• ​N26*
• ​Commerzbank* (Traditional bank with partial English support)

You can read the complete comparison here.

You can compare the banks that offer the highest interest on daily accounts here*.

Here are the free trading accounts we find the best.

• ​Scalable Capital*
• ​Finanzen.net Zero*
• ​Smartbroker+*

Launched LetterKrieg to simplify bureaucracy a bit

After some delays, we are excited to announce the launch of the first version of LetterKrieg. Here is what you can currently do on LetterKrieg.

• Create a letter using a template or from scratch.
• Download the letter for free or send it by physical post directly via the platform.
• Download sample contracts, such as rental contracts, personal loans, etc., for free.

We'll be adding tons of new templates to LetterKrieg, and it'll soon feature an AI assistant for creating and sending letters.

Try it out and share your feedback by replying to this email or contact@letterkrieg.com. We hope you find it useful.

No more reminders from ARD ZDF

Every household in Germany must pay the radio tax. This is the tax that many expats hate and don't understand.

However, radio tax is levied to keep the media neutral and independent, which is critical in times like now.

The ARD ZDF announced a change in its payment procedure in June.

Current situation

Currently, you have two options to pay the Radio tax (Rundfunkbeitrag).

• Set up a SEPA direct debit (Recommended)
• Make payment manually via bank transfer.

If you paid radio tax via bank transfer, you received an invoice. This invoice was a helpful payment reminder, but not anymore.

Change

Starting in June, ARD ZDF will stop sending regular invoices and will instead send only one letter (“Einmalzahlungsaufforderung” or one-time payment request).

The letter mentions the annual radio tax payment deadlines. As these deadlines never change, you won't recieve any other letters or reminders after this one.

In short, you must take care of making the payments on time. This is why setting up a standing order or authorizing SEPA direct mandate is recommended.

The change will save ARD ZDF significant postage and shipping costs.

What happens if you make a late payment?

If you miss the radio tax payment deadlines, you'll recieve a fine. The late payment penalty is 1% of the outstanding amount, but a minimum of €8!

If you don't pay the fee and the fine within four weeks, the ARD ZDF will impose additional reminder fees and pursue enforcement measures, including initiating administrative offence proceedings.

If you fail to pay for more than six months, expect a fine of up to €1,000.

Your opinion matters - Results

Thank you all for sharing your feedback. Here are the results of last week's polls.

We'll keep the AI section short and will continue to strive to offer valuable content right in your inbox.

Instant loan in Germany

Instant loans are not a different loan product. They are normal installment loans. Banks use the term instant or express loan for marketing purposes.

Learn more about instant loans in Germany here.

Our social media content calendar is packed with insights into Germany. Learn the latest news, new German words, discover new places, view infographics like the one above, and more.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily insights about Germany.

The world of AI

Latest development

• Google has introduced Audio Overviews. It's an experimental feature that uses Gemini to create short, podcast-style audio summaries for specific search queries. Currently, Google offers this feature to U.S. users only. The way we search is changing, and Google is experimenting with fast. [1]
• Create MCP servers without writing a single line of code. Postman offers this service, and you can learn how to do it here.
• Meta is investing US$14.3 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI. ScaleAI's founder Alexandr Wang and a team will join Meta to bolster its AI efforts. [2]

A Request 🙏

Reviews mean everything for online platforms, and GermanPedia is no different.

You can help us compete in Google search by leaving reviews on Google. These really (yes, really) help and are a vital part of Google's discovery and recommendation algorithms.

So, if you find what we are doing helpful, please leave a simple star rating or a short review on Google. This will help more users discover GermanPedia.

Latest News

• Russia claims territorial rights over the entire Ukraine. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia's maximalist demands in the ongoing war against Ukraine. [1]
• Russia expressed openness to diplomacy in the Israel-Iran conflict. It also warned against Western military involvement, such as potential Taurus missile deliveries from Germany. [1]
• The CDU/CSU is pushing for mandatory military service. The German Bundeswehr (Military) faces a personnel shortage. This has led to a debate on reinstating conscription to meet NATO requirements. The CDU/CSU is pushing for mandatory service while the SPD prefers voluntary recruitment. As per the defense minister, Boris Pistorius, Germany lacks the infrastructure to make a full return to traditional conscription. [2]
• Be aware of not blocking the way (unintentionally) for the emergency services. Many people unintentionally hinder emergency service personnel by photographing or filming accident scenes. This causes dangerous delays and distractions. Current laws impose fines up to €5,000 or up to two years in prison for such behavior. However, the German Firefighters Association president, Karl-Heinz Banse, argues that these measures are insufficient. He mentioned that firefighters must divert resources to manage crowds, compromising their ability to focus on saving lives. [3]
• According to the study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), 26% of immigrants in Germany are considering leaving. This group mainly comprises immigrants who are better educated or economically successful. The main factors for this decision are bureaucracy, high taxes, and discrimination. About half of these immigrants plan to return to their home countries, while others aim to move to countries like Switzerland, the US, or Spain. [4]

Recent wars worldwide suggest that things can change overnight. So, you should always be prepared—stock food and other vital supplies.

Community Shoutouts! 📣

• We launched "LetterKrieg" today. You can create, download, or send letters via physical post directly via LetterKrieg. Check it out here ->​
• We created a free email course to help you achieve your dream of owning a home in Germany. In this 12-day course, you'll learn everything about buying a house in Germany. Sign up today ->​
• For a limited time, we slashed the price of our ebook, "Expats guide to buying a house in Germany," from 49€ to 29€.
• Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest to get more insights about Germany daily.

Whether it's a must-visit place, a life hack, or an inspiring story, we’d love to hear from you.

New and recently updated guides

• ​VAT explained​
• ​Myths about filing a tax return in Germany​
• ​Instant loan in Germany​
• ​Documents to check before buying a house in Germany​

Your Feedback Matters 👍

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