All banks, even private ones, are subject to state control. The major banks are the Volksbank and Sparkassen; further look out for Postbank, Commerzbank, the Deutsche Bank and the Dresdner Bank. The terms and conditions of business in Germany vary from one bank to another. It is worthwhile comparing charges and other offers carefully. As a rule banks open from 9 to 4 and on Thursdays to 5.30 or 6.30. Smaller branches shut at lunchtime from 1 to 2.30.

Banks, savings banks and postal banks offer more or less the same service, but the charges you have to pay for keeping an account in Germany differ. As a student you are exempt from account management charges (Kontoführungsgebühren) but this is not automatic. You have to submit an application to your bank yourself. As an account-holder you can carry out monetary transactions at any branch and you can get money from your account from a cash point at any time. In order to open the account you will need your passport or identity card.

In Germany, in contrast to New Zealand, it is not usual to send cheques to people by post (eg. the rent to your landlord)! There are various ways of conducting monetary transactions:

• Transfer (Überweisung) is used to transfer money from one account to the other. You have to fill in a transfer form and hand it in at your bank or savings bank.
• Standing order (Dauerauftrag): if you have regularly recurring payments of a set sum, such as the rent, it is recommendable to arrange for a standing order so that the set sum can be deducted automatically from your account on an agreed date and transferred to the account of the recipient. The bank will provide you with the necessary form.
• Direct debit (Lastschrift): this is a practical method of payment if you have recurring sums which vary in size, such as the telephone bill or health insurance. You give the recipient a direct debit authorization (Einzugsermächtigung) which authorises them to deduct the respective amounts from your account. Of course, you can always cancel the authorization and stop the direct debit. This method of payment may be new to you and you may be suspicious that it could be open to abuse. However, all direct debits are registered on your bank statement so that you can check them and revoke any incorrect debits.

With Eurocheque Cards you can pay anywhere in Europe. You have to apply for the card and it usually takes about a week before you get it. On the application form you will have to prove that money will be arriving on your account on a regular basis. The Eurocheque Card should not be confused with the Eurocard. The Eurocard is a credit card, allied to the Master-Card system and valid all over the world.

In shops and hotels you can often pay by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Diners’ Club) but it is not so common in smaller restaurants and guest houses. Your bank or savings bank will also give you advice on credit cards and savings accounts. Apart from this, you can get credit cards from various other sources, eg. in combination with a rail card (BahnCard) When you open a current account you will usually be awarded overdraft facilities (Dispositionskredit) allowing you to overdraw your account to a certain agreed limit. Please note that interest is very high, about 11% depending on the bank. It gets even more expensive if you go beyond the agreed limit; you will then pay interest of more than 15% per month on your overdraft.

If you lose your cheque card: you will be given a secret pin-number together with your cheque card. However, this will not necessarily protect you from abuse of your card as the user is not required to quote the pin-number at the cash desk, merely to provide a signature. Should you lose your cheque card, or any other bank cards, ring your bank immediately so that your card can be frozen. Outside normal banking hours there is a telephone service for reporting losses and freezing accounts.