Step-by-step:
Open Your Free StartKonto
Half the young expats we talk to default to the regular GiroKonto and pay €4.90/month for no reason. The StartKonto stays free until you turn 28 — here's how to get it.
Go directly to account opening →Who qualifies
The StartKonto stays free until your 28th birthday. The bar is low — most expat students, trainees, and early-career professionals are in.
- • You are under 28
- • You are registered in Germany (Anmeldung) — or will be soon
- • You hold a valid passport or EU ID
- • You are a student, trainee, or early-career professional
The 6 steps, in order
About 6 minutes for the application. Plan a week from start to card-in-hand.
Fill out the online application
Click "Open StartKonto" to begin. Pick "StartKonto" as account type, tick "under 28", enter your details and the address from your Anmeldung. Choose a username and PIN, submit — your IBAN comes back on the next screen.
Tip: The "I am under 28" tick is the whole game. Miss it and you get a regular GiroKonto at €4.90/month — and Commerzbank will not auto-switch you later.
Save the email confirmations
Four emails hit your inbox: application confirmation with IBAN, the Ident-ID for verification, pre-contractual documents, and the order confirmation showing your StartKonto status. Keep them all.
Tip: Nothing in 5 minutes? Check spam. The order confirmation is the one to keep — it proves the €0 pricing in writing if a fee ever shows up.
Verify your identity
Use the IDENT app for Video Chat (5–10 minutes, done from your couch). PostIdent at any Deutsche Post counter is the backup. Bring your passport and the Ident-ID from step 2.
Tip: Daylight beats apartment lighting for the video call. We've seen Video-Ident fail more often over a dim webcam than over bad WiFi.
Activate photoTAN
Next business day after identity check: download photoTAN, log in with participant number and PIN, scan the activation graphic. Two-factor confirmation for every login and payment from then on.
Tip: Activate within 3 hours of the unlock email. Miss the window and Commerzbank mails you a paper activation letter — 3 to 5 extra days for nothing.
Wait for your Girocard PIN
PIN by post, separate envelope, usually 2–3 days before the card. The split is a fraud rule, not a delay.
Tip: Memorise it or use a password manager. Most card-loss reports we hear start with "I wrote the PIN on the envelope".
Activate your Girocard
Card arrives 4–7 days after the PIN. First use at any ATM with your PIN switches it live. Cash, contactless, salary deposits — free until your 28th birthday.
What to know before you start
Have ready
Passport or EU ID, Anmeldung, German mobile, 15 quiet minutes. Stable WiFi for Video-Ident.
Where most people slip
Three patterns we see again and again: forgetting the "under 28" tick (€4.90/month for nothing), address typed differently from the Anmeldung (rejected), photoTAN not activated within 3 hours (paper letter delay). All avoidable in under a minute.