Banking

 

We recommend opening an account with a German bank immediately after arriving in Germany. To do this, you will usually need your passport, the registration certificate from the registry office that is responsible for your community or city neighborhood, and your tax identification number. The latter can be submitted later if necessary.

If you are employed as a research assistant or receive a scholarship from a German scholarship organization, the RWTH Human Resources Department will ask you to provide an account number so that your monthly salary or scholarship money can be deposited.

In Germany, recurring payments such as rent, insurance, telephone charges, etc. are also made almost exclusively via standing orders or direct debit, in which you authorize payments to be deducted from your bank account. To avoid fees, you should use – and provide the HR department with the details of – a German or, for the SEPA scheme, a European account for these payments.

Generally, when you open a checking account in Germany, you will receive an EC card and/or a credit card. Cashless payments in German stores are usually made with the EC card. Payment by credit card is not as common or accepted in stores, but is recommended for online transactions.

Please note the following points regarding scholarship disbursements:

Scholarships that are only awarded for a few months are generally disbursed by the Bursary of RWTH Aachen University:

Hochschulkasse der RWTH Aachen
Templergraben 55, Room 38
Telephone: +49 241 80 97118
Business Hours:
Monday to Friday 9am to 12 noon

This applies to scholarships awarded by the DAAD and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Your scholarship provider will send you detailed information regarding the disbursement.

To receive your scholarship money, you need to have your passport or identity card with you, and, if you have one, your scholarship card. Please pay attention to possible deadlines the scholarship provider may have set regarding the disbursement.

If you need to open a blocked bank account for reasons of residence law (such as visas or residence permits), you can find information on the website of the German Foreign Office.