So I have accepted a position in Heidelberg, Germany with my first day of work being Monday, August 21st.
What is the best way for me to get my money to Germany? Take out my current bank balance in Travellers cheques and deposit in my new account over there? Wait till I open a new account and wire transfer the money? Keep my account here and keep using ym atm card in Germany while I deplete my account that way?
I think that b) would be the best solution. I don’t know about travellers’ cheques, but using your American ATM card in Germany will probably cost a fortune in fees.
Ah, and welcome to Germany! I’m sure you’ll like it here.
Thanks…I lived in Germany before though - worked in both Ludwigshafen and Braunschweig back in 2000. So in a sense, I’m heading back to familiar grounds.
Some European banks require letters of reference from your u.s. bank and current employer, large deposits and confirmation of your residence before they allow you to establish a bank acct in their country… do your homework before you go.
ciao!
Hmmm didn’t have a problem with that when I moved from the US to Germany back in 2000. I will follow up with my employer just to be sure. I’m thinking if anything I’ll go with the same bank that my employer banks with. From what I remember the last time European banks are lot more on a first-name basis with their customers so it might help things along.
I still have not had any advice on what option causes me the least loss of money…;(
IANA banker but a bank customer.
You’ll need a German current bank account (Girokonto) as soon as possible because a lot of things just won’t work without one (getting your salary for one thing, also utilities, often rent etc. are a lot of hassle unless you authorize automatic debit by them). You’ll get any payments to you via direct transfer (e.g. your salary) and you will pay most bills by direct transfer or by authorizing the creditor, e.g. the utility company, to debit your account i.e. help themselves to your money.
It’s been more than a decade since I last had to do with getting bank accounts for newly arrived foreigners (East German and Russian guest lecturers, in that case). It was reasonably easy then to get a current account and ATM card for them but we had to provide documentation (from our university) for the bank to the effect that they were legit academics, reputable, had an income etc. - since then banks have reputably become a bit more wary about bad risks (short-term debt in Germany is usually taken on as a current account overdraft rather than as credit card debt - in fact German ‘credit cards’ are usually debit cards paid off monthly from the current account), also anti-money-laundering/know-your-customer/nowadays anti-terrorist-finance laws have become more strict.
So, to be on the safe side, you should take the possibility into account that getting an ATM card for your German account won’t happen at once - it might, as a WAG, take as much as one or two weeks - after all you don’t have a German credit history (unless you can prove that you are the same person who’s in the Schufa credit agency’s files from back in 2000 - so it might be a good idea to have documentation about your residential addresses back then.). Of course it might take just a day or two but don’t rely on it. Also you probably will probably only get a decent overdraft facility after your first few monthly salaries have been paid into the account. So it might be a good idea to hold on to your US account and credit card and later close them remotely as it were. For transferring the balance wire transfer would be one option; writing yourself a check would be another - I don’t know which is cheaper. The last time I paid an US check into my account the bank charged me about 10 EUR in fees for a $1k check.
To open your German bank account you should take with you: passport, documentation from the municipiality that you have registered your residence with them at such and such an address, and a copy of your employment contract to prove you have got an income.
That’s not bad at all…I remember looking into wiring my money and it sure was more expensive than that.
Here’s what I’m thinking of doing;
Keep my account in the US. Open a new account in Germany. Use my american atm card till the new account is up and running. Write myself a check from US account to deposit into my German account. I’ll probably have to give my bank a heads-up so that they don’t hold my check given that it’s being cashed in germany by the US account holder.
You’ll want to ask your bank about fees and applicable exchange rate beforehand, though - processing foreign checks isn’t the sort of mass transaction where there is cut-throat competition between banks so your chosen bank’s terms might be unfavourable.