It's unbelievable what banks are currently doing to their customers. More and more are suddenly charging fees for every single bank transfer, cash withdrawal or cash deposit. Even the account management fee is being raised, as at Raiffeisenbank in Oberursel: in future, customers will have to pay 30 euros instead of 3 euros. As they are hardly earning any money through interest, banks are simply looking for other ways to get their hands on our money. Many are thinking about switching banks. These tips will help you switch banks.

All too much effort? Use the bank switching help

When looking for a new bank, you should look for the switching assistance offered on their website. More than 90 percent of banks offer this support. This means that the new bank checks who the new customer's regular payment partner is, informs them about the change of bank and takes care of the paperwork.

Better safe than sorry: check the old account carefully

Although the bank offers the switching service, it accepts no liability if something is forgotten. To be on the safe side, you should therefore compile the most important payment partners yourself, such as employer, landlord, telephone provider, and also pay attention to annual standing orders. You also have to change the data yourself, for example with Amazon.

Offline or online: How to open a new account

It is of course practical to simply find a branch of the new bank of your choice. You can find out everything in detail during the interview. Prepare yourself for the interview and ask specifically about hidden costs. This is because some supposedly free current accounts are linked to conditions. With direct banks on the Internet, you can open an account with just a few clicks, which is usually easy to understand. New customers identify themselves by post and are sent documents.

Smooth transition when changing banks: start with two accounts

You should keep your old account for another month to make sure that all standing orders have been transferred.

You should know these: Banks without extra charges

They still exist: free current accounts, with no strings attached and everything included, such as IngDiba, Norisbank, Comdirect or DKB
(www.girokonto-vergleich.net).