Sparkasse
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Deposit protection: DGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection scheme
- Largest German branch & ATM network
- local DE IBAN
- regional savings banks
Cons
- No fully remote opening
Rating breakdown
Why this score
Good fit for
- you receive international wires (SWIFT)
- you receive SEPA transfers
May not fit if
- you need to hold USD
- you need crypto in or out
- you need a fully rated profile — this one is rated on 5 of 6 dimensions
This is a licensed bank, so eligible deposits are protected by the deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) up to €100,000 per customer. That's a key safety factor when choosing.
- Licence
- Bank · BaFin
- IBAN
- DE
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
Editorial review
Data reviewed by Ilya ChernetskiyFounder and editor, nomonedaUpdated: 2026-08-15
Sparkasse is a licensed bank (BaFin), so eligible deposits carry DGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection scheme.
It is a local bank licensed in DE supporting EUR. FX model: Card-network rate + bank markup.
It tends to suit german residents, branch network, local presence.
Fees & terms
- Exchange rate
- Card-network rate + bank markup
- Card cost
- Paid monthly account fee
- Local-currency withdrawal
- Not disclosed
- USD withdrawal
- Not disclosed
- Withdrawal fees
- Not disclosed
- Limits
- Not disclosed
- USD yield
- Not disclosed
- Cashback
- Not disclosed
- Currencies
- EUR
- Cards
- Global Physical, Global Virtual
- Transfers
- SEPA in/out, SEPA Instant in/out, SWIFT in/out
- Payments
- Apple Pay, Google Pay
- Licence
- Bank — BaFin
- IBAN
- DE
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
- FX model
- Card-network rate + bank markup
- Opening requirements
- Needs Anmeldung/German address; branch opening typical
- English support
- No
- Remote opening
- No
- Headquarters
- Germany
Transfer routes
One row per direction, rail and currency — with what we hold on fees, speed and limits. A blank fee is not a free transfer; it is a fee we have not collected.
| Route | Fee | Speed | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWIFTincoming | Not published | Not published | — |
| SWIFToutgoing | Not published | Not published | — |
| SEPAincomingEUR | Not published | Not published | — |
| SEPAoutgoingEUR | Not published | Not published | — |
| SEPA InstantincomingEUR | Not published | Instant | — |
| SEPA InstantoutgoingEUR | Not published | Instant | — |
Who holds your money
The name on the app is not always the company holding the balance, and deposit protection follows the licence rather than the brand.
| Role | Organization | Answerable for | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence holder | SparkasseBaFin | Operating under regulatory permission | All currenciesDGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection scheme |
| Deposit guarantee | DGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection schemeBaFin | Paying out if the deposit holder fails | EURDGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection scheme |
Recent updates
- 2026-08-15checked11 facts about Sparkasse re-checked against their sources
3 similar services
Chosen by overlap in what people use them for, not by category — the services that would land in the same shortlist as this one.
| Service | Score | Documents | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|
| ING Germany | 66/100 | Needs German address; remote opening with German docs | Compare → |
| DKB | 66/100 | Needs Anmeldung/German address; remote opening with German docs | Compare |
| Santander Portugal | 64/100 | Needs NIF/residency; branch may be required | Compare |
User reviews
User score
No reviews yet.
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FAQ
- Is my money protected?
- Yes. Sparkasse holds a full bank licence (BaFin), so eligible deposits are protected by DGS €100k (DE) + institutional protection scheme.
- What IBAN and transfers?
- Sparkasse issues a DE IBAN. SEPA Instant: send + receive.
- Can I open remotely, in English?
- Opening may need a branch visit or local docs. Support is mainly local-language. Requirements: Needs Anmeldung/German address; branch opening typical.
Data provenance & verification
Every fact is checked against an official source and stamped with a date. We re-check fees quarterly and document requirements twice a year. Fields not yet independently verified are labelled honestly.
Independently corroborated, rated on the full model and checked within the year. This service can appear in our ranked picks.