Money in Berlin

April 29, 2011 3:21 PM

I'm moving to Berlin for the summer, and I need to know how I should go about transfering living funds over. I'll be getting 3000 Euro when I get there, but that will not be enough to live on for the entire summer. Should I exchange them into Euros? Should I use my US credit card? Should I get a German bank account. I would love any advice you can give me.
posted by outlandishmarxist to Travel & Transportation around Berlin, Germany (9 answers total)

Keep your US bank account, use your debit card to get cash from bank machines. Call your bank to a) tell them you're going there and to please not fraud-stop your card (they will anyway, take some emergency cash), b) find out if they partner with a German bank so you'll pay lower fees at participating ATMs, c) their non-800 number you can call from Germany when they fraud-stop your card.

Easy enough. Getting a bank account in a foreign country can take weeks to months; you won't be there long enough for it to be worth it. ATMs will give you the best exchange rates you're likely to get, and you're not making horribly expensive wire transfers (like $25-55 per transfer) to a bank account you're only going to have for a month or two.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:38 PM on April 29, 2011

In general, you can live fine just by pulling money out of an ATM (in large enough amounts that you're not getting screwed by the transaction fee from your bank, in small enough amounts that if you get pickpocketed you're not screwed). My German roommate's bank was partnered with US Bank for ATM fees (although I don't know if it went both ways!)

You should be able to use your US credit card, although cash is really easier for most things.

Seconding what Lyn Never said about warning your bank not to freak out about fraud prevention.

Much more happens in cash than you're used to in the US. You'll be okay. Get receipts for anything big (like rent), but you should be fine.

Have fun.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 3:41 PM on April 29, 2011

Best answer: In general, you can live fine just by pulling money out of an ATM (in large enough amounts that you're not getting screwed by the transaction fee from your bank, in small enough amounts that if you get pickpocketed you're not screwed).

Or you can get a bank account that refunds ATM fees and doesn't charge international transaction fees. In the US, Schwab Checking is an example.
posted by jeb at 3:46 PM on April 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

I spent close to 6 months living in Germany, and like Lyn Never suggests, I just got cash from ATMs. If I remember correctly, either my bank just charged me a flat transaction fee, or they charged me a certain percentage plus a transaction fee. Either way, to minimize the transaction fee issue, I took fairly large amounts of cash out at a time, like a few weeks' worth. That worked fine. I felt that spending a few bucks here and there was worth avoiding the hassle of opening a new bank account for such a short period of time.

In Germany, lots of vendors don't take US credit cards, so most of my transactions were in cash from the ATM.
posted by mandanza at 3:47 PM on April 29, 2011

I would take some emergency cash with you as well - whatever amount you are comfortable carrying - but enough in case you have banking issues for, say, a week.
posted by TravellingDen at 3:49 PM on April 29, 2011

Response by poster: Your suggestions are good. Similar to ones I've heard from others. One additional question, though: what should I do with the payment I'm getting in Euros?
posted by outlandishmarxist at 4:43 PM on April 29, 2011

Best answer: Will you be angemeldet anywhere? If so, you should be able to get a bank account pretty easily... if you're under 22, I'd recommend looking at the Postbank, since they have a free account. Otherwise it's worth looking around, but there are a lot of banks that have cheap bank accounts. I'd put the 3000 EUR in there and use it for day-to-day stuff (being able to überweis money is really useful in such a bank-transfer-oriented society) and save your American account for bigger expenses.
posted by naturalog at 5:45 PM on April 29, 2011

I spent the summer of 2008 in Berlin, and I got by just fine with a Wells Fargo Visa. Took cash out of the ATM every two weeks or so; used the card for larger purchases if/when necessary: rail & airfare for weekend trips, camera gear, etc.

You certainly don't need a German bank account, but if it's not too much trouble to open one -- hey, why not? Using an EC-card (their form of debit card, which is accepted almost everywhere) will be more convenient. I looked in to opening a Deutsche Bank account before I went over, and the only thing holding me back was a trip to the nearest Germany Embassy -- in Chicago -- to get some documents authorized. Again, I had no problems without the account, but it would be kind of a fun novelty to have a German bank account these days. Maybe even a safer place to keep my money, considering the track record of US banks.

(feel free to mail me if you've any other questions, btw.)
posted by bhayes82 at 5:57 PM on April 29, 2011

I also lived in Germany temporarily (as a tourist) and used ATMs for all my cash.

When I later moved to Sweden (permanently) I tried to get a bank account but was refused for several years because I didn't have a Swedish ID card. It's possible German banks have similar rules, in which case you'll be back to ATMs anyhow.
posted by beerbajay at 10:40 AM on April 30, 2011