Only with one are withdrawals free!

Which DKB card is used for what?

2 DKB Cards

Two cards are issued for the DKB current account. Withdrawals are only free with the Visa card (above).

New DKB customers that have only ever used a regular bank card need to learn the optimal usage of the cards. This is important so that the DKB account is really, as promised, absolutely free.

When the bank card is used for withdrawals (as one did with the previous bank) annoying fees are incurred.

Both cards have no annual fee.

How to make free cash withdrawals

  1. You take the DKB Visa Card
  2. Go to an ATM with the VISA symbol (these are the vast majority of machines in Germany and worldwide)
  3. Select the language (this message appears mainly because tourists often purchase through credit card cash)
  4. Enter the PIN and choose your withdrawal amount

yes, order my new free cards

Always use the DKB-card with the VISA sign to withdraw money

a) In order to have free cash withdrawals always use the VISA card
b) If the language selection screen appears, it is a good sign (not displayed for bank card)
c) The cash comes completely free of charge from the ATM (DKB automatically covers these fees and the customer never notices a thing)

What happens when you put the bank card into the ATM?

  • The language selection is missing, you will be prompted to enter the PIN
  • You will be prompted to specify the desired amount
  • The withdrawal fees will be displayed on the monitor
  • At this stage, the transaction can be cancelled at no cost (this is recommended)
 When a charging indicator appears when withdrawing cash, then please cancel the operation. It's free!

When withdrawing, if an electronic transaction fee is displayed, then please cancel the transaction. It’s free!
a) The incorrect DKB card is used, VISA character is missing
b) Electronic transaction fee is displayed, click Cancel at this point
c) The card is ejected

Note: Always use the DKB VISA card to withdraw money – that’s the only way to ensure that the cash withdrawal is free!

For further information about the account: www.dkb.de/privatkunden/dkb_cash.

3 frequently asked questions and their answers!

What is the maximum I can withdraw with the VISA Card?

Outside of Germany, one can theoretically withdraw the entire monthly credit limit or balance all at once, if you have that loaded onto the card (savings interest rate). In practice, this hardly works as due to security reasons ATMs have daily limits.

Abroad, a withdrawal of 10,000 euros within 29 days is allowed with the card. Either over the period or all in one day. However, one would have to use several ATMs.

In Germany, there is a daily limit of 1,000 euros. Most ATMs will give this amount. There are only a few machines that operate with a lower limit per withdrawal. It is possible to do two withdrawals or use another machine.

What is the advantage of paying with a credit card?

The interest rate gains for the customer!

And this is how it works at the DKB:

When you pay with the regular bank card, the booking will be immediately charged to the current account and correspondingly, less credit interest is obtained or you immediately have to pay interest on loans, if you have an overdraft.

With the DKB VISA card, all bookings (including the free cash withdrawals) will be collected on the credit card account. On the 22nd of each month the credit card account is cleared with the current account. Up to this point, there are no credit interest charges.

Top marks for the DKB credit card

There aren’t any exchange rate fees for foreign currency withdrawals!

Why do I still need the regular DKB bank card?

Even though the acceptance of credit cards is continuously increasing, it is not always possible to pay with credit cards in all stores. Here it is then useful to have the DKB bank card.

And in an emergency, if the credit card daily withdrawal amount is already maxed out, then you can “bite the bullet” and use the bank card to withdraw cash for a fee.

Do you have any further questions about the use of DKB and cash?

Then post it as a comment at the end of the page. I will respond as soon as possible.

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Someone who has helped more than 100,000 people to obtain a new bank account in the past 7 years. My name is Tanja and if you continue reading, you will find out why I and this page exist ⇒ read more.

23 Responses to “Which DKB card is used for what?”

  1. Osama says:

    – Is there a fee for using the DKB debit card in the shops?

  2. Osama says:

    I came to know that DKB is now using VPAY instead of Maestro. I want to ask how good is the acceptance of VPAY in Germany, compared to Maestro?

    • Gregor says:

      Since summer 2012 all new customer get the V Pay Card. The acceptance of V Pay is in Germany and in the whole European Union excellent!

      V Pay is a brand of Visa Card Europe. I know: in USA is V Pay a no go.

  3. Sol says:

    I find that my DKB Visa Card has a withdrawal limit of USD 1,000 a day. This is not the limit of the ATM, since I tried changing machines after withdrawing USD 1,000 on the same day and it gave me no money because the daily limit had been exceeded. The next day, I was able to withdraw another USD 1000. How can I increase this limit? Thanks!

    • Gregor says:

      Unfortunately, that is true! In autumn 2014, the withdrawal limit was decreased from Euros 10,000 per day (valid for a period of 29 days) to Euros 1,000 per day. The reason for this were security concerns by VISA.

      However, there are probably exceptions for individual cases at a written request at the DKB. How good are the chances of success? Well, experience values are not yet available.

      Alternatively, one can request an additional Visa credit card. Therefore, one would get at least twice the credit limit and would have to distribute the withdrawals to half of the days.

      You can read on how to apply for an additional Visa credit card here: https://www.deutscheskonto.org/en/apply-visa-credit-card-dkb/

  4. Akos says:

    Hi,
    I live in UK (and don’t have German passport), and I would like to enquire about opening a euro account. The account, with the online banking is the most important, but if it’s possible I also would like to have a debit card. What is the cheapest option what you could suggest? I would like put there 2-3k euros, add later more, and take out some, but not for everyday use, so need low cost opportunity. Thanks, Akos.

  5. Aileen says:

    Hi,

    Do the cards get delivered to the address as soon as you sign up – or do I have to request these additionally after being accepted from the bank?

    How long would it take for it to arrive ususally?

    Thanks,

    • Susanne says:

      The cards will be delivered to the address that has been used for the application/opening of the account. Within Germany, that usually takes around two weeks.

      As soon as you get your online access to your account, you can decide on and state a separate mail address. But the first issue of the cards always goes to the originally stated address.

      I hope that helps.

  6. Geli says:

    How can you check on single transactions via online banking on your DKB Visa? I notice the balance going down, but can’t access any transactions…I hope I don’t have to wait until a statement is generated?

  7. Baris says:

    Hello,

    How is the acceptance of DKB debit(giro?) card in Germany? I have a N26 account and their debit card is not accepted sometimes(some restaurants, small shops, even some Edekas). And this can be quite annoying.

    I also find it hard to distinguish the thin line between giro, debit and ec card.

    Thanks!

    • Susanne (editorial staff) says:

      Hi! This is not an easy questions – the acceptance rate of debit/ec/giro cards in Germany is widely improving, but it’s true that especially at small shops (e.g. small businesses, convenience stores, bakeries and yes, even smaller supermarkets) they sometimes solely accept cash payments. As someone who used to live in Germany, I daresay that at least in the city I can mostly pay with my debit card, though there are exemptions. My tipp: Most shops who accept any form of card payment have the logos of those cards (i.e. Maestro, or even credit cards like Visa, Master, Amex) on display. In most cases you can find the logos on display on their doors, on the window or elsewhere in their entrance area.

      • Baris says:

        Hi Susanne,

        Thank you for your reply. I live in Hamburg. As far as I experienced: if the shop/restaurant accepts card payment, you never have any problem with girocard. However other ec/debit cards can have acceptance issues.

        So I’ll rephrase my question: does DKB provide a girocard?

        BR

        • Gregor says:

          Yes, you get both (Girocard and Visa Card) for free. It is up to you with can you use for payments. We prepare an article about this topic: Which card is the best option for what … will be online in some days in this blog.

  8. John Tan says:

    Hi
    How can I transfer money to the checking account or make payment?
    Do I have to deposit some money in the beginning?
    Thanks.

    • Susanne (editorial staff) says:

      Hi! There is no minimum deposit necessary when opening the account. You can transfer money to your account from a different bank account, and also have the option to deposit cash (free of charge) at one of the DKB-belonging ATMs. Payments are possible via online transfer, debit card or credit card. We will soon have an instructional video in English to explain this in more details. I hope this helps?

  9. John says:

    Hi
    This helps. However, I discovered a new problem. It seems that both the video and Postident rejected my Singapore passport. They said it is not in the system.
    Looks like a missed opportunity. What other Credit card do you recommend?
    Thank you.

    • Susanne (editorial staff) says:

      Yes, it’s true – it would of course be great if the bank employees were trained in such a way that they could correctly identify the security features of passports and ID cards from ca. 200 countries – via video cam.

      Alternatively you can go with the Post-Ident procedure of the Deutsche Post for the mandatory legitimization check.

      Giro accounts without credit check – with quasi guaranteed account acceptance – can be found here: https://www.deutscheskonto.org/en/account/current/opening/

  10. Anton says:

    Are there any other ways (even paying fees) if I need to withdraw more than 1000€? Let’s say I have 8,000€ which I need immediately. Is it possible with DKB?

    • Editorial Team says:

      Yes, with the DKB cash service, one can have cash sent to a particular address (e.g. home, work place) in Germany. If one orders until 2:30 pm, the delivery will be done by messenger the next day. The service is offered for amounts between 3,000 and 10,000 Euro, and you can order it yourself within the online banking system.

  11. Daniel says:

    I also recently received a V Pay card instead of Maestro. Is there a list or a website somewhere that displays which merchants in Europe accept this card outside Germany? I was only able to pay with it once, using the chip (but I figured this might be because some issuers say you’re supposed to use the chip first before you can actually use the contactless/RFID). Today two contactless attempts at two different stores resulted in “card not valid”.

    • Martin says:

      Good morning Daniel! Saadly there is no website that displays all Vpay POS in Europe. But theoretically at every POS that accept Visa you are welcome with Vpay. First time you have to use the card directly to activate the nfc chip, thats right. The problem that you describe is a little bit strange. Accept the Store Visa??

      • Daniel says:

        Yes, the stores accepted Visa, and one of them even has the V Pay sticker by the checkout. Regular chip+PIN transactions seemed to go through OK, but the contactless not. We’ll see what the bank answers, I suppose it might have something to do with late processing of V-Pay payments on their side (I noticed it takes a couple of days, and it’s processed by a different provider, at least according to the transaction list).

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