Open a current account at the Commerzbank or Comdirect?
You get the answer to this thrilling question in this article. You will be recommended the best option for your use!
What is most thrilling about the Commerzbank / Comdirect?
The Comdirect is virtually the direct bank daughter of the Commerzbank. The Commerzbank is making itself competition since the 1990ies … or is it just clever enough to keep the online-enthusiast customers, who do their banking mainly by themselves, within the corporate group, so that these won´t switch to the DKB and the like?
Upfront: The answer is yes! Whether you would prefer to become a customer of the mother or daughter bank, you can easily learn from the comparison:
 Comdirect |
 Commerzbank |
|
| Account management | free of charge! | free of charge, if at least 1 cent is transferred to the account Attention: update! |
| Cards to the account |   Visa and Girocard free of charge 🙂 |
 Girocard free of charge, Credit card from € 30.90 per year! |
| Cash supply within Germany |
free of charge at the counter of the Commerzbank and using the Girocard at the ATMs of the Commerzbank, Postbank, Deutsche Bank, UniCredit | |
| Cash supply abroad |
in Euros: without withdrawal fee using the Girocard in other currencies: without withdrawal fee using the Visa Card |
always with withdrawal fee from €5.98 |
| Account opening | ► online | really? |
| Online use | ||
| transfers | free of charge | |
| standing orders | free of charge | |
| online banking, banking-app | free of charge | |
| Interest | ||
| Overdraft facility | 6.50 % | 9.75 % |
| Overdrawn overdraft facility | 11.00 % | 12.25 % |
| Extras for smart bank customers | ||
| Deposit cash | 3 × per calendar year at the counter and ATMs of the Commerzbank | anytime free of charge at the counter and ATMs of the Commerzbank |
| smartPay app | Paying and filing bills now by photo | – |
| How your simple paying of bills could look like in the future, you can see here: | ||
| Account opening | ||
| Requirements | 18 years old + place of residence in Germany or German citizens abroad | 18 years old + place of residence in Germany |
| Start the account opening: |  www.comdirect.de |
Are you a smart bank customer? … Then please switch to the left column 😉 |
| If you are still not sure, whether the Comdirect really better fits to us smart bank customers, then please take a look at the comprehensive details before you start the account opening. Questions and supplements to the table can be postet using the comments feature at the end of this page. Many thanks! |
||
Advantages of the Commerzbank
The Commerzbank has – a few crystal clear – advantages compared to the Comdirect: you have a physical place, where you can go to within the opening hours in order to
- personally speak to a bank salesman,
- make deposits and withdrawals, as often as you want, at the counter,
- send your mail, without having to pay for a postage stamp.
For most smart bank customers on our portal, this is not really important. This is why we will now focus on the Comdirect. Of course, always taking a look on how we can take advantage of the mother-bank services being a Comdirect-customer.
Using the Commerzbank being a Comdirect-customer
Being a Comdirect-customer, we can use the Commerzbank in some cases. Of course, most often for:
-
withdrawing cash
Usually, this takes place using the ATM and the Comdirect-Girocard. You can withdraw amounts between Euros 50 and 1,000 per day, as often as you want.
You get this free cash service through the CashGroup also at the ATMs of the Postbank, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit.
-
withdrawing high amounts
If you want to withdraw higher amounts (more than Euros 1,000) from your current account, then you can announce this at the customer service of the Comdirect and the money will be made available in a Commerzbank branch office of your choice. For example, if you want to pay a used car in cash, this service can be meaningful.
-
depositing cash
You can deposit cash as coins and bills using the deposit machines or at the counter of the Commerzbank directly to your current account.
In my cases, only stating the Comdirect-IBAN was necessary. The procedures were fast and friendly. One gets a deposit receipt as proof.
We, being Comdirect-customers, can use this service free of charge three times per calendar year. Subsequently a subsidized lump-sum fee is charged.
-
Big equity savings range
This is an indirect advantage, because you need the Comdirect-depot for it. The Comdirect offers a very wide range of interesting equity savings plans at outstanding conditions. This is possible, because it can resort to the technique and the buying volume of the Commerzbank for the execution.
Cash runs free of charge using the Commerzbank
Open an account at the Commerzbank or Comdirect?
Probably already at the comparison above it became obvious that the Comdirect is the better option for many people.
The account opening is pretty easy and if you dispose of an average to good creditworthiness, you can expect to get an immediate overdraft facility.
How to become a customer of the Comdirect with the current account, we have documented for you as a series ► Part 1: Account opening step-by-step.
What happens after the account opening?
Within the next days, you get:
- a welcoming package in which the bank and current account are explained
- access to the online banking
- TANs and PINs for your online banking and the cards
- Girocard
- Visa Card (if ordered simultaneously, free of charge)
Consecutively, it is recommended to log into the online banking and try the first things. You can find help to the Comdirect-use through the search feature in the upper right on our special portal. Through this path, you find e.g. such practical instructions ► change the PIN of the Girocard. Agreed?
Open an additional current account strategically
This section is tendentially something for our new readers, who still have their current account at a Sparkasse or Volksbank. It could be meaningful for you to set up an additional (free) current account at one of the best direct banks in Germany.
In contrast to your current bank, you do not have to fear an increase of the account management fee at the Comdirect, because this would be the mortal blow for the bank being a current account-offering institution.
Current account will remain free of charge also in the future!
The Comdirect-current account is – since I operate this portal – free of charge and will remain free. Only banks that have switch-lazy customers can afford to have account management fees. This is obviously the case at many branch banks.
As long as the biggest competitors (DKB and ING-DiBa) offer a unconditionally free current account and do not implement any additional costs, just like many branch banks introduce for the cards, everything is great.
The Comdirect could be a comfortable introduction into the world of direct banks for you. Apart from the current account, one can also do a lot with the bank, for example money investments and financings.
For the achievers among us …
As we do have a rising number of “achievers” that read here, a note about the shares of the Commerzbank and Comdirect:
| Stock company | ISIN | Collatoral value Securities loan |
Link to the investor relations |
| Commerzbank | DE000CBK1001 | 70 % | IR-information |
| Comdirect | DE0005428007 | 50 % | IR-information |
The Commerzbank holds 82 per cent of the Comdirect-shares. 18 per cent are traded at the stock market and can be bought by us investors.
Both banks pay dividends. The dividends yield at the Commerzbank is currently at 1.26 %. At the Comdirect it is 2.10 %: significantly above the current savings interest, but with entrepreneurial risk.
If I would have to decide for one share, I would prefer the Comdirect. At the moment, I do not dispose of either of the banks in my depot, but I have my depot at the Comdirect. Just mentioning it marginally.
Do you already have a current account at the Comdirect?
Then I kindly ask you to make this article even more interesting for future readers and answer to one of the two questions using the comments feature:
or
If you cannot decide what you like best and you cannot remember why you have decided for the Comdirect, then I would be grateful to learn what you use most often. A heartly thanks!
Not yet a customer?
If you are not yet a Comdirect-customer, then I hope that this articles has helped you taking a decision at which bank you open a current account.
Perhaps you want to become a Comdirect-customer and soon report about your first experiences using the comments feature. I would be glad to read about it.
Current campaign of the Comdirect:
Currently, you can get a bonus of Euros 100 with an account opening, if you actively use the Comdirect-account in the first three months (Euros 25) and cancel the old account (Euros 75).
Further articles about the Comdirect:
- Open the Comdirect current account from within Germany and abroad
- 7 secrets about the Comdirect Visa Card
Hello Gregor, I recently moved to Hamburg to open an Aviation company and would like to know what are the requirements to open a business account for my company and what bank do you recommend.
Thank you and look forward to your reply.
Opening a business account comes with specialties that we with our specialty portal cannot cover. Best of luck with the further research!