How to open a Blocked Account for Germany with Fintiba

What is a blocked account?

A blocked account is a special kind of bank account. It was specifically created for internationals moving to Germany to study, look for a job or be an au-pair. You need to deposit a standard amount of money to cover your living expenses for one year. This account serves as proof of financial resources for the German Embassy in your country or the Immigration Authority in Germany.

How much do I need to deposit in the blocked account?

From the winter semester 2022/2023, the required blocked amount is €934.00 per month. This would make it €11,208.00 for one year.

Keep in mind that this amount may be subject to further change based on the specific requirements of your local embassy. Therefore, check the website of your local German embassy or of the foreign office regularly.

How do I open a blocked account for Germany with Fintiba?

On the dedicated Fintiba Blocked Account page, you can directly begin the registration process. Simply click on the “Open Account Now” button.

The registration process is broken down into 4 easy steps:

Step 1 – Personal Data:

The first step requires you to fill in your basic personal data. This is a standard procedure for every bank account opening in Germany.

In this step, it is crucial to enter your first name(s) and surname exactly as they appear on your passport. Therefore, make sure to keep your passport close by for this part of the process.

Other required information includes:

• Date of birth
• Nationality (and second nationality)
• Marital status
• Reason for stay

It is optional to provide your city of birth.

Click on “Continue” once you have correctly filled out all necessary fields.

Step 2 – Visa Details

The next step is to provide details regarding your visa and studies. First, let us know your “planned date of arrival”. If you do not know the exact date yet, please provide an estimate, which you can change later.

Here, you are also required to select if you have the necessary health insurance for your visa. If your answer is no, you can book a suitable health insurance package.

This refers to our Fintiba Plus package. Fintiba Plus contains a blocked account, health insurance, and free travel insurance in one package. It is specifically tailored to your needs and covers everything for your visa appointment and enrolment at your university.

If you already have health insurance, you may proceed to the next step by selecting “Yes” and then “Continue”.

Step 3 – US Tax Status

Here, we ask you to tell us if you have any tax liabilities in the United States. This is because of strict US tax laws. We, therefore, advise that you answer the questions honestly and correctly.

If your answer to any one of the questions is “Yes”, you will not be able to continue with the process. Unfortunately, our partner bank does not offer its services to anyone with a US tax status.

If your answers to all questions are “No”, click on “Continue” and you are led to the last step!

Step 4 – Agreements and Account Activation

Please provide your e-mail, ensuring access to this mailbox for future communication. A confirmation email will be sent to this address. You may optionally enter your mobile phone number later in the process.

You will also need to create a strong password for your Fintiba account.

Finalise the process by reading and confirming the necessary agreements. After that, click on the “Open Account” button to complete the process!

To activate your account, confirm your registration by clicking on the link in the received email. This will open a new tab for you to log in to your account.

Congratulations! You have successfully opened your Fintiba account and have gotten a step closer to living in Germany!

What do I do after activating my account?

After logging into your account, you will have a clear view of the process. A step-by-step guide will consistently inform you of the necessary actions. You can easily track when you need to upload your documents and when they have been verified.

In the top right corner of your profile, red prompts will guide you of your next steps. When you click on this banner, you will find more information on the required actions. When we are processing your information, the prompts will appear in orange.

Data Check

To ensure accuracy, a “data check” is required for the information provided during the initial account opening process. You will also need to provide your city and country of birth. It is also necessary to provide your current address in your country of residence.

Under “Passport Information”, let us know if you have your passport with you. If it is at the embassy, you may respond with a “No.” You will need to fill in the following information:

• Passport number
• Passport issue date
• Passport expiration date
• Country of issue

Be sure to double-check the data with your passport.

Please note these common mistakes often made during this step:

• Do not confuse the passport expiration date (should be in the future) with the issue date (should be in the past)
• Do not mistake the serial number with the passport number

It is also very important that you use the same passport, which you will use to apply for your visa.

Passport verification

Subsequently, we will proceed to verify your passport information. For the majority of students, our automated system checks the passport immediately. If your passport is not eligible for this process, manual verification is necessary. Please upload a scanned PDF or a colour picture of your passport for this purpose.

If you are tax liable in any country, you will need to let us know which country this is. If available, please provide your “Tax Identification Number” for that country.

You can connect a smartphone number to your account now or choose to do it later. We highly recommend doing it now for enhanced security and enabling self-account data changes. Additionally, a connected smartphone is necessary to set up payouts in Germany.

You may use your international phone number or connect to a German phone number after arrival. In either case, be assured that you can later modify the connected phone number. Be sure you have access to the old number to facilitate a smooth transition.

In the “Get your gift” section, you can choose to get a free 3-month subscription to the digital German magazine “Deutsch perfekt”. The digital editions will be sent to your Fintiba email address.

Blocking Agreement

On the main page of the app, click on the “Blocked account” card followed by “Blocking Agreement”. Here, you can define the blocked amount you wish to receive per month once you arrive in Germany. Additionally, you can select the duration of your blocked account in months.

Be sure to select the appropriate amount and duration in alignment with the instructions from your embassy. Double-check the data before clicking on “save data”.

After successfully verifying your passport, we will open your account as soon as possible. In most cases, this is done within 1 hour. However, sometimes it can take up to 24 hours.

You will receive an email from us when your Blocked Account is ready and how to proceed.

Money Transfer & Blocking Confirmation

You should now start the money transfer process. Under “Documents” you can download the “Transfer Information Document”. The document includes the account number (the IBAN starts with DE), and the account holder’s name (your name).

Additionally, you will find the full sum you need to transfer, the additional buffer amount for international transfer and our opening fee here. Please only transfer the exact amount as stated in the document. 

Be sure to check the Transfer document for the maximum number of transfers you can make to the account.

There are several possibilities on how to make the money transfer:

1. A regular international bank transfer. It may take up to 2 weeks and the process is less transparent. This is because the money has to go through a network of corresponding banks.
2. Through Fintiba Transfer. This has shorter processing times of 2-3 working days. This is because you would transfer the money through our partner, TransferMate.

Once your FULL blocked amount has been successfully deposited in your blocked account, the blocking confirmation will be automatically issued. It will be available for download in the ‘Documents’ section of your Account.

The blocking confirmation is issued in both German and English. It includes:

• Your personal details
• The total blocked amount sum
• Log in details for the embassy representative to be able to check your information in real-time.

What happens after I receive my blocking confirmation?

Now that you have the blocking confirmation, you are ready for your visa appointment.

In the unlikely event that your visa is rejected, you will need to start the account closure process. Please note that over 90% of student visa applications are accepted.

If your visa is approved, the process of unblocking your account can begin after you arrive in Germany:

For this, you will need to upload a picture of your visa to your account. Please also provide us with your German address. We also accept a temporary German address, which can be changed later in the process.

Legitimation

Depending on your nationality, you might be required to go through an identity check process before you start receiving monthly payouts. If this step is applicable to you, you will automatically see different alternatives on your profile. The alternatives include:

• Video legitimation (which can be done from your home country)
• Manual legitimation or legitimation via the PostIdent process.

Opening a current account

Next, you need to open a regular bank account, also known as a current account or Girokonto. You can use this account for your daily life in Germany to make or receive payments. This is also where you will receive the monthly payouts from your blocked account.

On our website, you can find an overview of the most popular current account providers used by international students. You will also find basic accounts you can open without a city registration letter. There is also a “Current Account” section in the app, that provides you with more information.

Set-up your payouts

The final step after you arrive in Germany is to set up your monthly payouts.

For account security, you need to connect a smartphone number in order to confirm transactions with an mTAN code. For this, you need to provide your phone number (if you have not done that earlier). You will receive an mTAN via SMS to confirm the connection.

Next, you will need to enter the IBAN number of your current bank account. This will establish the monthly standing order to your current account. The payouts start from the visa start date.

Please note, that you will always receive your monthly payout at the beginning of the month.