For many years, Deutsche Bank was the only blocked account provider for internationals coming to Germany. With the launch of our online blocked account solution in 2017, Fintiba was the first company to digitise and thus revolutionise this previously manual and time-consuming process.
After five years of fair competition in helping international students prove their financial means for the German visa application, Deutsche Bank has discontinued its blocked account service as of July 2022. This makes Fintiba the only provider opening blocked accounts directly at a German bank.
Tailor-made for international students, language students, job-seekers, apprentices and au-pairs.
We’ve made proving your financial resources for your visa application as easy as it gets. By offering a fully digital process, we accelerate your way to Germany. The app-based solution with step by step guidance guarantees that you never miss an important to-do.
Deutsche Bank used to be the first and only blocked account provider on the market until 2017, when Fintiba revolutionised the process with our fully digital account opening solution.
Deutsche Bank |
Fintiba |
|
|---|---|---|
| Blocked account at a German Bank | ✓ | ✓ |
| Accepted by all German authorities | ✓ | ✓ |
| Account opened in your own name | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fully digital process from opening to closure | X | ✓ |
| Step-by-step guidance and dedicated customer support | X | ✓ |
| Account opening in under 24 hours | X | ✓ |
| Blocking confirmation issued instantly once the blocked amount is received | X | ✓ |
| Integrated health insurance offer | X | ✓ |
| Deutsche Bank |
|
|---|---|
| ✓ Blocked account at a German Bank | |
| ✓ Accepted by all German authorities | |
| ✓ Account opened in your own name | |
| X Account opening only in person in a Deutsche Bank office | |
| X No dedicated customer support | |
| X Account opening in 4-6 weeks | |
| X Blocking confirmation not issued automatically and instantly | |
| X No integrated health insurance offer | |
| Fintiba |
|
|---|---|
| ✓ Blocked account at a German Bank | |
| ✓ Accepted by all German authorities | |
| ✓ Account opened in your own name | |
| ✓ Fully digital process from opening to closure | |
| ✓ Step-by-step guidance and dedicated customer support | |
| ✓ Account opening in under 24 hours | |
| ✓ Blocking confirmation issued instantly once the blocked amount is received | |
| ✓ Health insurance offer and other services for internationals | |
Everything you need to know for the opening of a blocked account with Fintiba
A blocked account (Sperrkonto) is a special account that is – in most cases – necessary for your German student visa application and is a precondition when applying for a residence permit in Germany.
If you are an international student, au-pair, language student, apprentice or job seeker who is not from an EU Member State, you must prove that you have the financial resources to pay for your course of studies/stay in Germany as well as for daily life expenses during the time of your stay. It is usually required to provide this so-called ‘Proof of financial resources’ (Finanzierungsnachweis) of at least € 11,208.00 for a one-year stay in Germany. Besides some other proofs of financial resources, opening a blocked account to deposit a security payment is the most commonly used option.
Upon registering for your blocked account on our website you will get access to an online platform where you can easily manage the details of your account opening. After entering your personal details and verifying your identity, your blocked account is opened and the blocked amount can be transferred to your account. Immediately after the blocking sum has arrived, your blocking confirmation will be issued and you can download it from your Fintiba account. With this document it is now possible to apply for your national visa for Germany.
After your arrival in Germany, a regular account at a local bank (e.g. Deutsche Bank, Sparkasse, Postbank etc.) needs to be opened so that we can transfer your monthly sum from your blocked account to your current account regularly. Help and advice on where you can open this kind of account can be found in the ‘Current Account’ section of the Fintiba WebApp.
Depending on your passport and nationality you might have to complete an additional step which is the final legitimation in Germany. More information whether you need to complete it or not and how this works can be found here.
For the opening of your blocked account you will just need your valid passport. We won’t need any certified documents or any originals that are sent via post.
Upon registration for your blocked account, you will directly receive your contact details that confirm that you have registered for a blocked account. As the opening of the account is processed fully online, it will, in most cases, only take a few hours to open your blocked account. This mainly depends on how quick you upload the required documents and information. Please note that we can only verify complete data sets, meaning that every section must be filled out.
Since you will deposit a large amount of money into an account that will be blocked for a certain duration, it is highly important that you open the bank account under your own name and that no third party is involved in this process. At Fintiba you will get access to your personal account that you can access via a web application. Here you can manage everything online and very easily by yourself. And if still a question should arise, we are always there to help!
The initial fee for the blocked account is € 89.00 and the monthly account management fee of € 4.90 will follow.
The payment of the monthly account administrative fees of € 4.90 starts as soon as the money enters your account. We charge the fees for the duration your account remains open.
Therefore, we strongly suggest that you only open your blocked account if you are certain that it is necessary for your visa application.
Your personal Fintiba Account. Your data – completely transparent and secure.
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* With our new OCR technology, your passport will be verified within minutes and you are ready to transfer your money right away. Please note that Russia (RU), Ukraine (UA), Cuba (CU), Iran (IR), Syria (SY), North Korea (KP) and the region Crimea are at the moment not eligible for this process. Alternative passport verification options are available for those countries which as well ensure a fast blocked account opening.
