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Bank account for refugees
You have fled your home country?
A current account is important for your day-to-day affairs. In the ongoing emergency situation, we help people who have fled with opening a German bank account and with questions about banking transactions. Due to the exceptional situation, the account is free of charge for one year.
Open your GLS account easily
1. Online application
Open a GLS account
The online application is available in German for the time being. We are working on a Ukrainian and English version.
2. By telephone
Call us, we will open the account for you.
Phone 0049 234 5797 5111
You can reach us:
Monday to Thursday: 08:30 to 17:00
Friday: 08:30 to 16:00
Whether online or by telephone, after your account application you will receive a Postident-coupon with which you can officially identify yourself at a Deutsche Post office or online. Find your nearest post office with the Deutsche Post
3. At our GLS bank branches
Düsternstraße 10
20355 Hamburg
| Our opening hours | |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday: | 10.00 - 12:30 |
| Friday: | 10.00 - 13.00 |
Schumannstr. 10
10117 Berlin
| Our opening hours | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday: | 10.00 - 12.30 | 14.00 - 16.00 |
| Friday: | 10.00 - 13.00 | |
Oskar-Hoffmann-Straße 26
4789 Bochum
| Our opening hours | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Wednesday: | 10.00 - 12.30 | 14.00 - 16.00 |
| Thursday | 10.00 - 12.30 | 14.00 - 19.00 |
| Friday: | 10.00 - 13.00 | |
What you need
Please bring your valid identity card or your valid passport and certificate of residence.
If you have other official documents at hand, please feel free to bring them with you.
You can gladly bring someone with you who can translate for you.
Important: Stay reachable
Please make sure that we can reach you at your specified address within the next three weeks. After opening the account, we will send you your account documents as well as your bank card and login data for online banking by post.
Account, card, cash
A GLS BankCard is included in your GLS current account. With this debit card you can make cashless payments and withdraw money.
You conveniently manage your GLS current account online. To approve transactions, you generate TAN on your smartphone with the SecureGo plus-App
After the first twelve months, the regular costs for the GLS current account apply.
If you do not have the required identification documents to open a GLS current account, we will gladly advise you on the GLS Basiskonto
Withdrawing money
With the GLS BankCard you can withdraw money free of charge throughout Germany at around 15,000 ATMs of the BankCard ServiceNetz (BCN). The BCN includes almost all Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken (VR), many Sparda banks and also five GLS Bank branches with ATMs in Bochum, Berlin, Freiburg, Hamburg and Munich. Find the nearest VR ATM with the vr-networld search
Depositing money
You can deposit cash into your GLS current account free of charge at five GLS ATMs using your GLS BankCard. Please note that you can only deposit bank notes, not coins.
Unfortunately, free deposits within the BankCard service network are not possible. Throughout Germany, you can deposit cash at any time via the Reisebank for a fee. The deposit is usually subject to charges. Find your nearest Reisebank with the Reisebank location finder
In order to open a bank account in Germany, an identity check is officially required. We have created this overview of which account can be opened with which papers and how.
| Incomplete papers | Complete papers | |
|---|---|---|
| Incomplete papers or Ukrainian Identity Card (cyrillic script) and proof of arrival, fictitious or registration certificate issued by a German authority | Complete identity papers (passport or Ukrainian Identity Card with cyrillic script and latin alphabet) | |
| online | -- | GLS Privatgirokonto (GLS current account) GLS Junges Konto (GLS young account) |
| by telephone +49 234 5797 111 | -- | GLS Privatgirokonto (GLS current account) |
| in person at our branches | GLS Basis Konto (GLS basic account) | GLS Privatgirokonto (GLS current account) GLS Junges Konto (GLS young account) |
Find more information about GLS current account
Information on entry and residence in Germany
Information on entry and residence in Ukrainian, Russian and German language.
Current information on entry with pets from Ukraine into neighbouring countries/EU states and overview of assistance for dogs and cats from Ukraine.
Current answers for Ukrainian nationals and also third-country nationals who have fled Ukraine in Ukrainian, German and English.
Do you need accommodation? #UnterkunftUkraine
Through the platform #UnterkunftUkraine, people offer private accommodation to refugees. GLS Bank launched #UnterkunftUkraine together with other grassroots organisations.