Depositing foreign currency into a German account

[VonSnakes 1]

Hi there!

 

I haven't found an answer to my questions yet, but I know it's a very simple issue...

 

Can I deposit the Canadian dollars I still have with me into my Deutsche Bank account?

And what if I have to withdraw some of it right afterwards?

Are there any huge fees for that?

And what's the amount I have to input when I make this deposit at an ATM? Considering it's 250$ Canadian.

 

Thanks a lot!

[techgirl 1,827]

Yes, you can deposit foreign currency at (at least the larger) DB affiliates. I do it in Nbg all the time.

Yes, there is a fee. In the past I've paid something like 20€ for the transaction.

You should be able to draw it out in Euro shortly after.

You WON'T be able to do this at an ATM. It has to be at the bank, in person.

[Pedian 110]

Yes, as techgirl mentioned you cannot deposit in ATM. But, you cannot immediately withdraw money shortly, in this case it will take a minimum of 3 days. I am sure about that, you can check with DB. And also exchange rate and fees are not good.

 

My recommendation will be to visit a Foreign currency exchange and exchange it into Euro and deposit in DB. You will earn current exchange rate, and fee will be very meager.

[Small Town Boy 6,671]

Nonsense, the DB rate for their customers is significantly better than at a random airport bureau de change, and there are NO fees for paying foreign currency into your bank account.

[VonSnakes 1]

So which option is better in the end? I would much rather like to save on the conversion rate... So those in favor of going to an exchange company, where would you recommend to go?

 

Thanks for your help by the way!

[El Jeffo 41,913]

DON'T go to an exchange company. They will inevitably charge a commission fee and give you a far worse exchange rate than your local DB branch.

 

If you can wait until they open for business tomorrow, just deposit it directly in your account. You will get something close to the spot exchange rate (far better than the spreads at the exchange shops) and no fee will be charged (but only for deposits; if you do a straight currency exchange, there will be an extra fee).

 

I can't tell you if you'll be able to withdraw the money at an ATM immediately, as I've never dealt with Canadian currency before. But when I've deposited U.S. dollars at the counter in the past, they've always been credited to my account instantly.

[VonSnakes 1]

Good, then that's what I'll do.

 

Thanks to everyone for their time!

[penchanski 11]

Hi, a refugee friend has several thousand in US$ that they would need to change to Euros.

 

Is paying into a bank account still the best option

for such large sums?

[dstanners 1,429]

Hmm, usually when I see messages like that those "friends" tend to be referred to as Nigerian princes rather than refugees, so assuming this is actually a legitimate question, a key point to note is that banks are unlikely to be the cheapest way to exchange currencies. Currency matching services like wise.com (formerly Transferwise) are far cheaper.  

 

[yourkeau 7,693]

19 minutes ago, dstanners said:

Hmm, usually when I see messages like that those "friends" tend to be referred to as Nigerian princes rather than refugees, so assuming this is actually a legitimate question, a key point to note is that banks are unlikely to be the cheapest way to exchange currencies. Currency matching services like wise.com (formerly Transferwise) are far cheaper.  

 

There is a war in Europe and people are fleeing with cash dollars. Refugees are people who are fleeing the war. Some of them have money. 

 

1 hour ago, penchanski said:

Is paying into a bank account still the best option

for such large sums?

Yes, but the bank might ask for proof of legality. I guess this won't be a problem for refugees, but they should open their own account, not ask a friend. 

 

[karin_brenig 609]

57 minutes ago, yourkeau said:

There is a war in Europe and people are fleeing with cash dollars. Refugees are people who are fleeing the war. Some of them have money. 

 

Yes, but the bank might ask for proof of legality. I guess this won't be a problem for refugees, but they should open their own account, not ask a friend. 

 

any bank now needs proof of legal source for depositing cash worth 10.000,- € or more.

The best way to do this would be to open up a bank account and deposit the money. There will be fees involved.

You could also just go to a major train station or airport and exchange for cash. The exchange rate there isn't real good, though.

[Ruhetag 197]

Is this proof only for cash, and not needed for a bank-to-bank transfer from Canada to Germany?

[optimista 5,605]

Cash is absolutely the worst way to go. Rip off.

 

Problem with bank to bank transfer is the hidden intermediaries who all take their own cut. You find out afterwards how much they stole from you. 

 

You will need to show where the funds are from either way. So produce bank statement of the foreign account and possibly salary statements or invoices showing how the money got there in the first place. Difficult for drug runners and people traffickers but otherwise doable, if a PITA.

[karin_brenig 609]

8 hours ago, Ruhetag said:

Is this proof only for cash, and not needed for a bank-to-bank transfer from Canada to Germany?

 

for bank to bank transfers you don't need to prove legal source (your Canadian bank had to verify your sources already), but you have to report all foreign transfers (incoming and outgoing) over 12.500,- € to Bundesbank

https://wise.com/de/blog/auslandsueberweisung-meldepflicht

[jeba 4,194]

5 minutes ago, karin_brenig said:

 

for bank to bank transfers you don't need to prove legal source (your Canadian bank had to verify your sources already), but you have to report all foreign transfers (incoming and outgoing) over 12.500,- € to Bundesbank

https://wise.com/de/blog/auslandsueberweisung-meldepflicht

Only if you´re a resident. Not sure whether that applies to a refugee.

[penchanski 11]

18 hours ago, dstanners said:

Hmm, usually when I see messages like that those "friends" tend to be referred to as Nigerian princes rather than refugees, so assuming this is actually a legitimate question, a key point to note is that banks are unlikely to be the cheapest way to exchange currencies. Currency matching services like wise.com (formerly Transferwise) are far cheaper.  

 

No, it's not a scam  

 

You can't deposit cash to Wise though.

 

What types of payments can I receive into my account? | Wise Help Centre

 

Quote

We can’t accept cash or cheque payments for any currency. 

 

So looks like they will go the bank account route.

 

Thanks all

[GaryC 297]

If you were in London, I would point you at a high-street foreign exchange firm that I used a lot (Thomas Exchange Foreign Currency London) when I worked in London.  Their rates are far better than the banks, though not quite as good as Wise etc but you can exchange cash for cash in large and very large amounts.  All legit and compliant with the relevant regulations.  Surely there must be something similar in Germany?

[jeba 4,194]

3 hours ago, GaryC said:

Surely there must be something similar in Germany?

Maybe this one? https://www.reisebank.de/reisegeld/us-dollar-usd. I´d give them a call at 069 97 88 07 650 and ask for the exchange rate for "Sortenankauf US$". They have branches at major railway stations all over Germany.