Switching accounts - How time-consuming is it?

"Every little bit helps" - this sentence also applies to the choice of the right Girokonto. Often, small fees that are incurred on a regular basis are greatly underestimated. For example, the checking account This quickly adds up to more than 100 euros a year in fees for the Girokonto. Nevertheless, this amount is often paid over many years by consumers - often because the effort for a change is shied away. With a little planning, switching accounts is not particularly complicated.

Essentially, 5 steps are necessary for this

Open a new account
Create an overview of incoming and outgoing payments
Inform payment partners of the new bank details
Delete standing orders in the old account and create a new one in the new one
Cancel old account

Choose a cheap bank

What you can learn here

Choose a cheap bank
Open a new account
Create an overview of incoming and outgoing payments
Inform payment partners of the new bank details
Delete standing orders in the old account and create a new one in the new one
Cancel old account
Conclusion
Read my checking account reviews!

A cheap bank does not charge any account management fees or fees for, for example, transfers. A Girocard and a credit card should also be included free of charge.

Open a new account

First, you should open a free Girokonto that suits you. Take a look at the comparison calculator:

Duration: About 60 minutes

Create an overview of incoming and outgoing payments

By switching accounts, more goes into the piggy bank

To get a good overview of your incoming and outgoing payments, look at your account statements for the last few months. Divide your account activity into three categories: direct debits, standing orders and your regular income. Also make sure that you don't forget less frequent payment transactions such as vehicle tax, property tax or insurance premiums.

Duration: 30 minutes

Inform payment partners of the new bank details

In the next step, share your new bank details with everyone who transfers or debits money to your account. Many online banks offer an online account switching service for this purpose. This automatically determines rental payments, payments to telephone providers and others. This speeds up account switching. Otherwise, an e-mail is often sufficient, which you can send once to all your payment partners.

Duration: 60 minutes

Delete standing orders in the old account and create a new one in the new one

You do not need to inform your payment partners about your standing orders. Transfer them to your new account and then delete them from your old one. That's it.

Duration: 30 minutes

Cancel old account

After you have arranged your payment transactions, wait another 2-3 months before you cancel your old account. In this way you can determine whether you have correctly transferred all standing orders and direct debits and whether payments are no longer being made or received from your old account.

Duration: 30 minutes

Conclusion

Opening a free Girokonto is a reasonable investment of time. In total, it should take you no more than 3-4 hours to sort and organize everything. This is offset by annual savings of a hundred euros or more per year. In addition, a new Girokonto can also offer more features. For example a free credit card to be able to withdraw cash free of charge worldwide.

Read my checking account reviews!

To make it easier for you, I have created a few test reports and guides for this. Read my test reports on free checking accounts by clicking on the links below!

*Affiliate link: If you use one of these links to go from my website to a provider, I may receive a commission. There are no additional costs for you. For using these links a ❤️ THANK YOU! ❤️

Disclaimer: This is well researched but non-binding information.