Banks

Opening hours:

The opening hours are from 9:00h bis 16:00h, on Thursdays tll ca. 17:30h. Lunch break is usually between 12:30h and 13:30h. You find banks or money changers at the main railway station(Hauptbahnhof) and at the airport, as well as ATM’s.

Open an account:

To open an account an ID or a passport is required.

Lage

If you walk for 15 min. you certainly will find a bank or postbank with an ATM. The most frequent bank is the Stadtsparkasse, you can recognize it by the yellow „S“.

Money Change

All banks and post offices as well as money changers accept alle regular currencies, but they also charge a lot for this service. Post bank is normally cheaper, if you have American Express Travel Cheques you can go directly to American Express at Promenadeplatz(LINK), as long as they are for Euro or DM.
If not it is worth to check out, because they don’t charge you for their checks, but they usually offer lower exchenge rates than normal banks.
You could think that due to the fixed exchange rates you wouldn’t be charged for changing money from one Euro-currency into the other, but this is not true. Some banks even increased their charges. The only place where you are not charged(for Euro-currencies) is the Landeszentralbank.

ATM

You can recognise ATM’s by their blue and red EC sign. Almost every branch of a bank has one either outside the bank or in the entrance hall. Alle ATM’s accept EC, Master – and Eurocard, most of them also VISA, Cirrus and Plus, some of them American Express, too. The machine behind the AMEX office at the Promenadenplatz also issues travel cheques, but only for Amex card-holders.
Some of the ATM’s have as well other European currencies, e.g. Austrian Schilling, Italian Lira, French Franc.
The charges are usually quiet high, if you use a credit card you should expect at least 10 DM (5US$).

Cash/Cheques/Credit Cards

Germany is still a „cash country“, you can’t count on the fact that you are able to pay everywhere with your credit card. In bigger hotels and shopping centers you normally won’t have problems. If you don´t have cash in the surrounding of Munich you might get problems to buy something.

"We accept your currency!" If you read this: Don't! This is only a trap for tourists. Several shops accept US$ cash, but the rates are poor. It is always the better deal to exchange at a bank, and it is only an option not to do so if you are starving or if you will spend not more than 20US$ and then leave the country.

Money Transfer

Western Union works pretty well at Reisebank in the Hauptbahnhof (main station), but also at post offices. However, you should not expect the staff at a ordinary post office to speak perfect English. Be aware of the fees: The one minut transfer may cost you!
If you want to have sent money to a German bank you have to open an account. The thieves will not take a fee for it, but if you drop the account they probably will. German banks take also no small fee for a transfer from or to another country, all in all you should expect not less than 5%. If it is a wired transfer you can expect some days delay, a normal transfer from outside the EU can take up to 3 weeks. Ask first!
It may cause you also trouble if you try to cash a persolnal cheque, so ask first.

All statements without engagement.