Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance announced that the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) will launch a new, free comparison website for retail current accounts on 15 January, designed to give consumers a neutral overview of costs and features across the German market. The portal covers almost 6,900 account models from around 1,100 providers, including monthly fees, debit and credit card charges, and credit and overdraft interest rates. The comparison includes standard current accounts as well as “basic accounts” that banks have been required to offer since 2016, plus account models aimed at minors, apprentices, students and retirees. Users can filter and compare accounts using 27 criteria, save and download results, and access content in easy language via an accessible, cookie-free site; results are displayed without advertising and the tool does not recommend specific accounts or providers. Data collection is based on the EU Payment Accounts Directive and Germany’s Payment Accounts Act, under which payment service providers must report the required comparison criteria to BaFin; providers remain responsible for accuracy, and information is transferred to the portal without further BaFin processing, although BaFin conducts sample quality checks. Consumers must contact the relevant provider directly for account details and opening, as BaFin is not involved in account onboarding; the dataset is also freely available for download for editorial use.

Original source View in tracker