Multiple accounts at different financial institutions – is that allowed? And how does this affect the Schufa score? An overview.
There is no alternative to a current account for participating in cashless payment transactions and processing banking transactions. It serves as a wage and salary account or for cash receipts such as pension or maintenance. In Germany there are more checking accounts than residents. Statistically speaking, there are 1.36 checking accounts per person.
There is no legal limit on the number of checking accounts in Germany. So everyone can have as many accounts as they want. But be careful: If you have too many accounts, there may be problems with Schufa. We will explain to you here why this is the case.
What does my account have to do with Schufa?
Financial experts recommend having two checking accounts. This has the advantage that you have a better overview of your finances. While one account is used for cash inflows and your daily expenses, your second account could, for example, serve as a reference account for a securities portfolio from which regular payments are made into an ETF savings plan.
But what does opening another account have to do with your Schufa score? The answer in brief: Neither one nor two checking accounts lead to a negative Schufa entry. But according to Schufa, having more than two accounts could drag down your Schufa score.
Banks ask for Schufa scores
If you would like to open an account, banks will ask Schufa for the personal data stored there about you. Your Schufa score is important. This indicates how likely it is that you will meet your payment obligations in the future.
However, the legislature makes it clear that a negative Schufa entry and a poor Schufa score must not be a reason for not being able to open at least a so-called basic account. In doing so, the legislature wants to enable people who have made mistakes in dealing with money in the past to participate in financial life.
It can be problematic to open more than two accounts in your name. Because with every new checking account, your Schufa score could be downgraded. The number of accounts from which it is no longer possible to open another account depends on the bank where you applied to open the account.
Banks and savings banks usually grant their customers an overdraft limit for current accounts – the so-called overdraft facility. If you have many checking accounts, you can use a corresponding number of overdrafts at the same time and thus overdraw your accounts. This represents a credit risk for every bank, as one or more overdrafts can fail. The risk of repayment difficulties increases with each account. This can have a negative impact on the Schufa score.
An older checking account, on the other hand, actually has a positive effect on your Schufa score, provided you have always met your associated obligations. A checking account change in which Schufa deletes your old account from your file and adds the new one has no impact on your Schufa score – provided you keep an eye on your financial obligations.
Second account with negative Schufa entry possible
In principle, you can apply to open a second account at a credit institution of your choice at any time. Whether the bank accepts your application is at the bank’s discretion. If you have a bad Schufa score, the bank may reject the application. This does not affect opening a basic account if you do not already have one.
2024-02-25 13:07:02
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