Direct banking - what is it anyway? We explain it

The banking business has also undergone enormous changes in the digital era. The best example is the so-called direct banks, which now count many millions of customers. We explain what they are all about.

Direct banking: direct banks focus on online presence and low-cost offers.

Every adult needs a checking account. The options have grown many times over, and this is due in no small part to direct banks.

What is a direct bank - and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Direct banks are online banks.

• As such, they do not have their own branch network.
• This means significantly lower costs, which allows for more favorable offers. With this concept, the direct banks, which emerged after the millennium, quickly gained large market share. This trend continues to this day.
• On the other hand, a disadvantage is that there is no personal advice due to the lack of branches. In addition, cash withdrawal and deposit turns out to be difficult. Depending on the direct bank, however, there are full-fledged solutions for this.

The largest and best-known direct banks in Germany are ING-DiBa, N26, DKB and comdirect. Letztere gehört zur Commerzbank, die wiederum Mitglied der Cash Group ist, sodass Kunden kostenlosen Zugriff auf alle Automaten der vier teilnehmenden Banken haben.