# What Do You Need to Get a Credit Card in Germany? (2026) > SCHUFA, the Anmeldung, the Steuer-Identifikationsnummer, VideoIdent and the German IBAN question: what German issuers actually ask for, and what a new arrival can be approved for. By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.guide-germany.com/finance/credit-card-requirements A German credit card application asks for four things: a [German address registered at the Bürgeramt](/moving/address-registration), a [Steuer-Identifikationsnummer](/moving/tax-number-social-security-health-card), an identity check by VideoIdent, eID or PostIdent, and on many cards a German IBAN for the direct debit. None of those is what stops new arrivals. The wall is SCHUFA. Every genuine credit card in this catalogue is credit-checked at SCHUFA, and a file that is thin or empty because you have only just moved is the usual reason an application is refused. ## What Do You Need to Apply? Four documents cover almost every German application. A registered German address, evidenced by the Meldebescheinigung the Bürgeramt hands over when you complete the Anmeldung. A Steuer-Identifikationsnummer, which any interest-bearing product needs. A valid passport or ID card for the identity check. And, on the cards that require it, a German IBAN for the monthly direct debit. The identity check happens one of three ways: VideoIdent by video call, eID using the chip in a German ID card, or PostIdent at a Deutsche Post branch. Most of the standalone issuers apply online and then run VideoIdent, and the minimum age is 18 almost everywhere, with the Bank Norwegian Visa the exception at 20. ## What Is the SCHUFA Check? SCHUFA is Germany's credit bureau, and it is named as the credit check on every genuine credit card in this catalogue, from the fee-free Hanseatic Bank GenialCard to the American Express Platinum Card. The issuer queries it before it grants a limit, and the query decides both whether you are approved and how large the starting limit is. Only 6 records in the catalogue state that no credit check is run: Commerzbank Prepaid Kreditkarte / Prepaid Junior, Revolut Standard (Visa/Mastercard Debit), bunq (Core/Pro/Elite) Mastercard Debit, Wise Card, Qonto (business account + cards), Finom Business Visa. Read that list carefully, because not one entry on it is a credit card. They are [Debitkarten](/finance/debit-vs-credit-cards), business debit cards and one [prepaid card](/finance/prepaid-cards), and they grant no credit line at all, which is precisely why nothing needs checking. ## How Much Income Do You Need? No issuer in this catalogue publishes a minimum income, so any figure quoted as a German threshold is guesswork. What the issuers do publish is the starting limit, and German price lists describe it as bonitätsabhängig: set by your creditworthiness rather than by a rule. The spread is real. The Advanzia Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold is known for a low opening limit, often EUR 200 to EUR 500, which then grows with repayment history. The Hanseatic Bank GenialCard typically opens at EUR 1,000 to EUR 2,000, and the 1822direkt Visa Classic at around EUR 1,000. The American Express charge cards set no fixed limit at all and work on dynamic spending power instead. If you need a card for rental-car deposits, check the opening limit before you rely on it: TF Bank Mastercard Gold holders report limits too low for exactly that. ## Can a New Arrival Get a Credit Card? It is harder in your first months, and the reason is specific rather than general. A SCHUFA file with almost nothing in it is not read as a clean record, it is read as an unknown, and an unknown gets a low limit or a rejection. Two things make the first attempt easier. First, apply for a card that does not need a German IBAN, because that removes the dependency on a [Girokonto](/finance/open-bank-account) you may not have opened yet: Hanseatic Bank GenialCard, Hanseatic Bank GoldCard, Advanzia Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold, TF Bank Mastercard Gold, easybank Visa (formerly Barclays Visa) are all collected by direct debit from any SEPA account. Second, get an account and a Debitkarte running first so there is a German banking relationship in place. Be clear about what that second step does and does not do: it gives you an IBAN, not a credit history. ## Related Guides [### Credit Cards Top picks ranked.](/finance/credit-cards)[### Credit Card Price Research Full fee table.](/finance/credit-cards-price-research)[### Credit Card Fees What a card costs to hold.](/finance/credit-card-fees)[### Cards Abroad FX and travel charges.](/finance/cards-abroad) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do I need a German bank account to get a German credit card? Not always. The branch banks tie the card to their own account: Commerzbank, Postbank, HypoVereinsbank, comdirect, 1822direkt and the Sparkassen-Kreditkarte all require a German IBAN. The standalone issuers do not. The Hanseatic Bank GenialCard, the Advanzia Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold, the TF Bank Mastercard Gold, the Bank Norwegian Visa and the easybank Visa are all collected by direct debit from any SEPA account. ### Can I get a credit card with no SCHUFA check? Not a credit card, no. Every card in this catalogue that runs no credit check is a Debitkarte, a business debit card or a prepaid card. Where a real credit line is granted, SCHUFA is checked first, and the thin file a new arrival has is exactly what the check finds. ### Does a Debitkarte help me qualify for a credit card later? Not directly. The N26, Revolut, Wise and bunq records all note that no credit line is granted, so using them builds no SCHUFA credit file. They solve the problem of having an IBAN in your first week, not the problem of having a credit history. --- Source: https://www.guide-germany.com/finance/credit-card-requirements Last updated: n/a Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.