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Comment by stadeschuldt | Hacker News Reader

This is not true. Comdirect and DKB are just two banks who offer free credit/debit cards.

I tried getting a credit card with basically every bank, as a student, with no income, but good SCHUFA. Comdirect offered me one if I’d pay 30€/year, DKB required that I have some income – even if it’s just 400€/month.

They do not and that fact is unambiguously stated on both bank's website[0] and price list. It also hasn't changed compared to last time you claimed that on this site.

[0]: https://www.comdirect.de/konto/girokonto.html and https://www.dkb.de/privatkunden/dkb_cash/

That’s nice, but it doesn’t change the fact that I tried to get a CC with them, and they said no.

I tried with Commerzbank, Comdirekt, Postbank, DKB, ING-Diba, Hanseaticbank, Wüstenrot, and a bunch more.

Every bank required either some income, or that I pay. I’ve been in bank branches or called their sales every time.

You always say "it’s technically possible", but that doesn’t change the fact that these banks all said they couldn’t offer it.

The fact is, N26 is the only bank that agreed to open an account with me, and offer me a CC, where I hold 0.00€ balance and transfer about 25€ via CC per year.

Which narrows it down. The problem isn't that the offers don't exist (they are successfully used by many people) but that for some reasons almost all banks refuse you as their customers. The only explanation I have is that something is seriously wrong with your credit rating. Have you looked into what Schufa, Infoscore, and Boniversum have on you? Have you asked the refusing banks for your data? (The latter one isn't really well known but possible as well.)

I’ve looked into the credit rating, and asked the bank – the rating is fine, the banks all would take me as normal customer.

But no bank agrees to open an account if I am not going to hold any balance, and only use it for one or two transactions of a few euros per year.

I only need a CC for a handful of shitty US services (namecheap, Google Play developers, etc) that do not take SEPA payments, everything else, including my servers, I run via SEPA Lastschrift.

Have explicitly asked them that question? I see why they would refuse you then. Just don't tell them ahead of time that you will be a money-loosing customer.

They asked me how much money I’d transfer or deposit. I didn’t lie.

If I have to lie to get an account, it’s not without conditions.

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