Credit card without SCHUFA in Germany

Is there a real credit card without SCHUFA?

In short: rarely. A genuine credit card gives you a credit line – the bank advances your payments and carries the risk that you won't pay them back. That is why banks check your creditworthiness before issuing a card, and in Germany they almost always do so via SCHUFA, the country's main credit bureau. This applies to revolving cards with an instalment option as well as to charge cards, which are settled in full once a month.

The exceptions are a few providers based abroad that use a different credit bureau, such as Experian, instead of SCHUFA. They still run a credit check – just not via SCHUFA. These cards are usually revolving cards with instalment repayment and comparatively high interest rates, sometimes without any interest-free days. If you use one, make a point of always paying off the full statement.

When an offer advertises a “credit card without SCHUFA”, it almost always means a card without a credit line: a prepaid card that you top up in advance, or a debit card that takes payments straight from your account. For everyday use, both are often perfectly adequate – they work in shops, online and at ATMs just like a credit card, because they run on the Visa or Mastercard network.

A SCHUFA inquiry is not the same as a SCHUFA entry

When you apply for a card, the bank queries your SCHUFA data to assess the risk of default. The inquiry itself is recorded, but other companies can only see it if it was a credit inquiry. A pure condition inquiry (Konditionsanfrage) does not lower your score.

If you get the card, the bank usually reports it as an ongoing credit relationship. That is no disadvantage as long as you pay on time – a credit card that runs smoothly for years can even support your credit rating. Problems only start with payment defaults: unpaid claims after reminders, or the bank terminating your contract.

Prepaid cards involve neither an inquiry nor an entry. With debit cards it depends on the provider: some skip any SCHUFA inquiry, others make one when you open the account – at least for identity or credit verification – even though no credit line is granted.

Card types you can get without a SCHUFA check

The differences between card types are bigger than the advertising suggests. This overview shows what you can expect from each type.

Cards without a SCHUFA check compared

The following cards are listed in our comparison as cards without a SCHUFA check. For credit cards with an instalment option, the table shows the effective annual interest rate (APR). Besides the card type, pay particular attention to the annual fee and cash withdrawal costs – prepaid cards in particular differ widely here. You will find the cash withdrawal terms on each card's page.

Basic account: your legal right to an account with a card

Every consumer legally resident in the EU is entitled to a basic account (Basiskonto) under the German Payment Accounts Act (Zahlungskontengesetz, § 31 ZKG) – regardless of any SCHUFA entries. A basic account is a normal current account without an overdraft facility, with transfers, direct debits and a debit card. The bank may only refuse your application on narrow grounds laid down by law, for example if you already have a payment account in Germany.

The debit card that comes with a basic account is often a Visa or Mastercard debit card, so you can also use it online and abroad. The account fee must be reasonable but is not free everywhere – compare prices at several banks.

Where cards without SCHUFA reach their limits

For everyday spending, online shopping and travel, prepaid and debit cards are usually enough. But there are situations where they don't work, or only with restrictions:

• Deposits: car rental companies and many hotels require a genuine credit card with a credit line
• Payment deferral: spending is debited immediately or deducted from your balance – there is no interest-free payment period
• Subscriptions and pre-authorisations: with an empty balance, recurring payments fail, and so do pre-authorisations, for example at petrol stations
• Extras: insurance, lounge access or rewards programmes are rarely included in basic plans
• Deposit protection: money held with e-money institutions is not covered by the statutory deposit guarantee scheme, it is only kept separate (safeguarded)

Beware of dubious offers

The “credit card without SCHUFA” niche also attracts dubious offers that deliberately target people in financial difficulty. Typical signs are upfront fees, expensive cash-on-delivery shipping, premium-rate hotlines, or brokers who only offer a card together with a loan or an insurance policy.

A reputable provider does not ask for money before you sign the contract for a prepaid or debit card, discloses the annual fee and charges openly in its price and service schedule (Preis- und Leistungsverzeichnis), and is licensed as a bank or e-money institution. You can check whether a provider has a licence in the company database of BaFin, Germany's financial supervisory authority. On the card pages of our comparison, we name the issuer of each card and the type of deposit protection.

The way back to a genuine credit card

A card without SCHUFA is often a good interim solution. In parallel, it pays to improve your credit rating so that all card offers are open to you again later:

• Request your free data copy from SCHUFA (Art. 15 GDPR) and check it for errors
• Report incorrect or outdated entries in writing for correction or deletion
• Settle open claims – settled payment defaults are deleted after fixed periods
• Pay bills and instalments on time and keep enough money in your account to cover direct debits
• Close unused accounts and credit cards, and don't submit many credit applications in quick succession

Frequently asked questions about credit cards without SCHUFA

Can I get a card at all with a negative SCHUFA record?

Yes. Prepaid cards are available without a credit check, and you have a legal right to a basic account with a debit card. A genuine credit card with a credit line, however, is hard to get with negative entries – even providers that don't check via SCHUFA decline applicants with poor creditworthiness.

Is a prepaid credit card a real credit card?

Technically it runs on Visa or Mastercard and is accepted almost everywhere these networks are. But it has no credit line: you can only spend what you have loaded beforehand. That is why it is often not enough for deposits at car rental companies and hotels.

Does a credit card application lower my SCHUFA score?

A single inquiry usually has no noticeable effect. Many credit inquiries in a short time can have a negative impact, though. So don't submit several card applications at the same time – compare first and then apply for a specific card.

Are there debit cards with no SCHUFA inquiry at all?

Yes, some providers skip the SCHUFA inquiry when you open an account. We flag this for every card in our comparison. Since practices can change, it is worth checking the provider's terms before you apply.