Today's words · 💳 Payments & banking apps
Tap, pay, transfer: 10 German words for banking apps
A1B1B2
When your banking app talks to you in German, you'll know exactly what it means.
You open your banking app to pay the rent and see ‘TAN eingeben’, ‘Kontostand’, ‘Abbuchung’. Every button is a mystery, and you're scared to send money to the wrong place.
Here are ten words you'll see every day in payment and banking apps. Checking your balance, paying by card, reading your direct debits — you'll manage it all on your own. 📱
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
bezahlen
[beh-TSAH-len]to pay(bezahlt – hat bezahlt)
📌 Kann ich mit Karte bezahlen?
→ Can I pay by card?
💡 be- + zahlen (pay), same root as die Zahl (number) 🔢 Paying is all about numbers.
Bonus In a restaurant: Zahlen, bitte! = The bill, please!
die App
[EP]app(Pl. die Apps)
📌 Mit dieser App kann man Bahntickets kaufen.
→ You can buy train tickets with this app.
💡 Short for application, just like English 📱 die Applikation is feminine, so die App.
Bonus to download an app = eine App herunterladen
das Konto
[KON-toh](bank) account(Pl. die Konten)
📌 Ich möchte ein Konto eröffnen.
→ I'd like to open an account.
💡 From Italian conto (calculation) — think ac-COUNT 🧮
⚠ The plural is die Konten.
die Kreditkarte
[kreh-DEET-kar-tuh]credit card(Pl. die Kreditkarten)
📌 Kann ich mit Kreditkarte zahlen?
→ Can I pay by credit card?
💡 Kredit (credit) + Karte (card) — same order as English 💳
⚠ Some shops in Germany still don't take credit cards.
die Zahlung
[TSAH-loong]payment(Pl. die Zahlungen)
📌 Die Zahlung ist auch mit Karte möglich.
→ Payment by card is also possible.
💡 zahlen + -ung = payment, and -ung words are always die 💶
Bonus payment method = die Zahlungsart
die TAN
[TAHN]TAN, transaction authentication number(Pl. die TANs)
📌 Für jede Überweisung bekomme ich eine TAN aufs Handy.
→ For every transfer I get a TAN on my phone.
💡 Short for Transaktionsnummer — feminine because die Nummer 🔐
⚠ Your PIN stays the same; you get a new TAN for every transaction.
das Onlinebanking
[ON-line-bang-king]online banking(Sg.)
📌 Überweisungen mache ich nur noch per Onlinebanking.
→ I now only make transfers via online banking.
💡 Straight from English online banking 💻 Nouns from -ing are usually das.
Bonus In an app it's also called das Mobile Banking.
abbuchen
[AP-boo-khen]to debit (from an account)(bucht ab – hat abgebucht)
📌 Die Stromrechnung wird am Monatsanfang von meinem Konto abgebucht.
→ The electricity bill is debited from my account at the start of the month.
💡 ab (off) + buchen (book, enter) = booked off your account 📉
⚠ Separable: Sie buchen das Geld ab. Passive: Die Miete wird abgebucht.
der Kontostand
[KON-toh-shtahnt]account balance(Pl. die Kontostände)
📌 Ich prüfe meinen Kontostand in der App.
→ I check my account balance in the app.
💡 Konto + Stand (state) = the state of your account 👀
Bonus to be overdrawn = im Minus sein
bargeldlos
[BAR-gelt-lohs]cashless, non-cash📌 Immer mehr Menschen bezahlen bargeldlos mit dem Handy.
→ More and more people pay cashless with their mobile phones.
💡 Bargeld (cash) + -los (-less) = cashless 📲
Bonus -los pops up everywhere: kostenlos = free of charge
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
The most common card in Germany isn't a credit card but the bank's debit card (Girocard). Contactless payment, with a card or a phone, has become very common too.
Friends often split costs by PayPal or bank transfer. Electricity and phone bills are mostly paid by direct debit (Lastschrift), so you'll see ‘abgebucht’ a lot in your app.
Remember: a bank will never ask for your PIN or TAN by phone or email. If someone does, it's almost certainly a scam. 🚨
✅ Quick quiz
Q. At a café you want to ask, ‘Can I pay by card?’
- ① Kann ich mit Karte bezahlen?
- ② Kann ich meine Karte abbuchen?
- ③ Ist mein Kontostand bargeldlos?
Show the answer
① Kann ich mit Karte bezahlen?
mit Karte bezahlen = to pay by card, the question you'll ask most in shops.
Open your banking app today and read three German button names out loud. 💸
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🗞️ Reading the news