Cashing a US stimulus check in Germany

KaligirlinDE: Unusual that it took so long. And is this the first check? There were 3 sent over the last year or so. And if one qualified for the last one then why not the first 2? Or did they send one check for the total amount?

Maybe you can let us know the conditions. Many banks will either no longer take new American clients at all or limit them to a Giro-Konto, which is used for bank transfers but not allow investment holdings. This is due to them not wanting to deal with the invasive requirements for foreign banks to report the bank information of their US clients to the IRS. This strong-arm attitude, seeing as they have no jurisdiction, is something I have covered on other threads but is one of the reason many American expats renounce their US citizenship.

And most Giro accounts are not free unless one has a large minimum monthly deposit to it on a regular basis; something possible for a salaried employee but not a self-employed person like myself with irregular income. Would not be such a great deal if one gets the account just to cash such a check but has to pay annual fees of 200 Euros. And one should know that the Sparkasse is not just one big national bank. For example, the Sparkasse in a municipality in Baden-Württemberg has nothing to do with a Sparkasse in Bavaria – and might have different rules and conditions.

John Davis25 wrote:

In most countries with a 1st world economy now require you to have a bank account to work their now. Also if living in Germany as a retiree you must have a bank account.

In the USA and Canada people use checks to set up direct deposit. Many countries have banned credit checks to open checking accounts.

One needs to have a bank account in Germany - but this doesn't mean they will cash a foreign check.

TominStuttgart wrote:

In the end, I signed my check for deposit only and sent it back to the States where I have someone with signature authority on an account there.

Hi Tomin,

Can you tell me which bank it was in the US that you used to take care of this matter? Forgive me if you have already answered this somewhere in the thread. I am in the same situation. American abroad, no U.S. bank acct and no banks in the Netherlands cash checks anymore.

Kindly,
Serena

Serena27 wrote:

TominStuttgart wrote:

In the end, I signed my check for deposit only and sent it back to the States where I have someone with signature authority on an account there.

Hi Tomin,

Can you tell me which bank it was in the US that you used to take care of this matter? Forgive me if you have already answered this somewhere in the thread. I am in the same situation. American abroad, no U.S. bank acct and no banks in the Netherlands cash checks anymore.

Kindly,
Serena

Any bank or credit union in the States will cash such a check - for their clients. I have a credit union account and used that. I have no idea how it would work without already having an account.

Hi! Do you have a residency in Germany and this be the reason you were able to cash out the checks?

ao3 wrote:

Hi! Do you have a residency in Germany and this be the reason you were able to cash out the checks?

Who is this addressed to? I do have German residency but sent my checks back to the States for deposit. And an American with residency in Germany will still have trouble to open certain types of accounts; and few German banks want to cash foreign checks. Direct bank transfers are the standard in the EU for making payments.

Update: I opened an account at my local Frankfurter Sparkasse and deposited the check. The bank honors such American checks. I was charged  €19.50 for processing and it took almost three weeks to see the credit to my account.  Your answer to why it took so long  for the check to reach me is, I moved and forgot to put in a change of address with good ole uncle Sam.  According to an IRS  forum regarding missing checks, any prior stimulus checks which were undeliverabe, will be offset in a form of tax credit. 

For one, it would be discrimatory to deny stimulus checks to American citizens living abroad.

And, in my case, my partner and I will return to the US in January 2022; the money will add some extra security, and piece of mind to help offset the stressful experience of returning, and trying to resume life in the United States in the midst of the pandemic, and all the economic insecurity it entails.

Through your father is not the same as having your own account. How can one have an active account that would not take a deposit?

@TominStuttgart I had not filed my taxes for a few years, but got up to date this year.  I just received my covid stimulus checks in the mail yesterday, so they are still processing them.