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I just moved in Germany and got an account in Sparkasse. I wanted to deposit some cash on my own account and I don't yet have a card, it's going to arrive later apparently. As far as I gathered it's possible to do directly in the banks office and for that I need to fill one of those checks\slips they have on the stand. But which one?

No one in the office of the bank speaks English and I don't speak any German at all yet. So I can't figure out which for to fill to deposit cash on my own account.

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    The keyword to look for is "Einzahlung" (deposit). In my Sparkasse the forms are light pink, but that may probably vary, as there are about 400 different entities which are a Sparkasse. (Almost all of them share the same infrastructure, and mutually grant access to their ATMs free of charge, though.)
    – I'm with Monica
    Sep 27, 2017 at 13:21
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    This might be a better match for the Travel.SE, you'll have to check to see if it is on-topic there, but it seems like the problem here is a language barrier more than advice on personal finance decisions.
    – NL - Apologize to Monica
    Sep 27, 2017 at 13:59

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This answer might be better suited to German language stackexchage, but I'll post it anyway in the hope that it will be useful.

Write this down as clearly as you can or print it if you have a printer, then go to the counter, ask "Entschuldigung, Sprechen Sie Englisch?" And if they say "no" or "nein", just show them your pre-written text.

Mein Name ist [your name] und ich möchte eine Einzahlung von [the amount you want to put in]€ auf mein Konto [your account number] machen. Ich habe noch keine Karte für das Konto bekommen. (My name is [your name] and I want to pay [the amount]€ into my account [your account number]. I haven't received the card for this account yet.)

You could also ask: Spricht vielleicht einer ihrer Kollegen Englisch? (Maybe one of your colleagues speaks English?)

I seriously doubt that nobody there speaks English. Especially the younger employees will have had several years of English at school and even if they are rusty, they should be able to help you if you make an effort to speak slowly and clearly.

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  • Thanks! I'll try to do that. And I'm dead serious that nobody can speak English. Apparently there is one person in the entire branch that can deal with English speakers but he's booked for the next 3 weeks. To open the account I had to bring one of my colleagues with me who's living here for a few years and can already speak German more or less.
    – Regs
    Sep 28, 2017 at 8:48
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    @Regs Just a theory, but maybe they have some legal obligation which doesn't allow them to talk to customers in foreign languages when they are not officially certified to do that. Banking is a very regulated industry in Germany. Banks can get in a lot of trouble when they provide wrong instructions. And when you advise people in a language you only sort-of speak, it's easy for things to get lost in translation. So they might have gotten a standing order to not speak English to customers unless they have special qualifications.
    – Philipp
    Oct 22, 2017 at 10:16
  • +1 for answering the implied question "how to do this", instead of just the literal one "which form to pick".
    – I'm with Monica
    Nov 6, 2017 at 16:07
  • It sounds like OP lives in a smaller city, where it's not unlikely that Sparkasse wouldn't have someone with working English knowledge at the cash desk. In any case, remember that most Sparkasse branches (Sparkasse is not a bank, and each city has their own institution, like Berliner Sparkasse, Haspa in Hamburg and so on) only allows you to put money in with machines in your own one, and using the cash desk is only free if you either have no card (stolen, not delivered yet) or their machines are broken. Also, bring your passport for identity verification.
    – simbabque
    Dec 4, 2017 at 11:34
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During the (usually very short) opening hours they have a counter where a person will help you. Just go there, an tell her you want to make a deposit to your account and did not receive the card yet. Normally they are able to communicate in English. They will guide you through it. Just have your passport ready.

You can go to any Sparkasse in the region an they have ton of them. I am sure you'll find someone who can speak English.

If you really don't, write down this sentence an show them.

Ich habe ein Konto bei Ihnen, aber ich habe die Karte noch nicht erhalten. Jetzt würde ich gerne eine Einzahlung vornehmen. Leider spreche ich kein Deutsch, nur Englisch. Können Sie mir Helfen?

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    Good answer except the question said the people in the bank don't speak English.
    – Sumyrda - remember Monica
    Sep 28, 2017 at 6:06

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