In Germany, around 700.000 people over the age of 15 are doing without a checking account. Socially disadvantaged people in particular are often denied the opportunity to set up an account for everyone by the banks. The reasons: no or low income, the receipt of social benefits such as Hartz IV, Schufa entries, indebtedness, etc.. But with that since 19. June 2016 end. Due to the Payment Account Act, every German bank is legally obligated to open a current account on a credit basis for every citizen.

In order to avert a legal regulation, the Central Credit Committee (ZKA) decided in 1995 that banks would set up a checking account for "everyone. This "Everyman account," also called a "citizen account" or "basic account," will exclusively on credit basis (credit account), but otherwise offers all the possibilities of a conventional checking account.