For non-business clients, the Bundesbank offers cash-related services for the settlement of small-scale transactions. However, given that the minimum requirements applicable for transactions effected bybusiness clients do not apply to non-business clients, the range of cash-related services available to these customers is restricted.

In addition to issuing freshly minted commemorative and collector's coins of the Federal Republic of Germany (with a standard finish) and accepting damaged or mutilated banknotes or suspected counterfeit money to be checked for authenticity, the Bundesbank provides non-business clients with the following cash-related services.

General information on the settlement of transactions with the general public

The Bundesbank – like credit institutions – has a legal obligation to carry out checks during the settlement of transactions and to keep records of these.

To avoid unnecessary delays in the settlement of these transactions, general public customers should be able to prove their identity by presenting a valid official identity document (eg ID card, passport). If proof of the origin and/or right of disposal of the submitted funds is available, customers should also be able to submit these if requested to do so to facilitate the settlement of the transaction.

If the transaction cannot be settled immediately on a payment-versus-payment basis, customers can facilitate the later settlement of the transaction by providing the bank account details (IBAN and BIC) of the beneficial owner (may not necessarily be the submitting party).

Inpayments for public administrations

The Bundesbank generally accepts inpayments from any individual to be credited to an account held at the Bundesbank by a public administration. This means that not only the account holder, but basically also any third party, is able to make an inpayment to such a Bundesbank account, provided that the account holder is the final beneficiary of the payment.

Payments to accounts held at the Bundesbank are to be made using a payment form (form 3179) or a neutral credit transfer / payment form, which the inpayer has obtained from the beneficiary. In the case of pre-printed credit transfer / payment forms, it is important to ensure that the form is intended for use with a Bundesbank account, as the Bundesbank does not accept payments from non-business clients to be credited to an account held with another credit institution.

A fee will be charged for inpayments of this kind in accordance with the Bank's price schedule (currently €3), which is to be paid immediately in cash upon submission of the cash deposit.

Example: a motorist can settle a fine in cash by effecting a payment – for a fee – to the account of the municipal administration office (Ordnungsamt) held with the Bundesbank.

If the account holder makes a payment to his/her own Bundesbank account, he/she may also use a presentation voucher (form 3030-1). In this case, it is not possible to make an entry in the "remittance information" field (unlike in the case of a payment form). Submissions made using a presentation voucher are, however, accepted free of charge provided that the account holder is not a business client (in which case other conditions apply).

Example: an employee working at the municipal administration office pays in the funds from fines that have been collected in cash to be credited to the account of the town treasurer's office (Stadtkasse) using a presentation voucher (without any remittance information).

Information on the settlement of exchange transactions

The Bundesbank reserves the right to set limits on the maximum number of banknotes and coins that it accepts depending on the current volume of customers and capacity restrictions at the respective branch.

Any consignments of banknotes or coins submitted for exchange which exceed the maximum prescribed limits are only accepted against provisional receipt. In this case, the submitter receives payment of the countervalue of the deposit at a later stage as soon as the banknotes and coins have been processed. 

Exchange of banknotes and coins for other denominations

In principle, any individual can exchange euro coins for euro banknotes or euro banknotes for euro coins and exchange euro banknotes or coins for others of different denomination(s) at the Bundesbank.

Special procedures and regulations apply to business clients.

DM-euro exchange

The Bundesbank exchanges DM banknotes and coins for euro without any time-frame or amount re-strictions. Further information can be found at "DM-banknotes and coins".

The Bundesbank no longer exchanges euro legacy currencies for euro. These currencies can only be exchanged at the respective national central bank within the prescribed exchanged periods. Some of the exchange periods have already expired.

Central banks will exchange the legacy banknotes of new euro area member states only within the limited time-frames which have been agreed upon in advance by the national central banks belonging to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).