Mobile banking for the first weeks in Germany: guided onboarding, no Anmeldung.
RoleSole designer & researcher
Year2026
Scope10 - week university brief
TypeUniversity project
Overview
Klar is a 10-week university project: a mobile banking concept for non-EU students and workers arriving in Germany. Neobanks already serve these users, but their onboarding is built for established residents and offers little guidance for someone in their first week in a new country.
The concept is built around that first week: guided onboarding, document checklists tied to local bureaucracy, and an interface that assumes German isn't the user's first language.
The Problem
Most German banks won't open an account without an Anmeldung. But you can't get an Anmeldung without somewhere to live, and you usually can't rent without a bank account.
Neobanks like N26 and Revolut exist partly because of this gap. They let new arrivals open accounts without an Anmeldung, often within a day. But their onboarding assumes context that new arrivals don't have yet: what an IBAN is for, which documents to keep, how to read a German bank statement, what Anmeldung even means.
The account opens, but without guidance on what to do next. This project focuses on that gap: what happens after the account is created.
Research board
Set up
Non-EU students at Berlin universities. 5 in-person interviews (10–15 min, semi-structured), then a follow-up form circulated through student groups. 30 responses, 21 countries.
Interviews
classmates, in-person, 10–15 min
P1 · India
P2 · India
P3 · Brazil
P4 · Ghana
P5 · Türkiye
↓ same 3 things came up every time
Pain 01
The Anmeldung loop
Banks need an Anmeldung. The Anmeldung needs a permanent address. Landlords want a German IBAN. Every step depends on the one before it being done first.
Pain 02
Everything in German
Bürgeramt, Krankenkasse, ImmobilienScout, BVG: all German-only. Google Translate loses context. Students screenshot pages, translate field by field.
Pain 03
No checklist
Nobody could describe what to do in their first month in order. Reddit threads, classmates, fragments. Steps missed and learned about too late.
Note to self
The 3 pains aren't separate. The loop CAUSES the language problem to matter more, and the no-checklist problem to compound.
"the anmeldung-bank-rent loop. you cant rent without bank, cant get bank without address, cant get address without rent. somebody has to break it"
A clear list of exactly which documents I can use right now
70%
Cheap transfers to send money home
67%
A virtual card available immediately after approval
60%
Being able to open an account without an Anmeldung yet
Average stress: 3.5 / 5. 43% rated it 4 or 5. 7% said it was not frustrating.
87% of respondents asked for a clear document list. That result shaped the first design decision: the Document Centre. The rest of the onboarding flow was structured to lead into it.
How it works
↓ feasibility check, not a legal document
Sponsor bank
Sponsor bank model
It runs on top of BIL (Banque Internationale à Luxembourg), a licensed EU bank. Deposits sit in a BIL account, covered up to €100,000 under EU deposit insurance.
No Anmeldung required
EU passporting
An EU bank can passport its licence across the bloc, so an account opens without a German address. N26, Revolut, and Wise all use the same route.
Data handling
GDPR legal basis
Under GDPR, agreeing to the terms covers the data needed to run the account. Nothing more. Marketing would need a separate opt-in, and Klar has none.
The 90-day rule
Why Klar tracks the German tax timeline
New hires in Germany have about 2–3 months before payroll switches to a higher emergency tax rate. Klar uses 90 days as the threshold and builds in reminders so it doesn't sneak up on you.
Note. Klar is a university project, not a real bank. No account-opening flow was built and no deal was made with BIL. This is how the product would need to be structured to operate legally: research, not an implementation plan.
User journey
↓ stress on the y-axis. red = how she feels. green = where Klar shows up.
Stress over three weeks
Day 1
Arrival
Lands. Settles into a sublet. No IBAN yet.
Hopeful, a bit overwhelmed.
Day 2–3
Rejection
Sparkasse: need Anmeldung. N26: need address.
Both options blocked.
Day 5–7
The waiting
Bürgeramt: 4 weeks. Landlord: needs IBAN today.
Panicked. The room is slipping away.
Day 9 · Klar
Onboarding
Classmate mentions Klar at uni. Downloads the app.
In French. Virtual card the same day.
Relieved.
Day 14–18
Settled
Scholarship in. €200 sent home. Anmeldung done.
Calmer. Things are mostly in order.
The journey starts at Day 1 to show what conditions exist before the concept becomes relevant.
User flow
↓ no "rejected" or "failed" anywhere in the flow.
Step
Decision
Branch
Outcome
01
Welcome
Landing screen. EU banking for new arrivals, no Anmeldung required to start.
02
Phone number
Country code from IP. User can change it.
03
SMS verification
6-digit code. Resend after 30s.
04
Email and password
Strength meter. No rules shown until the user starts typing.
05
Legal name and DOB
Must match the ID document later.
06
Current address
Asks about Anmeldung status. Three paths.
Branch A
Has Anmeldung. Enters registered address, continues to step 07.
Branch B
No Anmeldung yet. Enters temporary address. Reminder set to update within 30 days of registration.
Branch C
No address at all. Uses hostel or university address. Same 30-day reminder.
07
ID document upload
Passport, EU/EEA national ID, EU Blue Card, residence permit, or student visa with enrolment letter.
08
Liveness selfie
8-second on-device check.
09
KYC review
Automated check on documents and selfie match. Three outcomes.
Outcome 1
Verified
Continues to step 10.
Outcome 2
More info needed
Specific request: clearer photo, additional document, or address proof. Returns to step 07 or 08.
Outcome 3
Manual review
A person reviews within 24 hours. Status shown in-app. If declined, written explanation with an appeal option.
10
Set 4-digit PIN
Used for app unlock and payments. Confirm twice. Biometric option offered separately.
11
Terms and data handling
Plain-language summary up top, full ToS below.
12
Account ready
Virtual card active, IBAN ready, Document Centre opens. Physical card ordered, arrives by post.
Language. No screen uses the words "rejected" or "failed". Where the system needs more information, it names what is missing. Where a decision goes against the user, the next step is shown.
Wireframes
Design principles
Design foundations
Design onboarding
Outcome
This was a 10-week concept project. Nothing shipped and no real account was opened. The deliverables are a research brief, a legal feasibility summary, a full user flow, and screens covering onboarding, home, payments, and account settings.
The onboarding flow and the Document Centre are the strongest parts. Both came directly from what participants said in interviews and the survey.
The legal section reads more confidently than it should. The cited regulations are accurate, but a concept project can't account for how a real bank actually applies those rules.
If I could redo it, I would cut the scope in half. Ten weeks covering legal research, user research, flows, and full UI across three screens was too much. Focusing on one or two problems and actually testing them would have been more useful.
