From 1 November 2026, Sparkasse Dachau is overhauling its entire current-account line-up — and it is far from alone. Instead of a single flat monthly fee for its online or classic account, four new tariffs called "Giro Privat," "Giro Privat Klassik," "Giro Privat Komfort" and "Giro Privat Premium" are replacing the old models. What hides behind the new names turns out to be considerably more expensive for many customers than it first appears: anyone who makes more bookings than their tariff includes now pays extra for every additional transfer, direct debit or card payment. Similar switches to a per-transaction pricing model have been rolling out at savings banks across Germany for months — the Dachau case is simply the latest and clearest example of a trend that is gathering pace across the entire Sparkassen sector in 2026.
What exactly is changing
Until now, many savings-bank customers were used to a simple principle: one flat monthly base fee, no matter how often the account was used. The new model ties the price much more closely to actual usage. Sparkasse Dachau's four new tariffs illustrate the pattern clearly:
- Giro Privat: €3.00 base fee per month, no transaction items included, each additional booking costs €0.50.
- Giro Privat Klassik: €7.50 per month, 20 transaction items included, then €0.40 per extra item.
- Giro Privat Komfort: €9.50 per month, 30 transaction items included, then €0.30 per extra item.
- Giro Privat Premium: €14.50 per month, 50 transaction items included, then €0.20 per extra item.
Transaction items typically include outgoing transfers, direct debits, standing-order executions and, in some cases, card payments — incoming credits are usually not counted, though this varies between institutions and should always be checked in the individual price and services list. On top of that, special services such as paper-based transfers over the counter, transfers at self-service terminals, or cash withdrawals outside the customer's own branch often remain separately chargeable regardless of which tariff is chosen.
A real-world example
Just how significant the effect can be is shown by a case that made the rounds in recent days: a long-standing customer who previously paid €7.50 a month under the classic model, which included a generous volume of transactions, now faces an estimated €30 a month under the new system — simply because he regularly triggers well over 20 or 30 bookings a month through several standing orders, invoices for a small side business, or simply many individual card payments that now count as transaction items. Over a full year, that works out, according to consistent reports, to roughly €300 to €400 in additional account costs — without the customer's actual usage changing at all.
Why banks are switching to per-transaction pricing now
The background is not specific to Dachau; it is a structural issue across the entire industry. Flat fees mean that heavy users are effectively cross-subsidised by customers who barely move their account. The more digital and automated payment traffic becomes — standing orders, recurring direct debits, multiple card payments in everyday life — the more expensive processing each account becomes for the bank, without that cost being reflected in the old flat fee. Per-transaction models shift those costs directly onto whoever generates them. From a business standpoint, that is understandable for the institutions; for many customers, however, it comes as an unpleasant surprise, because the change is often communicated through a rather unremarkable letter about a price adjustment — with the real detail only becoming visible in the price and services list.
What this means for your own finances
Whether the switch makes your account more expensive or cheaper depends almost entirely on your personal transaction behaviour — not on your account balance or the name of your previous tariff. Two groups stand out clearly:
Who pays more
Particularly affected are customers with many small everyday card payments, several parallel standing orders (rent, insurance, savings plans, streaming subscriptions), or small business owners and freelancers who also use their private account for regular invoices. Anyone who triggers ten or more bookings a month beyond their included allowance will quickly notice the difference in double-digit euro amounts — and over a year, as the example above shows, that adds up to several hundred euros.
Who is barely affected
Anyone who uses their account sparingly — a few transfers, one or two standing orders, hardly any card payments routed directly through the current account — can actually come out ahead with the cheapest €3 base-fee model compared to the old flat tariff. The new system is therefore not a blanket price increase for everyone, but a redistribution of costs according to usage intensity.
What you should do now
If your own bank has announced, or is about to announce, a similar switch, it is worth running a short but systematic check before you agree to a price change or let it pass unchallenged:
- Count, using your last three or four account statements, how many transaction items you actually trigger per month on average — don't estimate, count.
- Check your bank's current price and services list carefully to see exactly what counts as a transaction item and what doesn't — definitions differ from institution to institution.
- Where possible, consolidate standing orders and direct debits to reduce the number of individual bookings, for example by using batch transfers instead of many single payments.
- Compare your new offer soberly against other account models — digital providers without per-transaction logic also belong on your comparison list. A structured comparison of current accounts shows within minutes whether your existing bank is still competitive after the switch, or whether changing providers would be cheaper.
- While you're at it, think about the other side of your banking relationship too: money sitting idle in a current account earns no interest anyway. It can be worth looking at current savings accounts or classic deposit products to separate your reserves from an increasingly expensive current account while also picking up some return.
Important to know: under a 2021 ruling by Germany's Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), mere silence is not enough to count as consent to a price or contract change. Banks must actively inform customers, who generally must give explicit consent to the change — anyone who does not respond stays on their old contract until the bank terminates the account through proper notice or another valid arrangement takes effect. It therefore pays not to simply file away letters about account changes, but to actively review them and, where appropriate, ask questions or object.
Bottom line: doing the maths protects you from surprises
The shift to per-transaction account models is not a one-off at Dachau, but part of an industry-wide repricing happening across Germany's savings banks. For heavy users it can add several hundred euros a year in extra costs; for frugal account holders it can even mean a saving. What matters is knowing your own transaction behaviour before accepting a new pricing structure. Take ten minutes to go through your recent statements, then use an independent comparison of current-account offers to see whether your bank can still keep up after the price change — or whether switching makes more sense for your personal usage profile.