SHARE
COPY LINK
MOVE TO FRANCE COLLECTION
For members

LIVING IN FRANCE

Five key tips to opening a bank account in France

Here's how to make life easier while opening a bank account in France, writes consulting assistant Allison Lounes.

A man withdraws money from an ATM.
A man withdraws money from an ATM. Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP

Opening a bank account in France is rarely simple. Here’s how to make the process less stressful. 

1) Bring a proof of address 

Nobody in France takes you at your word that you live where you say you live: you always have to provide a document called a ‘justificatif de domicile’ which can, for example, be a utility bill (electricity or gas) or proof of rental insurance. 

The document must be less than three months old. If you’re living in someone else’s apartment, either as a short term rental or as a guest, you’ll have to provide copies of their utility bills, a copy of their ID card, and a signed statement saying that you’re living with them. Beware: even a rent receipt and a lease often won’t count as official documents if they’re handwritten by the landlord.

Also, students should provide a proof of enrollment in a French school, and bank accounts in your home country to prove you have money to put in your account. Employees need copies of their work contract and possibly a recent pay slip, and they’ll help you get direct deposit set up from your employer.

2) Pick your nearest bank

You are required to open your bank account at the branch of your bank closest to your residence or closest to your school/employer. If you work full-time, use the branch closest to your employer so you can go during regular business hours, as you can only perform certain banking operations in your own branch, through your personal banker. You can, however, easily change your address and your bank branch if you move or switch employers. You just have to provide a new justificatif de domicile or work contract.

Want to withdraw a large amount of cash before a trip abroad, or make an international wire transfer without online banking access? You have to go through your personal banker. Need to order a new checkbook or bank card? Your banker also has to do that. The reason for this tightly controlled setting is that bank employees in France can be held personally responsible if you commit crimes such as money laundering with your account, so it’s in their best interest to make sure you only go through one person who oversees your account and your transactions.

3) Know your rights

As a visitor without a job or school enrollment, you may have more difficulty opening an account, but you have the right to open a bank account if you’re a French resident. People on long stay visitor’s visas can have difficulty, especially if they’re American, as recent FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) legislation requires international banks to report American citizens’ bank information to the IRS. 

If denied an account, ask for a ‘lettre de refus’, stating that the bank in question has declined to open an account for you. The bank is required by law to provide this letter ‘without delay,’ but they don’t have to provide a reason for not opening the account.

READ MORE: Law change makes it easier for Americans to open French bank accounts

Then, you can take the refusal letter, along with a copy of your ID and proof of residence, to the local Banque de France office, and fill out a simple form requesting an account under the ‘droit au compte’. Within a few days, the Banque de France will provide you with a letter designating a bank that is required by law to open an account for you, and you take that letter and your accompanying documents there to open your account.

This applies to anyone who has the right to reside in France – except if you’re an ‘interdit bancaire’ – someone whose account was closed for consistently overdrawing and not reimbursing the bank. To be removed from the Banque de France’s files on being an ‘interdit bancaire,’ you’ll have to pay off your debt and request removal from the list.

4) Inescapable bank fees

While many banks in the US and UK have free checking, that concept does not really exist in France, especially since you’re required to interact so often with your personal banker and can’t complete all of your transactions online. You may pay a small fee for ‘tenue de compte’, or keeping the account open, as well as a monthly fee for your debit card.

The debit card fee will depend on the options you choose: the weekly and monthly limits for cash withdrawal and debit transactions, the amount of insurance protection on the card, overdraft protection, and your choice between ‘débit immédiat’ – when your account is debited immediately for purchases, and ‘débit différé’, when your card is debited at the end of your month. You can choose between the basic cards with low limits, or gold and platinum visas that often offer perks like travel insurance.

If you’re a student, you’ll often get a discount, and even if you’re not, many banks offer a 50 percent discount on rates for the first year. There are also online banks with reduced fees, but you may still be required to have an account in a brick-and-morter bank to open an account with them.

5) Debit card: Your new best friend

The French media keep predicting that cash will die out within a few years, and the French Assemblée seems to be trying to make it happen. In France, paying for something in cash often equals untaxed income: so, tax fraud and money laundering. A recent law reduced the amount that people can pay in cash for purchases from €3,000 to €1,000, and it’s not unheard of for other Europeans from more cash-friendly countries to be stopped and questioned for trying to pay with large bills.

It seems that French people rarely carry cash, then, and while most stores have low limits for debit card use, people will often pay for lunch or a coffee with a card rather than cash.

Depending on your monthly expenses, then, you’ll have to ensure that your card’s monthly limit for debit transactions is high enough to cover your costs. If your card’s limit is €1,000 every 30 days, you won’t be able to spend more than €1,000 in any 30-day period. Your personal banker can raise the limit if you have an exceptional purchase to make, but it’s best to choose a card with a limit slightly higher than you need.

Allison Lounes is a consultant assisting English speakers with administrative tasks and visa issues in France. She runs the Paris Unraveled website.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

HEALTH

How to get help in France with dementia and memory loss

It’s not something anyone wants to consider, but older people especially are susceptible to suffering some form of mental decline including dementia - and there is help and support out there in France.

How to get help in France with dementia and memory loss

If you are concerned that a loved one or friend may be showing signs of mental decline, here’s an overview of the system in France and where you might go to get help.

What to do if you think a loved one has dementia

First things first, dementia is not an illness. It is, more accurately, a catch-all term used to describe a group of symptoms that affect memory, thinking and social abilities, linked to one of a number of medical conditions of the brain, including Alzheimer’s, or by traumatic brain injuries. Symptoms vary according to the part of the brain that is damaged.

Dementia can occur at any age, but mainly affects older people. It is the cause of more than half of referrals to long-stay centres.

Britain’s NHS website lists early dementia signs to be aware of. If you are concerned that a loved one is displaying one or more of these signs, then you should seek out a formal diagnosis. Such signs do not prove the presence of a neurocognitive disorder, but if they do, early detection will make things much easier.

The first step – as always – is to arrange a consultation with your GP, who may refer the patient to a specialist.

READ ALSO How to make a doctor’s appointment in France

What happens in the specialist consultation

A referral will generally see the patient go to a local Consultation mémoire de proximité (CMP) in a Centre mémoire de ressources et de recherche (CMRR), where a specialist medical team can diagnose dementia and memory disorders.

The diagnosis will follow a series of cognitive assessment tests as well as, perhaps, brain scans and physical tests, depending on the outcome of the cognitive testing. The specialists will give you all the information you need at the time.

If a form of dementia is diagnosed, it’s understandable that you’ll be concerned about what could and should happen if your loved one can no longer take care of themselves.

As with early detection of a degenerative brain condition itself, it’s important not to leave discussions about the future too long. Do it before it’s too late is the best advice, even though it’s a conversation (or a series of them) that you will not want to have.

Financial and legal affairs

France has several administrative options for legal arrangements similar to power of attorney or guardianship – known by the umbrella term of mesures de protection judiciaires (judicial protection measures) – as well as less formal steps for those who are unable to make decisions in their daily life.

READ ALSO GUIDE: Guardianship or power of attorney options in France for elderly or vulnerable people

It is worthwhile noting, for example, that power of attorney in France can be separated into different individual areas – banking, administration, documents and management related to assets/inheritance, and voting – or granted for all sections.

It is also a good idea to check any life and health insurance policies. France insurance companies offer something known as Assurance dépendance, which pays out when holders are unable to care for themselves.

READ ALSO Health insurance in France: What you need to know about a mutuelle

Most policies insure against partial and/or total loss of autonomy. The exact sums – paid either as a lump sum or monthly – depend on the terms of the policy and degree of incapacity and can cover adaptations to a home to allow for the care of a dependent person, home help, specialised transport – even funeral expenses.

Meanwhile, families caring for a family member with dementia may also be eligible for means-tested Allocation personnalisée d’autonomie

READ ALSO French government’s seven-step plan to improve end-of-life care

Help and support

It is worthwhile getting in touch with agencies and associations, France Alzheimer for example, once you have a diagnosis. 

They will be best placed to help you navigate the French system for care and assistance – and even just provide emotional support when you need it.

They can also guide you through the CAF benefits that you may be eligible for, or help you apply for visits from a home help or aide domicile.

If the time comes when the person can no longer live at home and residential care is required, here’s a look at how the French care home system works, and the financial situation for people who have never worked in France.

SHOW COMMENTS