French business life tends to be well organised and genteel rather than cut-throat and competitive, so French banks are not falling over themselves for your custom. Nor do they offer free banking, indeed some of the English-language banking services aimed at British expats charge through the roof for even simple things like posting a new cheque book to an address in France.  Some even charge you for not using your account if you leave it inactive for a year.

It is also worth noting that debt is not tolerated in France. You won’t be able to run up an unauthorised overdraft by writing cheques you can't cover because this is actually illegal. If you try it, you’ll be blacklisted (interdit bancaire) by the Banque de France and no bank will let you open an account for up to ten years (but normally one, two or three years depending on how seriously they judge your misdemeanour).

If you shop around, you can borrow at quite competitive rates, but only for specified projects like buying a car, installing a new bathroom or buying the plot of land next door. The amount you can borrow is strictly controlled by the government and related to your income, number of dependents, etc.

*Living France Fact: In France it’s illegal to write a cheque that will bounce*

Cards and cheques

A carte bleue or CB is a combination debit/ATM card, which can also function as a credit card outside France. CBs are secured by a PIN number rather than a signature. You can get one on demand when you open a bank account, but note that they are not issued free: they can cost up to £30 a year just for the pleasure of slipping them into your wallet. Take care of them; you have to pay to replace lost or stolen cards, and if thieves clean your account out the banks won’t automatically replace the money.  (Insurance is a good idea.)

Cheques are your chance to prove that you can spell French numbers, that you know that in France a decimal point is represented by a comma and that groups of three digits are separated by a full stop. You will be asked for ID when paying by cheque. Cheque guarantee cards don’t exist as it’s illegal to write a cheque without sufficient funds in your account to cover it. (But they clear slowly enough for you to pay cash in today to cover a cheque you wrote yesterday.)

At the back of your cheque book you’ll find an RIB, a relevé d'identité bancaire, which you send to people such as your employer, the CAF (social security and family allowances), the ASSEDIC (unemployment benefit) et la sécu (healthcare reimbursements) so they can put money into your account. RIBs are also used to set up automatic payments, in particular to telecoms companies.

This is not to be confused with a TIP, a titre interbancaire de payment, which you can fill in and send to people as a way of paying bills without using a cheque book. TIPs are usually found at the bottom of bills.

Unlike in the UK, services offered by French banks vary enormously, along with their charges and conditions, so it really pays to shop around. Services offered can include mortgages, insurance, tax advice, retirement planning, savings and investment schemes, rent guarantees, and for young people, loans for computers, driving tests (expensive in France) and first flats.  You may find La Banque Postale is your cheapest option.

International banking

An increasing number of British banks are launching banking schemes aimed at British expats. Some are more interesting than others but for me, the main question is the cost of using a British card in a French ATM machine (un distributeur automatique de billets) because although around £4-5 per transaction doesn’t seem much, over a year this can mount up considerably and Nationwide is now offering this service free.

Talking of which, often the cheapest and quickest way to get cash from the UK to France is to simply draw it out of a hole in the wall, walk the cash round the corner and put it manually into a French bank account.  If you want to change cash into euros, try the post office (free to account holders).

Transferring money back to the UK is trickier, as the banks will treat it as a foreign currency transaction, and thus take forever and charge the earth. If possible, I would say take the cash out of the bank at Calais, run it across the channel, change it into sterling yourself and pay it into your account.  It's probably the cheapest option, although not practical unless you’re already going to the UK.

Naturally, any shifting of money is best done in large amounts, otherwise the commission will mop up nearly all the money you’re trying to transfer. To transfer very large amounts of money (say over £10,000), use a specialist firm. Forward contracts can save you enough to keep you in champagne for a year or more.

Note that it is worth keeping a UK bank account alongside your new French account if it gives you free banking and a free debit card that you can use in France.  Young people (12 to 25) should definitely investigate the accounts available at La Banque Postale.

However, if you’re really planning to go native, perhaps you should consider the traditional paysan approach: always talk about money in old French francs, keep your savings under the bed in the form of solid gold bars (des lingots), buy a large black guard dog, and bolt a chien mechant sign to your front gate.

FACT FILE
Le Crédit Agricole www.credit-agricole.fr
La BNP Paribas www.bnpparibas.com
Le Crédit Lyonnais www.creditlyonnais.com
La Société Générale www.socgen.com
La Caisse d’Epargne www.caisse-epargne.fr
La Banque Postale (in English) https://www.particuliers.labanquepostale.fr/index/services/help_english.html
Abbey National France www.abbey-national.fr
 

How to choose a bank

Go to all the banks in your local town, explain that you’re newly arrived and ask for information on the services they offer. (If your French is still on the rusty side, this way you’ll also find out if anyone speaks English.)

Don’t forget to include the post office in this procedure. Their post office savings account (Livret A) is free, and they also have a good, free account for twelve to twenty-five year olds.

Compare the services and prices on offer. Get to know the neighbours by asking them to help you decipher the small print. Alternatively, ask the estate agent who sold you your house to recommend a bank – this will guarantee you a warm welcome.

Once you’ve chosen, make a check list of reasons why you’ve chosen that account with that bank. Go in and check the reasons, check that you’ve properly understood.

To open the account, you’ll just need ID (ie your passport) and proof of your address in France (although non-residents might require extra documents depending on the bank). If you’re at the house-hunting stage and don’t have an address in France, try the post office.

Disclaimer
This dossier article is intended as a general guide only.  For specific information relative to your own situation, please use the contact details in the factfile.  The information given here was correct at the time of publication.  However, if you notice a gremlin causing typos or any other inaccuracies, do please let us know.

Updates
This article was last updated 15 September 2007