How to open a bank account in France
Opening a personal bank account for EU passport holder as a resident in France is not too difficult.
There are eight retail high street banks in France, as follows:
- Crédit Agricole (CA)
- BNP Paribas.
- Société Générale.
- Caisse d’Epargne (CE)
- Banque Populaire (BP)
- Crédit Mutuel.
- La Banque Postale.
- LCL.
Requirements are a Passport, occasionally a birth certificate/marriage certificate and proof of address, such as a utility bill or a Rental Agreement.
If in the process of buying a property and you are to be resident then a Compromis de vente or Deeds will generally suffice.
Accounts can be opened very quickly with a deposit but cheque books and bank cards can take up to a couple of weeks to arrive.
Please note, Bank charges vary from Bank to Bank with some carrying a basic charge for having an account.
Do check to see if there are charges for internet banking.
There is normally a card charge which is deducted as a monthly debit, with additional charge for an additional card.
For those with some French, there is also http://www.tarifs-bancaires.gouv.fr/ , where you can choose your options desired and see what the different banques offer.
On a practical note, don’t bother getting up early on a Monday all geared up to open your new account. Why would a bank bother to open on a Monday? That would be ridiculous! I found myself stood outside Credit Agricole on a Monday morning doing my best Victor Meldrew impression.
However, on Tuesday I went in and made an appointment for a couple of days later and the account was opened easily. You may need all the stuff listed above, I didn’t, the lady gave my passport a cursory glance, did a load of typing, got me to sign half a ream of A4 and that was it. No proof of income, no proof of residence, nothing really. It may vary from bank to bank, so do have everything ready, but I wouldn’t get too worried about the whole process. It’s far easier than trying to do anything back in the UK even with the language barrier.