lemidi

Does anyone know how easy/hard it is and what the steps would be for Americans living in the US to get a French credit card or debit card? I travel to France frequently and although I am able to use my Amercian Visa card in most cases I know how much simpler it would be to use a French card. And after a previous post I am concerned that it may get more difficult. Another Fodorite, Larry, on the previous post about Visa problems in France also had the same thought about getting a French card.

I regret that I did not inquire about this before I left france last month, and the thought did cross my mind while trying to pump gas late one evening in Ollioules, but of course my vacation got in the way...

I may wind up calling the banks over there or involving family there but thought perhaps some of you savvy francophiles may have the answer before I do that.

Thanks so much for any helpful info.

blackduff

I have a friend (Canadian) who tried and tried to get a French Visa. Finally he opened a bank account and he was able to get a card.

He did have a local address which gave the ability to open the bank account. For living in the US and needing to open a bank account will be difficult.

I don't think this will be easy for you, if you're still in the US. Yet, we might find some other Fodorite will have the answer.

Blackduff

lemidi

Thanks Blackduff

I do have family there that may help me for address purposes but I was hoping to avoid that as it might become bothersome for them to keep track of my mail.

I am also wondering if obtaining french credit cards is the same as here where it a is all based on our social security number to determine credit worthiness and would they then use our American ss#?

Any advice welcome and appreciated.

blackduff

lemidi
They certainly don't use any Soc.Sec. number for the credit cards. There isn't any credit companies like the US, that I know of them anyway.

Normally you'll have to show a copy of your telephone or electricity bill. The electricity bill usually the best, since it shows residence.

When I go back, I was able to get a Visa while I was still in Spain. I was starting to build a home and the bank was going to mortgage when it's finished. They put out a credit card immediately. But, they had my bank accounts as proof as being solvent.

Possibly some other posters will give a solution.

Blackduff

kerouac

Blackduff has it right -- proofs of residency are required. But if you have family or friends in France, a written sworn statement that you live at their address is often sufficient. If the first bank doesn't work, you can try another one. I helped an American friend living in France several years ago get a bank account, and they accepted the fact that she had applied for a carte de séjour. They never cared about the fact that quickly thereafter, the carte de séjour was refused and she got a deportation notice. She has now been living in Paris for 10 years with no problems (I would worry about her health coverage, but she doesn't....).

walkinaround

my opinion is that unless you spend a considerable amount of time in france (eg rent a home and spend months at a time there - paying all associated bills) you are incurring a potentially large expense and inconvenience to solve a very small inconvenience.

unfortunately there is no such thing as true international banking. it is the holy grail to those of us who live and work around the world but it doesn't exist or at least i never found it.

bad idea for the following reasons:

1. major hassle to set up (if it is even possible).
2. you need either a € account or fool with currency exchanges/int'l payments to pay your bill in €.
3. if you need a french bank account, then maintaining a foreign bank account for this purpose is a bad idea for many reasons. worth doing if you really need it to live in france but hardly worth it for just a CC. probably can't get a french bank account anyway.

of course, it might be possible to set this all up if you really try hard and jump through some hoops. however, the solution just doesn't match the problem, IMO.

vedette

I live in USA and have no address, relatives, etc. in France. I opened a checking acct with Credit Agricole last Oct without difficulty. The branch I went to was off the tourist track and a very unlikely place for a foreigner to want an account, and they did ask me why I wanted to open it. I just told them I travel to France frequently and sometimes need to write a French check and they were fine with that. I doubt very seriously if you will have much luck opening an account except in person, however. I was offered a card which I declined because of fees. Don't remember if it was credit or debit. They send my statements to me in USA. Only downside is high monthly acct fees of about $7.

lemidi

Thanks so much to all who offered advice. Vedette and Kerouac you have given me exaclty what I needed. Next year I will open an account in person with a family member if neccessary but looks like I may not need to.
Thanks.

Michael

My advice is DON'T.

I think that you are misreading the previous posts. It is agreed that many machines (gas stations, train stations) do not accept a credit card that does not have a chip. But an attendant is usually there who can take the card and process the transaction. The problems appear magnified when reported, they are minor even if very annoying at the moment they occur.

I have a French checking account because I need to pay bills on a regular basis for the house I own. But I do not have an ATM card because that would mean that I have to pay a monthly fee even in the months when I do not use it.

When I needed to transfer money to that account from the States, I either had to wire money (and pay the fee) or I sent a check in dollars which is converted at the tourist rate by the bank. In other words, I get a much better conversion rate using my American card to withdraw money.

As for checking: you can use a check in France, but not in Belgium or Germany.

logos999

>use a check in France, but not in Belgium or Germany
No problem cashing French checks in Germany, it's just very expensive. A few years ago the Post office charged 3 marks (1.5&euro for cashing such a check. Today it's 15€!!!

logos999

Same thing applies for Canadian or US checks. My local citibank cashed a canadian check for a 7€ fee a few months ago.

Carlux

As a French resident, I totally agree that this is overkill in response to some problems with credit cards. Bank charges are high here, and there is no interest on chequing accounts. So unless you spend a lot of time here, I can't see how it can be justified.

lemidi

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts. I do know that the American credit card problem is not as bad as some are makng it out to seem as I do travel frequntly to France. It was really just on my last trip that I began to think about the French credit card thing only to make things simpler while there. Then I saw all these posts about visa problems, hence my question. And, you will see my original question was actually how to get a French credit card more so than opening an account at a French bank, which I am still considering.

Is it not like in the US where one can get a visa or mastercard without having an account at the issuing bank ie Capital One, CitiBank etc...but from a French issuer?

Thanks

shellio

>>Is it not like in the US where one can get a visa or mastercard without having an account at the issuing bank ie Capital One, CitiBank etc...but from a French issuer?<<

It's my understanding that there is no such thing in France as a "credit card" as we know it, i.e. a bank lending you money against a promise to pay it back with interest when you get your monthly statement.

A French friend explained that the "credit cards" used there are equivalent, more or less, to US debit cards, i.e. the bank with which you have an account allows you to use a card to draw on your own money held by the bank. The system doesn't allow for the Capitol One/MBNA/etc. type of card relationship.

blackduff

Shellio
<i>It's my understanding that there is no such thing in France as a &quot;credit card&quot; as we know it, i.e. a bank lending you money against a promise to pay it back with interest when you get your monthly statement.</i>

My bank offers both Credit and Debit cards (BNP) as well as other banks. Plus, if a person uses the &quot;Plus&quot; card, it gives the same credit line for the card.

Plus is a card uses for several food markets. Carrefour uses this service as well as Champion. The card also provides express checkouts at the stores and a couple of other facets.

Blackduff

norween

&gt;&gt;Is it not like in the US where one can get a visa or mastercard without having an account at the issuing bank ie Capital One, CitiBank etc..;&lt;&lt;

This type of card exist - more or less - they are NOT issued by banks but by credit organisms associated with large chain stores like Carrefour, Auchan or La Redoute - they have a more limited usage than cards issued by banks (no international usage or very limited, are not accepted in many ATMs (and there are fees if you use a bak ATM) and most of them are not chip and PIN...

lemidi

I do know that there are the traditional &quot;credit&quot; cards that are issued in France. When my cousins come here (to the US) to visit they use their credit cards quite freely and I highly doubt that the amount they are spending is being debited from their checking account (knowing their financial position).
Also, one year I rented a car in France for a month and the agency tried to get an authorization on my credit card for double the rental cost which amounted to around $3000.00 and was not available on my credit card (after having already travelled quite a bit and having used my card for other related travel expenses). So, again, luckily my cousin came to the rescue and whipped out his french card and they put this large hold on his credit card (carte bleu or something). If this were a debit card the transaction would not be processed for two reason:
1) I seriously doubt that he would have so freely allowed a $3000.00 hold on his checking acocunt funds if he even had that much in this account
2)The car rental agencies do not accept debit cards in France for guaranteeing the rental. They only accept &quot;credit cards&quot;.

blackduff

lemidi
<i>2)The car rental agencies do not accept debit cards in France for guaranteeing the rental. They only accept &quot;credit cards&quot;.</i>

Although my bank does issue credit cards, I have a debit card. Yet, I have been using rental cars throughout all of Europe, as well as the middle east, far east, and the US too.

Previous my Spanish debit card was a bit difference but I still allowed me to rent cars with this card.

Blackduff

Christina

A lot of US credit cards aren't tied to banks, either, but organizations. Of course, they have some financial institution administering the card, but the card itself doesn't have a bank name on it and you don't get it through a bank.

Also, credit cards don't lend you money in the US that you must pay back &quot;with interest&quot; when the bill comes. If you pay the bill when due in full, there are no interest charges on purchasees made within that past month.

If French car rental firms don't rent without a credit card on record, they would have to have French credit cards or how would French people rent cars? Or is there some other way, as some folks above make it sound like it is rare for a French person to have a credit card that isn't some store card. I think a lot of US rental agencies won't accept debit cards, either, when you sign out the car, although some do.

Underhill

I'm afraid, Christine, that there ARE interest charges on c/c withdrawals. The interest begins at the time the withdrawal is made and continues until the monthly bill is paid. This I know from sad experience, and most companies won't let you pay ahead, either, by overpaying the previous month's bill.