orval

hopscotch,
the iban means international bank account number;
the bic code is actually a "swift" code and means bank identifier code:

http://www.exportbureau.com/check_swift_code.html

http://www.swift.com/biconline/

Dave_in_Paris

You're right Michael, my experience is that despite the 12-nation euro zone, our French checking account isn't very useful in the euro zone outside France in large part due to high bank fees for cross-border use. But the OP and spouse both speak French and it wouldn't be surprising if they spent a good bit of their time in France. I still think most of the warning flags hoisted in this string are a bit overdone. If a checking account bears no interest, and it's highly unlikely to in France, then there are no tax consequences, so no tax worries. Above a certain balance, one must report foreign accounts to the IRS if one is American, a post- 9/11 requirement. That's done one a one-page form that takes about 60 seconds to fill out.

walkinaround

lets hope they don't die with any significant amounts in a french bank account. nice gift to your heirs...months of french bureaucracy to deal with.

Dave_in_Paris

Both at once? Well, disasters do happen.

Michael

Dave_in_Paris,

While my examples used cross-border checks and deposits, my cousin does not have a check book. I have never figured out how he pays for his business costs or for his rent in his own country. As a general rule, it appears that Germans do not write checks.

Money transfers above $10,000 or accounts above that amount always had to be declared with the IRS, even before 9/11. Earnings on French accounts are so low that their version of the 1099 (?) IRS form can be tossed.

Dave_in_Paris

I think that's the case in Austria, as well, no checks, recalling what an Austrian renter told us a few years ago. She wired money into our French account, which cost us nothing at all. The trend in credit card markups and fees for out-of-country use is ominous, and there may be a certain feel-good factor in having an account in a European country, whether it saves anything or not. Also, the nuisance of arranging apartment rentals without a "local" account, mentioned by Nukesafe, is real and considerable. The downsides, in my opinion, at least in France, are time spent in opening an account (one doesn't just walk in and do it) and lack of interest earned.

Underhill

Friends who have a checking account in France were able to get it only because they bought an apartment in Paris AND had Euros to transfer from another country. Even then it was very difficult.

Dave_in_Paris

Underhill,

Could depend on the bank, or how one particular clerk at the bank was feeling on a certain day. We've had nonresident short-to-medium term renters who've opened accounts. At most, they've needed a brief "herbergement" letter from us.

fairfax

When I moved to the UK, the hardest thing I had to do was open a bank account. It took six weeks with lots of back and forth between me and the bank. There was always something very small that wasn't right, or that they forgot to tell me. Meanwhile, I was working and couldn't be paid because almost all paychex are direct deposit and I didn't even have a bank to cash the cheque in. Finally, after going up and up the ladder, I got an account. I will use it as i travel over there again.

hopscotch

Michael, you wrote:
"While my examples used cross-border checks and deposits, my cousin does not have a check book. I have never figured out how he pays for his business costs or for his rent in his own country. As a general rule, it appears that Germans do not write checks."

That's right. We almost never wrote checks in Germany. Everything is done by the bank. If you buy something you get an invoice with the sellers bank info on it. You take it to your bank. Your bank transfers the funds from your account to the sellers account. It is a good idea to follow up with your creditor to see if he was paid because sometimes the cash doesn't flow.

This works for your rent, phone, new appliances, heating oil, computer parts, etc., etc.

The major exception was in using Eurocheques. These were a block of special checks issued by your bank, on your request, which could be used anywhere in Europe. They were guaranteed up to 300 DM, about $150. So for example, when we drove over to Maastricht and bought my ex-wife's bicycle, I wrote 3 checks to cover the cost of about 900 guilders. Amazingly the checks were never deducted from my account. The next year I was over in Maastricht and went back to the bicycle shop to see what the problem was. They had no record of my purchase or the checks.

I have another amazing and amusing story about Eurocheques that I'll save for my memoirs. It is way off topic because it is out of date. Since the euro, Eurocheques are no more.