Opening a bank account in France
 

I would appreciate any advice on opening a bank account, the lowest fees charged etc - I am thinking of using the Poste Service banking - opinions?

Thanks
Kestrel

this is a travel forum so if you have moved to France then ask the same question here.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=76

Actually, I was wondering about this as well. We are not moving to France, but planning on a long-stay and it would be convenient to open a bank account there. The expat site provided is for UK expats, and doesn't necessarily apply to US citizens.

Not every poster here travels for only a week or two...

While a US resident cannot open an account with Britline, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Normandie offering banking service in English, their website gives a lot of useful info on opening and running a bank account in France, including the fees (there is no such thing as 'free' bank account):
http://www.britline.com/
But each case is considered on its merit, so you can visit a bank branch and discuss the possibility of opening an account with a staff member. Having a long-term visa and a property - either owned or rented - may help.

Unless you intend to work in a country it's rare to need a bank account in that country as you can use ATMs to withdraw te cash that is needed ona day to day basis.

If you are intending to stay long term then the first port of call is getting a suitable visa as there are no legal ways of staying long term in France otherwise

Yes, I have been here over a year with an appropriate long stay Visa, don't work here but a bank account is required for the basic French medical insurance which I have applied for and have been accepted.

You might check out the conditions for some of the online banks in France: Axa Banque, Monabanq, Boursorama Banque.

Frankly, I am at Axa Banque and have always been satisfied by their services. I considered moving to Boursorama Banque because they give their Visa cards free of charge, but they ticked me off by being too pushy. I filled out their form for information, which I received the next day, but then they were calling me within 48 hours later for me to open the account. If I had wanted to talk to them on the phone, I would have called them in the first place!

The Banque Postale is fine if you like to see your banker often, use banking services anywhere in France, not to mention being open until 8pm in Paris and 7pm in other big cities -- as well as Saturday morning.

<i>there is no such thing as 'free' bank account</i>

I am not aware that I am paying anything for my account at the Crédit Agricole, even getting new checks is free. On the other hand, I do not have an ATM card and withdraw money exclusively by paying by check. It probably would not work for anyone deciding to use their French bank as the primary one during their stay in France.

Michael:

Does Crédit Agricole charge you for wire deposits (if you make them)? My Crédit Commerciale du Sudouest charges me 18 euros every time I make a wire deposit.

If you are moving money from currency to currency, dont use your bank! they rip you off with dodgy exchange rates of up to 3% on each transaction, and charge you for the privildge. best way id to use a currency specialist like Currencies Direct www.currenciesdirect.net/chrisf will set you straight

You know in France you can open an accout with La Poste- They call it in France La Banque Postale. Usually their fees are cheaper than regular banks. It is worth a shot.

StCirq,

I do not do wire deposits. I just recently used xe.com for electronic transfers. To my knowledge, there is no charge for that, but I'll see when I'll get the next bank statement.

I'll add to my previous statement. I did an electronic transfer directly to a provider's account and the sum transferred by xe.com was identical to the sum deposited in the account. So my guess is that there is no charge.

It is good to know that regarding the euro zone, anything that you can do for free in your own euro zone country is also free for anywhere else in the euro zone.

When the euro first arrived, the banks did not agree. They were thinking, "hmmmm, if we are charging 5€ as an international transaction fee, let's say it is only 2.50€ in the euro zone" -- etc. The European Commission (bless it, since it is so often damned) contradicted them with "the euro was created to eliminate all foreign charges within the zone" -- and the banks were forced to cancel their charges. In France, we are lucky that just about all French transactions are free, so that makes them free in most of Europe.

Thank you everyone for your comments, they are helpful and appreciated.

"It is good to know that regarding the euro zone, anything that you can do for free in your own euro zone country is also free for anywhere else in the euro zone."

You bet! I was charged €3,35 by my bank to send €87 to a German bank account :-(

Then that means that your bank charges 3.35€ to send money to a French bank account also. Some of the bad banks in France do charge for bank transfers. That's why there are plenty of internet sites comparing bank fees.

I have accounts at BNP Paribas, Banque Postale, Axa Banque, and Caisse d'Epargne. Internet transfers are free at all of them. In fact the only bank that charges me anything is the Banque Postale, at which I pay a humungous account fee of 0.75€ per quarter.

Kerouac :
I live in France and my bank is BNP Paribas !

<i>You bet! I was charged €3,35 by my bank to send €87 to a German bank account</i>

I'm not surprised. My Berlin cousin has to pay an annual tax on a piece of agricultural land in France, and the transfer would cost more than his tax--about 15€. He sends cash and hopes that it gets there.