French Bank Accounts

[ljnw27746]

Can anyone advise me on the formalities of opening an French bank account, ie: what documents are required, minimum amount needed, are there references required.
Also is it easy to transfer money from uk bank to french bank,
we're think of opening an account well before we buy and saving extra money in it.

[Beth]

As in Britain you will need proof of address, identity (including photo) and signature eg your passport.
If you understand French this website provides information regarding French administration (bank accounts, tax etc)
http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/ARBO/0102-NXEPA115.html
Good luck, Beth
French4u.com

[MCline57]

LES:

Several years ago, we opened an account at the CA. We are American and needed a non resident account. All we had to present was our passport. My husband and I have different last names but they did not ask for any other documents. We opened 2 accounts, a savings account which draws interest and a checking account. I do not remember exactly how much we initially put into each account. Both of these accounts can be easily accessed on the internet. Once a month, we receive a statement for our checking account sent to our address in the States. We are in the Midi region of CA.

Hope this information helps.

Michal Cline

[Lepinas]

Hi, ljnw,
If you are looking to transfer some sterling into french francs (or as it is about to become - euros) you don't have to have a bank account 'over there'. The pound is doing pretty well against the franc at the moment (about 10.75) and to take advantage of the changes it is well worth opening a french currency account in this country. Ours at Natwest carries no charges and we make almost instant exchanges without delays and at the commercial rate between our current and currency accounts.
We can then arrange to make international transfers at our leisure without the risk of short term or unexpected fluctuations in rate. By the time you have researched and arranged a foreign account the pound could have dropped significantly - especially if you are talking house-purchasing sums.
Peter.

[Lepinas]

Hi, ljnw,
If you are looking to transfer some sterling into french francs (or as it is about to become - euros) you don't have to have a bank account 'over there'. The pound is doing pretty well against the franc at the moment (about 10.75) and to take advantage of the changes it is well worth opening a french currency account in this country. Ours at Natwest carries no charges and we make almost instant exchanges without delays and at the commercial rate between our current and currency accounts.
We can then arrange to make international transfers at our leisure without the risk of short term or unexpected fluctuations in rate. By the time you have researched and arranged a foreign account the pound could have dropped significantly - especially if you are talking house-purchasing sums.
Peter.

[Wendy]

We opened a bank account a couple of years ago through Credit Agricole Britline (http://www.ca-calvados.fr)in Caen as they have English speaking staff.
It was very easy, we did everything by post, sent off the requested documents and were then sent our cheque books etc. You can have a current account and savings account and also a share account if required.
This also comes in handy when holidaying in France.

[S8J]

Hi
We opened a bank account with Credit Agricole in our local town. It was easy we just showed our passports and gave our english address then deposited some money... We opted for the cash card as it carries the lowest charges about 2 a month.

If I need to top up my account I just deposit an English cheque If i need to deposit a large amount I ussually get a ff bank draft from A.N. (10)and send it to my bank.

Easy...


Jackie & Steve

[andrewsfamily]

We opened an account in Dieppe with Credit Lyonnais. The Manager was most helpful and we were lucky to have a french friend with us who uses the same bank.

We opened a joint cheque account and also have a CB Visa card.

Thew manager just took copies of our passports for the records. We will be moving to France in early 2002 but wanted a French account for converience. Our advice is to make an appointment and explain your reasons for wanting the account.

We asked if we could have access to telephone / internet services and the answer was Yes -but it costs!!

We deposited ff1000 to start with and we get statements in the post, posted in Denmark!
Duncan

[Bradley Viljoen]

Do try Credit Agricole Britline, they are a department which deal with english clients, and speak english.

We have excellent experience with them

tele.0033231556789
fax.0033231556399
website. www.ca-calvados.fr/britline
[email protected]

[JeanClaude]

Having just purchased a property near Villedieu may we just say that we support and recommend Britline, they have been wonderful. You need passport and birth certificates and all that stuff plus a utility bill in the UK. After that its plain sailing. The easiest way we have found (and the most beneficial ff wise) is to send them UK cheques made out to yourselves for third party cheques cannot be treated as negotiable instruments in France, rdgs

[nicolem]

Hi There!

The Estate Agent very kindly opened the account for us(free of charge). As for putting money into the account we have done it with Bankers Drafts but found for us the best way was by drawing out cash at the bank machine and putting that into our account.
Providing you only use the cash machine once you should only get charged about 1.50 and you get business rate which is better than tourist rate and it's cheaper than a bankers draft.

nicole

[Bonanzaman]

I opened an account using only passport etc all quite straightforward.

I was fed up paying twice to transfer funds from the uk. ie 10 to 15 here plus 10 in France so I now pay cash sterling into my French account where they don't charge any commission. (Credit Agricole)