New Bank .. Fortuneo or Boursorama .. ?

[suein56]

Due to the unnerving changes forced upon us when Banque Populaire Atlantique was absorbed into a group now called B P Grand Ouest we are looking to change banks.

No longer needing an on ground bank I have narrowed the choice down to 2 .. as above.

So, my question, is anyone here with either Fortuneo or Boursorama who wouldn't mind giving their opinion of them ?

Or are the differences between them so small it doesn't matter ?

[pomme]

I have a Boursorama account. The change-over of direct debits, etc from our high street bank was painless and only took a few weeks (although I prolonged it to make my monthly accounting easier). If I remember correctly it was only my internet providers who required me to e-mail a RIB. Boursorama got the details of all the others from my old bank and contacted them.

As with a lot of swapping banks, there are a couple of offers for opening and account depending on the options (we got a total of 130€).

We each deposited 5000€+ in Livret A accounts which entitled us to VISA Premier cards with travel insurance. The transfer of the UK state pension payments was done in a day by phone a week or so after we'd opened the joint account and had the IBAN details.

So far all has been fine with the account. The internet banking works well although it is not as current as you get from UK banks - but that is due to the way the French banking system works rather than Boursorama.

I download statements of the joint account and the two VISA accounts in the correct format to load into MS Money.

It is probably easier if you ask about any specific matters?

[suein56]

Pomme wrote : The internet banking works well although it is not as current as you get from UK banks - but that is due to the way the French banking system works rather than Boursorama.

Thanks for that Pomme .. it is most helpful.

Does that mean that Boursorama doesn't use real-time money movement ?

We use the internet for all our banking, savings etc both here and in the UK so it is crucial for me that that side of things is fast.

BPA have real-time money movement between our savings accounts (with them) i.e. Livret As and our joint current account so we can see the funds arriving immediately.

Transfers arriving via TransferWise are credited quickly .. sometimes the same day but always by the next day depending on what time of day TW actually made the transfer.

So that kind of service is what I am hoping to find in the new bank.

[NormanH]

I too have Boursorama and have even "parrainé" a couple of people which got me over €100 a time[:D]

There are just two small things you might need to know.

1) there is no way that I know of putting cash into the account, only cheques or transfers. As I still have a traditional account that doesn't give me too much of a problem, but if it were my only account it might.

2) The of the thing that Fortunea do but boursorama doesn't is to let you have a single purchase card which some people like for security on the internet

3) paying in cheques it's a bit different: you fill in an online 'virtual' deposit form, which replaces the paper one you would use in another bank, and afterwards you send the cheque off by post.

I have been very satisfied by the service, and my total charges for last year 25 centimes, as there is no charge for the card.

I am over 70 and had given up any idea of a loan, but have just been offered a €10,000 loan at ......95% !!!

However as pomme says it can take a couple of days for debits and credits to appear in your online account although I find "sans contact"transactions appear more quickly .

[BritinBretagne]

Jus5 out of interest what unnerving changes have been forced upon you? I too am a BP customer and I have always been pleased with the service they offer but, as with a lot of these things, it might be as much to do with the staff I deal with than the chain in general.

I have always found their online banking facilities to be excellent, my British bank is only beginning to catch up in that regard.

[NormanH]

BP like Credit Agricôle is a regional bank so there might well be differences between areas.

Down here BP is

1) Enormously expensive, in particular charging a daily rate for authorised overdrafts. I went 600€ over for 10 days during my recent move and despite having a reasonable amount in my Livret A  they charged me 60€! The monthly 15+ euros for the card comes to over 180€ a year whereas the Boursorame card is free.

2) Very unreactive. It took 2 months and 5 emails to change my address and

then another before my branch  was 'domiciliée' here

3)Has a creaky internet site

4) Here at least very surly staff and a intrusive "conseiller" who tried to flog me 6000€ of a BP 'produit' which was based on the bourse, not secured and which I could only get at by going into see him, despite the fact I had made it clear that they were exactly things I wished to avoid

[NormanH]

I forgot to say that there is a Boursorama app which I don't use but which may be more rapid in showing transactions than the website

[suein56]

Thank you Norman for your comprehensive reply .. your info and insight are, as ever, invaluable.

BinB .. apparently we have had halcyon years as BPAtlantique but now the more agressive and greedy Grand Ouest has swallowed us up.

Already 3 of us are struggling with charges suddenly appearing on our statements saying we have been overdrawn .. so 6€ for every day you have done that, up to 80€ a month. Although we have an approved overdraft facility .. which comes with the card.

Though, when I queried this - I have never ever been overdrawn .. they reimbursed the 6€ charge 'cos they couldn't find the few hours that we were apparently overdrawn.

Same thing with an elderly friend .. no reply yet to that query of when this happened.

A third friend suddenly had his card and account blocked .. apparently he had spent too much but they didn't tell him anything just blocked the lot. He certainly didn't go overdrawn .. I saw his balance ?

[pomme]

[quote user="suein56"]Pomme wrote : The internet banking works well although it is not as current as you get from UK banks - but that is due to the way the French banking system works rather than Boursorama.

Thanks for that Pomme .. it is most helpful.

Does that mean that Boursorama doesn't use real-time money movement ?

We use the internet for all our banking, savings etc both here and in the UK so it is crucial for me that that side of things is fast.

BPA have real-time money movement between our savings accounts (with them) i.e. Livret As and our joint current account so we can see the funds arriving immediately.

Transfers arriving via TransferWise are credited quickly .. sometimes the same day but always by the next day depending on what time of day TW actually made the transfer.

So that kind of service is what I am hoping to find in the new bank.[/quote]

Transactions moving money from current to savings accounts are instantaneous using the virement instantané option. But I've just noticed transfers from a Livret A or savings account show as not compatible with virement instantané.

I've not needed to make a transfer out of the account but I assume the account would be debited immediately but it might take a day or more for before it shows on the recipient account.

When I've transferred into the account using Revolut or TW the payment has shown in the account the next day.

The slower transactions are card payments where the French banking only seem to settle overnight (or longer at weekends).

The smartphone app is easy to use and you can . Direct debit transactions show up as future transactions a day or two before the payment, which can be useful if you are watching the balance.

Given how low interest rates are now, we always keep a large enough balance to cover all our know upcoming transactions so I've not needed to investigate overdrawn accounts.

[suein56]

Very useful detailed information there Pomme .. so thank you very much for that, it is much appreciated.

It seems that BP still have quite an edge on speed of transaction in and out but now, as BPGO, whilst they have retained the speed, they have added a complete disdain for customers and customer satisfaction.

It is certainly most frustrating at present.

My UK bank is First Direct who have always been excellent in every respect so they are a most difficult act to follow.

[NormanH]

No comfort to you Sue, but as I said my experience with BP de Sud is uncannily similar and I have now cancelled my account with them, replacing it with Boursorama, but keeping  a Crédit Agricôle one open in case I ever need to go into a bank physically.

[suein56]

Norman wrote : No comfort to you Sue, but as I said my experience with BP de Sud is uncannily similar and I have now cancelled my account with them, replacing it with Boursorama, but keeping a Crédit Agricôle one open in case I ever need to go into a bank physically.

How do you find Crédit Agricole Norman ? Have they moved into the 21st century as regards transactions being speedily achieved or have they retained their long-held reputation as being dinosaurs ?

[NormanH]

I have kept my account with them out of laziness since I opened it even before I came to France, in the days when they had a branch in London. They may well have re-opened there given the number of French people in the UK now.

Cash deposits and withdrawals show up online the same day.

Transfers out show up immediately.

Transfers  paid in take 24 hours if a working day.

They are much more restrictive about the amount you can transfer online without going into the branch (3000 I think) than Boursorama which is logical since that bank have no branches to go into..

I don't know of a  French bank that shows 'real-time' balances.

I have something a bit like that with my Transfer wise debit card, which sends me an SMS when I use it, but if I hadn't got that I wouldn't even have known that it existed from my experience with French cards.

I don't think that  the TW card would be what you want though, but for interest it is the TW Borderless account.

https://transferwise.com/help/17/borderless-account/2897226/whats-a-borderless-account