emma5 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Can anyone tell me if all banks charge a monthly fee for the debit card and cheque book insurance, at the minute we will be paying 120.00 euros a year, which if this is the case for all banks i dont mind doing, but if they dont all charge this, i would rethink my bank. It's CA by the way. Thanks Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 All banks have lists of their charges in their branches, usually on the wall and usually in pamphlet form. You could always pick up a few and compare. I'm afraid stating a price just like that means nothing as there are many types of cards all costing different amounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Zoff Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 I have a current account with C-A in Allier, central France. Cheque book and debit card. A charge of 5,10 euros is posted at end of each month. C-A may not have standard charges across France as it seems they consist of a number of regional banks operating under same banner but with different local organisation and profit centres.The monthly charge came as a surprise (I should have asked more questions when I opened the account) but I have to say they are extremely helpful and pleasant to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmike Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 BNP Paribas Esprit Libre account is 7,20 per month which includes cover on your carte bleu, access to your accounts via web and phone plus a few goodies like medical assistance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Retired (I am now) Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 We opened our current account with Credit Agricole in Charente-Maritime / Deux-Sevres last year. We get a cheque book and a simple cash machine card. It costs us 3.55 euros a month with fantastic "personal banker" service. Faxed instructions (The first payment to EDF when we had no cheque book, standing orders, one-off payments, direct transfers to other accounts etc.) are confirmed back to us in England by phone, nothing seems too big a problem for them - brilliant!!The cash machine card is limited for use only in Charente-Maritime and Deux SevresIf only we could get a similar service here in UK.PS We declined a better bank card that we could use in shops and petrol stations too as it would cost another couple of euros a month and we didn't think we'd need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma5 Posted November 17, 2005 Author Share Posted November 17, 2005 hi, thanks to everyone for there replies, i think we have signed up for the all singing all dancing cards, we can use them in the petrol station and shops etc, we've decided to settle for these, but have to say, the chap was really helpful but he didnt discuss any other card options with us, ie cheaper ones, i think the language barrier, re banking terms just got me this time. Will know better for next time. Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma5 Posted November 17, 2005 Author Share Posted November 17, 2005 hi, thanks to everyone for there replies, i think we have signed up for the all singing all dancing cards, we can use them in the petrol station and shops etc, we've decided to settle for these, but have to say, the chap was really helpful but he didnt discuss any other card options with us, ie cheaper ones, i think the language barrier, re banking terms just got me this time. Will know better for next time. Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterCD Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 We have a joint account with Credit Mutuel in Charente Maritime and for a cheque book and two bank cards we pay EURO 7.61/month.PeterCD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilec Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Ours is with Credit Mutuel in 53. We pay 3.50€ per month for the account with cheque book and maestro card which can be used anywhere in france for cash, and purchases, including 24 hour fuel. The maestro card cost 18€However, internet access costs 0.50€ per day of use, so I don't use it too often.There are several types of card, cash only, the type we have, then the "credit" cards which are not really. They can cost a lot more.Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miki Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 I cannot believe anyone would want to pay a bank for a credit card for everyday use.We are with Oney, (originally Egg France and ex-Prudential, which was then bought by Accord Auchans credit "arm"), as the Pru could not convince enough of the French what a good deal it was for many of them !! We pay 35 euros per year BUT we get 1% cashback on all card purchases, thereby making the card better than free, as we get a nice few euros back annually.You simply designate a French bank to which Oney can take your monthly purchase total and they then get remboursed from whichever bank you offer them.If you give them my personal reference number, you get the first year FREE of the annual 35 euros charge and I get the equivalent for every new member I give them. Now that's a good deal eh !Sod paying any French bank any more than is necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneb Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 We're with the BNP. No charge for a current account with cheque book, though internet access costs €0.5 per time which I think is a bit off. Our CB/Visa card costs €44 per year, but when I complained and said I really only needed a basic CB card our bank manager gave us a 50% discount ! I think it's a good idea to be friendly with the manager of your bank. Ours getting a Christmas card from us :-)Btw, I love the way that in France I know our bank manager and we shake hands every time I see him. In the UK I haven't a clue who my bank manager is and I don't think he or she has a clue who I am. The French are so nice :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturrdave Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 I`ve see here, horror stories of French banks charging for everything from direct debits, to credit cards, to accessing accounts on the web, to monthly charges for having access to your money ! ! !Does anyone know of a French bank which comes near to giving free banking?Thanks in advance for any help you can give.sturrdave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrym Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 I've used the online bank from AXA for several years now after getting tired of the card charge by standard banks ) CA and the Banque Populaire - they do charge for your card but give cash back against the card cost (see www.axabanque.fr) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturrdave Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Thanks Barrym.I took a look at the website, and was able to get the gist of it, but I didn`t see any mention of chequebooks.Does the on-line Axa account come with a chequebook?Thanks again.Best regards sturrdave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrym Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 I've found the account does everything I need - chequebook included. And any money transfered online, even to another French bank, seems to happen the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 The only (I think) French bank that doesn't charge is CaixaBank (a subsidiary of a Spanish building society). Min balance for free banking (and it appears to be free in the UK sense of the word) is 1500€ as far as I know. They even pay interest on the account!Downside is that they don't have a whole lot of branches. Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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