You are two weeks into your new life and your employer asks for your RIB, the relevé d'identité bancaire. Your landlord wants it too, and so does the health insurance. A French bank account is not strictly compulsory, but it is the key that opens everything else. The good news: it is free to open, and the law protects you if a bank says no.
What documents do you need to open a bank account in France?
The Service-Public page lists two basic things. The first is a valid official ID with a photo: a national ID card, a passport, an EU residence card or another residence permit. The second is a proof of address (justificatif de domicile): a tax notice, a rent receipt, a utility bill. If you have no stable address, a certificate of address election may work, and if you are hosted by a friend or relative, the bank may ask for an accommodation certificate with the host's papers.
Banks do not all behave the same way. Online banks verify your documents through a provider and may ask for a first transfer from an account in your name. In both cases, opening is free, though maintenance or card fees can apply, so read the tariff sheet.
Should you choose a traditional bank or an online one?
This is a matter of taste and need. A branch gives you a person to talk to, which helps if you have a mortgage in mind. An online bank is convenient if you want to open the account from your phone. Compare the monthly account fee, the card fee, the cost of withdrawals abroad and the quality of the English-language app.
If you plan to buy a home, a French account with some history is helpful. Banks look at the stability of your income in France when they study a loan. Our guide to buying property in France explains the limits for repayments.
Can you keep your bank account from your home country?
Yes, within the SEPA area. A euro transfer in the EU does not cost more than a domestic one, and a foreign IBAN cannot be refused for a direct debit by an organisation that accepts French accounts. Many expats keep their old account for a year or two to ease the transition.
A French RIB, however, remains the simplest document to show when someone asks for bank details. If you come from Switzerland or the UK, the fees on transfers from your old bank are set by that bank, so check them before the move.
What if a French bank refuses to open your account?
A bank can say no. It then has to tell you that you may ask the Banque de France to exercise your droit au compte, the right to an account. Here is the procedure, from the Banque de France page:
- Ask the bank for a written refusal, free of charge. If you get no reply within 15 days, silence counts as a refusal.
- File your request with the Banque de France: online, at a branch or by post. You need the form, the refusal (or proof of your request), a valid ID and a proof of address under three months old.
- The Banque de France designates a bank within 24 hours of receiving a complete file.
- The bank sends you its list of documents within three days, and you have six months to contact it. Once your file is complete, it must open the account within three days.
You must not already hold an individual account in France (unless it is being closed). EU residents in other member states can also use the procedure.
What does the right to an account include?
Free basic services: a payment card with systematic authorisation, SEPA transfers and direct debits (including instant transfers), balance checks remotely, monthly statements, cash deposits and withdrawals at the counter, and two cheques or equivalent a month. The fees for intervention are capped at €4 per operation and €20 per month. You get a real account, not a poor man's version.
What do you do with your new RIB?
Give it to your employer so you can be paid, to your landlord for the rent, to the Assurance Maladie for reimbursement, and to the family allowance office if you are entitled to benefits. Your tax office will also want it if you opt for monthly payments or to receive a refund. A direct debit or an online payment on a French site will ask for the IBAN. Make several digital copies and a paper one.
For the full picture of the first weeks, return to the moving to France checklist.
What about the overseas departments?
The euro is the currency in the overseas departments and the French law on bank accounts applies there too, so the documents above are the starting point. Confirm the practical details with the bank you choose. If you plan to live in Guadeloupe, Martinique or Réunion, read living in the French overseas departments before you travel.
What does a bank account in France cost?
Opening is free, but the bank may charge a maintenance fee and fees for the card and some operations, all of which must be detailed in its tariff information. Read it before you sign, and compare. Under the right to an account, the basic services are free and incident fees are capped, which is a useful benchmark: if another bank charges much more for the same basics, ask why.
Euro transfers within the EU cost no more than national ones, so receiving your salary from abroad or sending money to your former country should not carry a penalty in the euro area. For payments in other currencies, banks set their own fees, so check them.
What happens when you open a bank account in France?
You must be an adult or an emancipated minor. Minors act through their legal representatives, and protected adults are assisted or represented. You deposit a specimen of your signature with the bank, which also has to report the opening to the national file of accounts, called Ficoba. It is a routine formality. After that you receive your RIB, your card and access to online banking.
Can a French organisation refuse your foreign IBAN?
Not if it accepts direct debits from French accounts. In the EU, an organisation cannot reject a payer's IBAN because it comes from another member state. If it does, you can report it to the competent national authority. This matters for utilities, insurers and subscriptions: keep your foreign account for as long as it is useful, but expect most French services to prefer a French RIB for convenience.
How do you close a bank account in France?
The bank must close an account within 30 days at most, usually around 10 days. Before you ask, change your direct debits, your salary payment and your tax payments to the new account, because a closed account will bounce payments. If you leave France later, remember to cancel recurring payments and to check whether you owe fees.
Which bank account should you set up first when moving to France?
Open the account that will receive your salary or pension, and ask for the RIB straight away. Then redirect your landlord, your health insurance and your utilities. For the full sequence of the first month, follow the moving to France checklist. When you later need a home loan, the bank account in France that has your salary history will help your file, and the details are in buying property in France.