I get a little irritated when my annual fee for having a debit card arrives on my statement in July and this year would like to do something about it.
Cant really understand why the French have allowed the banks to charge a fee for providing a card enabling them to spend their own money ! i have never seen this in the UK and 10 years ago didnt pay much attention to the fee as it was pretty low - but now its in the 40 euro range i feel its a rip off.
Plus they have other odd little fees meaning when i operate the account normally and transfer in funds a few times a year , i will end up paying at least 100 euro in charges which i dont want to do !
So my question is are there any alternative banks who dont charge this fee ? or is another big money cartel ...........
Currently i am with Credit Agricole but a change is imminent !
Steve
has anyone noticed the extra charged now applied if you get euros from your UK a/c from the hole in the wall? This comes up as Non-StgTrans Fee and is in addition to the usual cash charge - I am heartily sick of these robbing bar stewards!!
No problem. Will probably keep it anyway, as a kind of insurance. All is good here. Not swamped with bookings but ticking over.
Hi Sheila, all ok here thanks although it's tough going :-O
Sorry slip up there - no, yours is probably just a CB which is debited as you spend à la française so you might want to keep your Irish ones although 40€ sounds steep...!
Hope everything's fine with you ;-)
à +
Hi Andrew. Hope all is well with you, family and business. Are you saying that what they have sent us is not only CB but functions as credit card as well? If so, I can then get rid of the Irish credit card for which I am charged at least €40 per year just for the card. Anyway, we've received the cards now, and presume the PINs will arrive in the next couple of days, along with the codes for internet banking.
if you go for just the basics with a hole in the wall card but not a credit card, Sheila, it's just 0,95€ a quarter ;-)
Hi. My first bank account here with was with Credit Agricole Britline, which meant I could open the account before leaving Ireland to come and live here. I went to the post office last Monday, saw the Conseiller, who opened a joint account for us on the spot. Today, the cartes bleus arrived - one for each of us (which wasn't requested but we think may come in handy). It has "Visa" and "Electron" on it - not sure what that means, but so far (and it's early days) I'm impressed with La Banque Postale. I think the charge per quarter is €11 for the account, and includes internet access.
La Banque Postale costs almost nothing, a few euros a year for an account. Have had one for years with no problems. I use Oney/Banque accord for my credit card which is free while all the high street banks charge for one. If you don't mind internet banking then go for ING - their current account is free and so is their credit card. Crédit Agricole are great for business/professional accounts, mortgages and business loans but probably not what most people on sfn need (I do and they're excellent and most of the staff are customers of mine too...!). Don't know about transfers/exchanges etc because everything I do is here and in euros!