French bank account question

Banking & Financial Tax & Social charges
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#1

Morning all,

My father is being driven demented by his BNP account and wishes to change banks. As he is a UK resident the easy to use online accounts such as Monabanq and Hello aren’t interested. We have recently moved to Banque Populaire and have an efficient contact there so I explored this. However it is a no go as he would need to be physically present in Dax for at least one meeting and this is a non starter at the moment.

So my question is , does anyone here know of a traditional French bank which will let you move your account to them remotely. I cannot believe that this is impossible in this day and age but I imagine that each bank will have its individual policy ?

Any pointers very gratefully received! Thanks !

#2

Could he not use Transfer Wise borderless account or Revolute.

#3

I had a look and found this. It might do it… Ouvrir un compte EKO | Crédit Agricole

#4

Thanks @Fleur - unfortunately that is only open to French fiscal residents when you check the small print unless you can go into a branch and Revolut no good as he needs to make standing order payments and a cheque book.

#5

Britline?

#6

How about britline then.

#7

Actually that is probably not a bad option!

#8

I use Revolut. Multi currency banking service. Set it up online, I’ve usd it in UK, France, HK and NZ.

#9

Yeah, was going to suggest that myself - see I got to the party a bit late :rofl:

#10

Does Revolut provide a cheque book though.

#11

Does Revolut provide a cheque book though

Probably not.

#12

That’s a pity. Hope you find something.

#13

I managed to open a German account by videoconference.
I found this:

Good luck!

#14

No it doesn’t but you can set up Direct Debits and standing orders for regular payments and as @james knows ('cos we tried it) you can send an email link to a recipient who can collect the money directly by clicking on the link.

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#15

I

Just going by cat saying he needed a cheque book.

#16

ing.fr

#17

It’s the fiscal residence issue again :frowning:

#18

An additional word of warning…
Before brexit my daughter opened an account at our nearest bank (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne) - very straightforward - just the usual identity proofs required. My son has just done the same - with several more bureaucratic barriers to overcome, which the bank has specifically said are due to brexit. One of these was that they won’t just accept a passport on its own, but also require certification from the issuing authority, known as a ‘Special Access Request’ or SAR - basically a formal list of all the passports issued for the person in question - only obtainable from the Peterborough passport office ‘Disclosure Team’ - who are currently so overwhelmed (again because of brexit) that they are taking 4-6 weeks to respond.

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#19

no-one thought about that one, did they… I blame Doris and Gove the shrove :roll_eyes:

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#20

Check out Starling Bank.
I have one and it allows multiple sub-accounts in different currencies with no or minimal fees.
I lent a friend some dollars in Honduras and he paid me back in Sterling from Canada.
For small sums it is a good way to convert to Euros.
It is also high on the ethical scale.