We’ve still got one even though Barclays have closed our account. It’s exactly the same as the one we use for our French Bank account verifications (before we went to online) and interchangeable.
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I’ve only just started looking - virtual mobile numbers are becoming more available and cheaper. But they replicate UK mobiles via the internet - effectively VoIP. Right now my rare use doesn’t make it worthwhile but they are worth considering
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You can get a UK number via the app https://www.vyke.com. Costs 17 euros or so a year. Don’t need a dual sim phone. It also enables you to port your existing UK number in. I use it, and it works perfectly. You can also port the number away from Vyke should you choose to do that.
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Got an idea Skype does it, not sure how you set it up to receive bank sms’s but sure it would work. And Google Voice would do it for US subscribers, insure if UK subscribers would also.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Since I already have a Samsung smart phone which I just about understand with a vacant space for a second SIM and since Giffgaff seems to work for some here, and Giffgaff have already started the process of sending me one, I’ll try this option first. I really prefer to keep my life as simple as possible when it comes to technology - it does not interest me and so I get no pleasure from delving into anything more complex than I have to. It’s only when I am carried kicking and screaming by the banks into ever more complex levels of security that I have reluctantly taken any of this on board. Hopefully Giffgaff will work. 
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Ok Sue, was just forward thinking as our current card is due for renewal later this year and will be sent to our daughter’s address in England who will then send it on to us. Thinking it might need activating by phone.
When I renewed mine I phoned them and said that I would be staying at our holiday home in France when the card lapsed and would it be possible to send the new card to France. I was told I could change the address on my account to my French address for a brief period - about a month I think. Maybe a bit longer. So the card came straight to France, no hassle. I then changed my account address back to the one I have in the UK.
The letter that came with the card said the first time I use it should be in a shop where they would need a pin and after that it was activated.
All very straightforward.
Interestingly, I think you are right if all you want to do is start using the card. The letter just says: You can start using it from the date stated on the card with your existing PIN.
I’ve just read lower down in the letter it says: To get up and running with contactless you’ll need to pay with your PIN the first time you use your new card in a shop, just so we know it’s you.
Only ever use Barclay credit card for UK online purchases to family in UK which gives a money back guarantee rather than using debit card.
With more modern phones you normally do not need to insert a (micro) sim card … you can download and install an esim instead. It saves waiting for the post and can be managed completely online whether a UK or french service provider.
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Mine does. 
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If you order GiffGaff with a package then if activated overseas the package will only work for 14 days before it is deactivated. It will reactivate when you are back in the UK, or if you put credit on your account (easy to do online) then it will allow you to use credit for making calls or texts if needed (don’t even think of using data this way). However, GiffGaff assure me that the SIM will still receive calls and texts for free - which may be all you need. But just to be safe, put a tenner on the credit and send one text every month to a UK number.
An alternative is Devyce, and I have been using that for 6 months now but find it a bit clunky TBH and I moved my wife’s phone to GiffGaff a month ago and may well follow suit as it seems to be working well. Devyce uses wifi and a dedicated app, rather than through your normal phone app . It does work, but as I say I find it clunky and the app crashes now and again. OTOH I have had no problem receiving texts - calls occasionally I find that I can’t answer and have to ring back, which is why I may switch.
Previously I was with Three (for donkeys years) but they cut me off at Christmas when I stupidly switched on data roaming as I was in Germany and thought I would divide my overseas allowance between that and my French SIM. I called and they said it would be reset when I was in the UK, and it was but the second I came back to France it stopped. I wasn’t using data as I have plenty on my French SIM for that. And, as you are discovering, so many things use two step authentication these days and you can be really stuffed. I couldn’t even access my Three account online because that insists on SMS verification but they stopped me getting it!!! I had been paying £22 a month for very little use - almost no data (just on UK visits when I wanted it to be unlimited for tethering) and maybe an hour of calls a month, if that. Their loss and I am fighting them over the cancellation fee because I paid for a service they didn’t deliver. I spent 18 months here under lockdown without it being a problem but it seems now they are really clamping down.
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I was in same situation with Three, but when my contract finally ended, I ported my UK number into the Vyke app on my phone, and now only have a French sim and I can receive and make calls/texts using my UK number using data or wifi.
Thanks Russell for the explanation. I get the impression this is what @AngelaR is doing and it’s working for her, so I intend to follow suit, when the SIM arrives.
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@SuePJ - as mentioned in the previous message, you need to use the sim within the 6 month limit otherwise you lose the pay as you go credit you add. So simply sending a text every ‘just before 6 months expires’ period. There is actually a giffgaff community which I have found helpful, and this fact is confirmed several times, with the below response being the latest one I could find.
https://community.giffgaff.com/d/33593065-how-long-does-credit-last-for-assuming-you-dont-use-it
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You need to read their Fair Usage Policy, which is unfortunately subject to change without notice. Three changed theirs half way through my contract and it is not deemed to be a breach of the Terms and Conditions so you cannot break the contract. I had to continue paying even though the service was blocked until the sim returned to the UK and was used on the UK network. Here is Giff Gaffs fair usage policy - read the stuff towards the bottom.
The Vyke option is so simple,
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For me at least, giffgaff has worked well so far as I don’t use ‘goodybags’ and I only use the sim with added credit to receive texts. For regular mobile use i.e. text, data, calls, I have my French sim.
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If thinking of using Wyke read the reviews first!
Hi,
I use giffgaff in France, perfectly fine! When signing up there are loads of offers - use a recruiter - think my offer was £10 if anyone interested! £5 to the new recruit?
Then in operation, they will give you credit - ‘community payback’ - more than cover a text every 6 months. I can’t recall how much I paid at first, £5 or £10, but my balance is 14 at the mo and I never paid any more.
You are also e-mailed before ‘expiry’ deadline - about a month before.
edit - also if you happen to be in the UK, you can call a freephone number 0800, 0808 and that counts for the six monthly use period - so no need to even text.
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