Echoing all the comments here, it's no different to us having our French account with Credit Agricole although we currently live in the UK, they send our statements to our UK address, but we do have to pick up cards etc in person. Fortunately our son in law does it on our behalf with a covering letter if we're not due to be in France for a few weeks.
My wife and I bank with Barclays and they send cards and cheque books to France, and have done for the last 25 years
We also lived in France since 1998 and continue to use our Nationwide account with our local France address. They continue to send us new debit cards for free when needed.
It's also helpful to keep your UK Bank Account just is case you need to move back to the UK, as it can be difficult to open a new account in the UK if you've no credit rating.
Why? We have been here 4 years and kept our UK accounts with the Co-op Bank. They have continured to send us replacement cheque books and debit cards to France as and when required. Received a new debit card the other week due to the previous one reaching it's expiry date. What will happen when your current debit card reached it's expiry date? Will you have to go to the UK to pick up a new one? Or get it sent to a friend? If they stick to this rule I would think about changing your bank before you come over here
We have a French account already with La Poste. Thank you for the comments though, I'll have a look at ING.
Thank you, I hadn't realised they would do this. Much simpler, obviously.
I just asked my bank and they will do this, although they won't send cheque books or debit cards to France.
I have 2 different french accounts, credit agricole as they have an English speaking department, and also BNP as it is local and I have not had any issues with either.
I agree with all previous comments - keep your current UK account and change its address to your French one.
If in fact you are also looking for a French account to deal with life here once you have moved, which is quite vital, it is true that it can be hard to find one that does not have a monthly charge.
I highly recomment ING - who dispense with the charges as everything is done online, and will give you a free gold mastercard, as well as 80€ just for opening the current account if you use this link.Of course they slip me a wee something for recommending them, but to be honest, I was doing the recommending even before they paid me for it, I am genuinely pleased with the services - including on the one occasion in the last 5 years that I needed to contact customer services...
ING having a presence both in the UK and on the continent is also helpful for inter-account transfers.
Exactly - no need to change anything exept your address, just keep your existing account. Like Charles, I still have my Nationwide account and haven't paid a penny for it for the last 10 plus years I've been in France ;-)
Why not keep your existing UK account. I have a Nationwide account which I have had for many years. When relocating to France 8 yrs ago they just changed my address to France. However as a non UK resident I would not now be able to open any new UK based bank accounts.