 Poster: A snowHead
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Our bank in France - BPE - is making some changes and we need to find a new bank. Wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations? We'll be using it for direct debits for the local taxes, bills etc. The mortgage is now paid off, so we're not talking about huge amounts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Cheesie168, I use Britline and have had no problems
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Cheesie168, I’m migrating all my stuff over to the Transferwise multi currency account, which a) is free, and b) allows many other currencies.
So far, the one direct debit I’ve moved over seems to work fine.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We moved to HSBC who are our main UK bank. Have been very good and easy to use on-line.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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What does it cost to run a standard current account in France? I suspect I may be overpaying..
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@boredsurfin, €25.20 per year with Britline, plus €42 per year for the first debit card and €21 for a second.
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We were with Barclays France but this is now Milleis. Account fee is 3.75€ per month. Not sure what CB fee is but less than Barclays were charging.
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HSBC: I think we pay €22.50/year for the account including the app and € 45 for 2 cards. Our French friends think that is pretty good by French standards. It has some kind of link to our U.K. HSBC Premier account.
Service/functionality has been good
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I use my Britline account for direct debits , tax fonconciere and local bills etc and have done for 15 years , I have a debit card with them also but I’m finding I’m now using Revolut for more and more daily transactions for ease and cost . In my 15 years of having a property in the alps this combo I’m finding the best I’ve ever had .
By the way I also found Britline very competitive on insurance .
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Crédit Agricole 3 Euros per quarter, no debit card. Direct Debits work ok but cash withdrawal at branch is 1.6 Euros, ok for me as I just take out 500 Euros a couple of times per year. Account can be viewed online.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks all, I appreciate the ideas. I sort of always liked having a bank account in France with a local branch. Made me feel more 'local' somehow. Oh well times change.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm with credit agricole as my day to day bank here in Cham. Has its ups and downs compared the UK acccount. I pay for the account and the debit card, about 6/7 euro a month and they can suddenly decide you've spent enough with contactless that month and block it without warning.
However, its nice to have an actual person in a branch you can just email with any questions and they respond quickly. The lady who set me up with my account spoke perfect English and was very helpful. 90% of the time the debit card works fine. They require authorisation every time you pay for something online which sounds annoying at first but they have an app which works well so you can authorise payments on your phone there and then. Internet banking is easy to set up and use. Also the debit card has a nice picture of Mont Blanc on it 
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Plus 1 for CA Britline, they are also great for property insurance
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You know it makes sense.
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Starling ? IIRC if you store over €50k in it they'll levy a 0.5% charge though.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I'm happy with my HSBC account, not needed to do anything complicated with it though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We’ve just opened a Britline account - a bit of a faff with various bits of paperwork and signing stuff to get it set up, but it’s aimed specifically at Brits (says Captain Obvious...) so very helpful fluent English speakers on phone and by email.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I use Credit Mutual, lots of branches dotted around and our local branch very easy to deal with, Debit cards, cheque book etc. Never thought of getting anything other than a french bank given the amount of time we spend there.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Been using Britline for a few years, but recent events have shown their service to be dreadful.
I have been paying hundreds of euros a year for a Mastercard plus extra insurance ( Gold Card ).
When I asked them to do a chargeback for non delivery of services, they said that they could only do it if the firm had gone bust.
This is contrary to French legislation which makes states that chargeback is applicable for this.
Furthermore even though my booking were made well before the global pandemic, they said that the Gold level of Travel insurance does not cover this either.
So they have been happily taking 1000's of euros from me and when it comes to using the services for which I am paying, they refuse.
Luckily I speak French so do not require an English speaking service.
I am thinking of switching to Credit Mutuel.
I have to say that Britline have been very unhelpful and opaque on this, so I would avoid them.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@WindOfChange, thanks for this info. We were looking at Britline per the recommendations but now going to have a rethink. Like you we do not need the English speaking service, OK, makes it a bit easier if we are tired/in a rush, but if I am honest, I still like the idea of a French bank.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Britline for sure , i switched after credit du nord got so bad
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@WindOfChange, does N26 require you to leave in EEA (or at least EU plus a selection of countries that excludes the UK) for an EU account?
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Interesting comments so far (thanks). Interestingly, I found out that an HSBC Currency account may not have the facility for direct debits? Not great, as we tend to use our French bank to pay EDF bills, telecomms bills, etc. that way. Anyone with an HSBC Currency account able to confirm/deny this?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@MattressTester, My HSBC France account is a normal current account, with the same features as my UK current account. Have had a Currency account too in the past but that was just for business use.
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| rjs wrote: |
| @MattressTester, My HSBC France account is a normal current account, with the same features as my UK current account. Have had a Currency account too in the past but that was just for business use. |
Same for us HSBC France account works for EDF etc.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Revolut.
Multi currency.
Runs off an app which allows you to set payments up.
You get a card with it
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Credit Agricole is pretty good, but you have to open the account in the department where your permanent address is, amd then if you move you have to go back to that department to open new accounts, etc.
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You know it makes sense.
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credit agricole
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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FAQ
