Hello! I am starting a brief series on how to move to France. I moved to France in March 2020 (the day before the government closed its borders due to COVID-19). As such, I wanted to offer information on my experience with the hope it will help those of you looking to move.
The Importance of the French Bank Account and Differences between France and the U.S.
So, if you want to move to France the first thing you need to do is open a French bank account. In France, you pay your bills (including your rent) via direct debit from your bank account. Once you open the account your bank will provide you with a “RIB,” which stands for relevé d’identité bancaire. It essentially is a piece of paper with all of your bank details. You will HAVE to provide this sheet of paper in order to find an apartment, obtain a cellphone plan, or get electricity. And, the only way you will receive this is by opening a French bank account.
When to Open Your Account?
As far as timing for opening the account, I suggest opening your account before you submit your visa application OR immediately after you receive your visa. You may need the physical copy of your passport (you will definitely need a scan) and you will have to provide your passport when you submit your visa application. I would also strongly recommend you open your account before leaving the United States. Banking in France is quite different from the U.S. in a few ways.
First, you cannot just walk into a branch – you must make an appointment. In order to make an appointment either you must find contact information for someone at the branch OR you must know someone who already banks at that bank. See the problem? You may get lucky with this, but it is likely you will not. Another difference between banking in France versus the U.S. is that a bank in France can refuse to open a bank account for you. So, even if you manage to get an appointment, the bank can refuse to open an account for any reason – including whether or not they like the color of your shoes. For these two reasons, I would strongly recommend you open the account before leaving the United States.
Where to Open Your Account?
Now, you may be wondering how you can open a French bank account from the U.S. Well, it is possible. I will start by noting that, apparently, Bank of America has a relationship with BNP Paribas. As such, they can assist with opening a bank account for you at BNP Paribas in France. I will note, however, that I did not learn this until many months after moving to Paris so I do not know anything about the process. Instead, I will focus on the process for opening an account with HSBC France from the U.S. One other piece of information, HSBC France is the only bank in France that provides services in both French AND English. So, if you do not speak much French, HSBC France really is the way to go.
Opening a French Bank Account with HSBC France
The process for opening an HSBC France bank account from the U.S. is quite confusing. The information on their website contradicts with the information you receive from the branch personnel. For example, the HSBC website states that you can only open a bank account in France if you are a Premiere or Advance client. A Premiere account requires you to keep a minimum balance of $75,000 in an account. An Advance account requires you to keep a minimum of 30,000 euros in the French account and $5,000 in the U.S. account. Based upon my experience, none of these things were in fact accurate. I will detail the exact steps you should take to open the account based upon my personal experience.
Opening an HSBC U.S. Account
To start, you need to open an HSBC U.S. account. As such, if you do not have one, go to either the nearest branch to open an account OR open an account online. I happened to be living in a city with multiple HSBC branches so I opened my account online. I opened an HSBC Advance account because I thought an Advance account was required in order to obtain the HSBC France account. It was only after opening this account that I learned it was not required.
If the branch recommends that you contact their “international banking service” line to set up an account, I would disregard it. Initially, I tried to set up an account using that service. But, I soon discovered it was quite a hassle. Amongst other things, they had slightly different account opening requirements than HSBC France, it necessitated multiple visits to my local HSBC branch, and it appeared that using that service triggered the need to keep certain minimum balances in my bank accounts. As such, I would avoid it.
Completing the HSBC France Online Application Form
After opening your HSBC U.S. account, proceed to the HSBC France website and apply for a French bank account online. As an FYI, I used my U.S. address and my U.S. telephone number on the application form since I did not have a French address or phone number. Thus, no worries on using your U.S. address. You will also need (i) a scanned copy of your passport, (ii) a scanned copy of your signature, and (iii) proof of address. I recommend using the utility bills. At first I tried to use my apartment lease, but the system kept rejecting them.
At some point, the application will ask if you are an HSBC customer. Make sure you check the “yes” button. I did not do this the first time and my application was rejected. The second time, however, it worked. There is also a question asking you to explain why you need a French bank account. You should specifically state that you need the account because you are moving to France (if you already received your visa, feel free to note that). You should also reiterate that you are an HSBC U.S. customer. Once you complete the application and upload your supporting documents, just hit submit. I received an email confirmation with a reference number allowing me to track the status of my application after I submitted everything.
Application Follow-Up Requests
The day after submitting my application, I received an email notifying me that I needed to upload a selfie. The directions for the selfie are quite specific – plain white background, no filters, hand positioned under face, and looking straight at the camera. After uploading my photo, the system notified me that my selfie fulfilled the requirements (the system will notify you instantly if your photo is not accepted). With my first application, which was rejected, I was never able to get past this step. So, to me, managing to even get the photo to upload is a sign that you are moving in the right direction.
The next morning, I was awakened very early by a phone call from the branch manager at the HSBC France Champs Elysee Paris location. She informed me that in order to finish the opening of my account I needed to complete a few more forms. The branch manager then again asked me why I needed a bank account in France. I reiterated that I was permanently moving to Paris within the next few weeks and, as such, required housing, cell phone service, and electricity. She said, “thanks” and then emailed me the forms. I completed each of the forms and then immediately sent them back to her.
After processing my documents, she informed me that my account had been opened but I needed to fund it in order to complete the process. She provided me with my account number and IBAN and I promptly initiated a transfer from my U.S. account. Once the transfer was received, the branch manager notified me via email that everything was done and said I could expect to receive the card and information needed to set up my online banking in the mail.
Finishing Touches for my Account
It took nearly 3 weeks for my HSBC France bank card and related account documents to arrive. Since I was already living in Paris at that point, my family had to ship it to me. Due to the delay, I actually had to call HSBC’s customer service number to walk me through all the security steps in order for me to gain access to my online account. Once I had access to my online account, I was able to download the RIB!
Final takeaways, first, I am not required to maintain a minimum balance in my HSBC France bank account. (Yes!) Also, HSBC offers instant transfers between your U.S. bank account and your French bank account. This is incredibly useful when you need to, for example, send your deposit for your new French apartment.
There you have it – the process for opening an HSBC bank account in France. I hope this article has been helpful! Feel free to post any queries you may have in the comments section!