Bank accounts - 4 months in France

gingermagic

Hello all,

We will soon be going to France for 4 months. What would be the best way to handle our bank accounts in order for us to get Euros out over there with the least amount of cost.

We have several bank account here.
We intend to open a new account over there.

My guess is that transferring money from our UK accounts to the french account on-line and then using the French card in the cash machines over there would be the cheapest way to do things, but I'd love to hear if you know any different.

Thanks
Ginger

hartcjhart

open a 'Nationwide' flex account in the uk,then transfer money into that from your other uk account,

and use the Flex card in france,no fees and proper bank rate not tourist

FluffyFiFi

Get a Nationwide FlexAccount and register on line, that way you can transfer money in and out of the account, use the Visa card, take money out of the machines and they give you a fair exchange rate.

gingermagic

Thanks for the quick feedback!

My NatWest bank manager actually told me about Nationwide Flex account cards being good abroad a few years ago, so I opened one that I still have. I assumed it was a temporary difference between that card and the other banks which wouldn't last long, but you comments seem to suggest that it's still a good one to use.

That being said, I can understand that the Nationwide FlexAccount card may be the best to use of UK banks.cards available, but is it really cheaper to use my Flex card in France to get Euro's out than it would be to open up a French bank account and use their card?? I hope that is the case as it makes everything easier, but I find it hard to believe.

Ginger

ragz_2

French bank accounts are VERY hard to get if you're english and are really complicated, my inlaws lived in france for nearly a year on their boat and they just used the Nationwide account. It works out not costing any extra at all to your card.

kb36

They are not that difficult to get if you have some sort of income/ lump sum going in! If you are going to be working out there a letter confirming employment is usually sufficient. Bear in mind though that you will pay an annual/ quarterly fee for most french bank accounts and those that that issue you with a card will sting you again for this. It might be worth looking into the fees and deciding whether the nationwide account works out to be an equivalent expense.

knightstyle

Our French bank account costs about 12€ a month, we have a debit card each. The main problem is that you must not go overdrawn, it is a criminal offence and is reported to Gendarmes etc. and causes all sorts of problems. Stick with the Nationwide account and maybe an account which gives you a Mastercard for the few places that do not take Visa.

dzug1

Getting money from your UK account to your French account is always going to cost (at least until we adopt the euro....). And French banking isn't free.

So you'd be doing it for convenience rather than cost if you went that way

gingermagic

Thanks for all the responses!!

Very helpful indeed.

I'll be using my Nationwide card to take my money out of the cash machines every month.

Our major expense is going to be the rend on our apartment. Can I pay that using my nationwide cheque book? If not, is that a stumbling block that would mean I should open a French account? I guess I could go to the cash points lots of times every month to get enough money out for the rent, but that sounds like a royal pain.

Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again
Ginger

nooney

I agree with all the above but a French bank account does not cost anything. You could try Credit Agricole Britline which is free.I transfer money regularly from the Halifax to that account, this does cost but you get a very good rate of exchange,also you can bank online and because its "Britline" all dealings with the bank are in English.

KiNeL

Be very careful with Britline. They are just a branch of Credit Agricole who themselves are not a bank in the normal sense but almost a franchise meaning each branch is an independent entity.

Nothing wrong with CA per se (as French banks go that is !) but problems can arise if you need to do business in a different town. Sometimes they will just not accept deposits and if they do cheques will just get posted to your own branch !

For 4 month's in France Nationwide is the way to go. There are no charges for using the debit card and you get the interbank exchange rate. Hundreds if not thousands of Brits living in France use it, including me.

Unless you happened to be renting from a Brit nobody else in France is going to accept a UK cheque so put that idea completely out of your mind.