Tell us: Which French or internet banks would you recommend?

LCL have been brilliant to me for 20 years. They regularly win best customer service awards for a reason. Wise is great for online money transfers.

Our main bank account was taken over by SG last year. Main gripe is that they don't let you use your bank card with Google pay for mobile payments which is a pain - you have to use their own app, which is not their banking app but a separate app. Ridiculous. They also charge massive amounts for spending in GBP. They're our fourth high street bank in France (Banque Populaire, LCL, Banque Courtois) and none of them have been particularly stand out for either services or customer relations. We also have accounts with Bourso Bank (formerly Boursorama) and they are good, plus no ridiculous charges for purchases in GBP. And the couple of times I've had to call customer services they've been pleasant and helpful. I also recently opened an account with WISE to facilitate some currency transfers, and they now offer an online banking facility with credit card which I'm starting to use more frequently as well. Worth looking at if you're dealing with a few different currencies.

We don’t like bnp. Reason? We banked with them for 12 years before even living in France. Randomly they closed the account. Horrible customer service. I called to ask a question that’s when they said you don’t bank here and letter of dismissal is in the mail! Dreadful experience throughout in Paris. No issues on my side, no bounced checks or anything. Cherry on top? they are under no obligation to state the reason. That’s the law.

When we opened our account with BNP, it appeared as though we were required to get an insurance account to cover the apartment we rented. After moving a few times we updated the apartment information, and we pay more than 50euros per month for insurance I doubt we will ever need, as our landlord takes care of everything. Is this required? Are we at risk of losing our account if we try to cancel the policy?

As an American, no bank wanted to work with me because of the US regulations until someone suggested I try BNP. I didn’t have the luxury of choosing but they’ve been helpful, and they have an international section for non residents. I also use Revolut for online shopping and holding multiple currencies. When I first came to France they didn’t have IBAN numbers but they do now so if you don’t need a branch or a person to be able to contact it’s a good internet option.