TW1

Try Barclays in Bordeaux or Bergerac

or Banque Populaire - I have found them extremely helpful at all times. I used the Banque Populaire Centre Atlantique in St. Foy la Grande. They also speak a little English.

Hope this helps.

Wadard

We opened a joint account with Credit Agricole some 15 months ago, and have had no problems whatever. I mostly use the online service for bill payments, etc., and they supply Mastercards for both of us. The account opening process was relatively painless and efficient, unlike trying to do the same thing in the UK.

billy4ray

We have a joint Barclays Bergerac account. The manager there is superb and everything has been done well and as quick as anything in France. All the people who work there are English Speaking and very, very helpful

luigi06

If you are looking for an internet bank, you only contact them by telephone, internet etc .. They have the cheapest rates.

www.axabanque.com

If you are looking for a "high street bank" then basically they are all pretty much the same. A lot depends on the "feeling" you have with the account manager you open your account with.

A localish kind of bank is Credit Agricole, a big chain bank quite expensive and stuck up is BNP, the ex Credit Lyonnais now called LCL is trying to win back customers.

Not sure how much you know :

A current account (compte courant) gives you a cheque book and bank card. The bank card has a cost and can either debited ommediately after each transaction (débit immédiat) or deferred to the end of the month (débit différé). The credit card system will be a separate card.

BE very careful when writing cheques, if you bounce a cheque, you have 30days to pay it to the creditor or put money in your account, during this period you will be on a file at the Banque de France and will not be able to issue a cheque or use your credit cards FROM ANY FRENCH BANK. Therefore when opening you're account you need to discuss your overdraft facility.

Hope this helps
Louis

slane

Nigh impossible! You have to have someone else whose house you are living in to testify honorably (called: attestation sur honneur) that you are living at a certain address within France. This works with some banks but not others and you will get a grilling on how much you earn and also have to provide a certified copy of your passport (your British bank can do this for you. I know all this as a friend of mine stayed with me before moving in to a property and we had to go through all this. It might also be worth saying (but not necessarily meaning it) that you intend to leave a large sum of money in the account at a later date (ie inheritance or other). I have been living in France for over 20 years and I really like my bank, very professional and helpful but its not all over France, Credit Mutuel! Good luck