Last update, Sept. 2021 4-min read
| Introduction
First of all, you should know that it is required to have a local bank account for most of the administrative procedures you will have to carry out (registration with the Health Insurance, electricity/gas plan, mobile plan, internet bundle, housing aid application).
We therefore strongly recommend that you open a local bank account as soon as you arrive in France, as this will make it easier for you 👍
We compared all the French banks based on 4 criteria:
Digital and easy to use
Bank account & Mastercard
Inexpensive, no hidden fees
Multilingual customer support
A bank stands out from the crowd and meets all these criteria, Monese.
Our recommendation, Monese
Digital bank, €0 monthly fee
The perfect solution for international students
Why do we recommend Monese? Because it is the only digital bank to offer a French IBAN and you will need it for most of your administrative procedures in France.
Opening a bank account is free and only takes minutes: all you need is a smartphone. Also, customer support is multilingual (French, English, Spanish…) 👌
Free bank account
French IBAN
Free Mastercard (€4,95 for delivery)
Cash withdrawals: 2% fee after 200€
Multilingual customer support
