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French banks answer to the ACPR, the supervisory authority attached to the Banque de France, while significant groups such as BNP Paribas, Société Générale, BPCE and La Banque Postale are under direct ECB supervision. The FGDR, France’s deposit guarantee fund, repays eligible deposits up to EUR 100,000 per customer and per institution within seven working days. It covers companies of any size and legal status, and a company’s accounts count separately from its owner’s personal ones. It excludes financial sector firms, public bodies and persons tried for fraud or money laundering, and it does not cover accounts held with payment or electronic money institutions.
Service-Public states that a commercial company, whether SAS, SARL or SA, cannot be registered until its share capital has been deposited in an account opened in the name of the company in formation, with a credit institution or a notary. A payment institution cannot take this deposit, and the Caisse des dépôts stopped accepting it on 1 June 2021. An SAS sets its capital freely, from EUR 1, and pays in at least half of it at formation; a SARL at least a fifth; the balance is due within five years. The funds stay blocked until the company is entered in the national business register (RNE), so a founder who cannot yet satisfy a bank can make the deposit through a notary instead.
| Provider | Type | What its own pages say |
|---|---|---|
| Société Générale | Bank | Opens professional accounts for SA, SAS and SARL; asks for certified statutes, a Kbis under three months old and a passport or identity card for each legal representative; the online request leads to an adviser meeting and a contract signed in a branch |
| BNP Paribas | Bank | Its fully online professional account is limited to adult individuals who are tax resident in France and hold a SIREN as sole traders, micro-entrepreneurs or health professionals; companies are outside that route |
| Qonto | Payment institution authorised by the ACPR | States that all client funds are safeguarded, part of them with partner banks; as a payment institution it sits outside the FGDR deposit guarantee |
French law guarantees a company’s right to a bank account. After a refusal, or no reply within 15 days to a request sent by registered letter or handed in at a branch, the company applies to the Banque de France with the refusal certificate, the application form, the representative’s identity document and a Kbis under three months old. The Banque de France designates a branch within 24 hours; that bank sends its list of required documents within three days and must open the account within three days of receiving a complete file. An appointment is generally needed, and the person’s presence is generally indispensable.
A French IBAN has 27 characters: FR, two check digits, a five-digit bank code, a five-digit branch code, an eleven-character account number and the two-digit RIB key. France is in SEPA, and its SEPA membership extends to overseas departments such as Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion.
A ready-made SAS or SARL already has its Kbis, and its capital deposit was made before registration. If it also holds an account, that account belongs to the company and does not lapse with a share sale, yet the bank now has to know the buyer, the new président or gérant and every signatory, and on that review it may keep the account going, ask for more or close it. That outcome cannot be promised in advance either way. A new French company starts with the capital deposit at a bank or a notary. We can sell you a ready-made company or register a new one, prepare the bank application alongside you and, if a suitable bank is one where we have a working contact, arrange an introduction; the decision stays with the bank. Our guide to shelf companies with a bank account and the France page go further.
Yes. French law sets no residence condition for the président of an SAS or the gérant of a SARL, and Société Générale, for example, opens accounts for SA, SAS and SARL on the basis of the statutes, a recent Kbis and the representatives’ identity documents. What varies is the channel: Société Générale signs contracts in a branch, and BNP Paribas keeps its online route for individuals who are tax resident in France.
Partly. The capital deposit can go through a notary rather than a bank. Payment institutions onboard online, but they are outside FGDR cover and, according to Service-Public, cannot take the capital deposit. Société Générale has the contract signed in a branch, and a bank designated under the droit au compte generally needs the person present, so plan for at least one trip to France.
It is the statutory right to an account. If a bank refuses your registered French company, or does not answer within 15 days, you send the Banque de France the refusal, the form, an identity document and a Kbis under three months old. It designates a bank within 24 hours, and that bank must open the account within three days of a complete file.
Yes. The FGDR repays up to EUR 100,000 per customer and per institution within seven working days, and it expressly covers companies of any size and status, including SA, SARL and EURL. Financial sector companies, public bodies and persons tried for fraud or money laundering are excluded, and money held with a payment or electronic money institution is not covered at all.