Good Evening,
Can we open a French bank account before we come over to France and if so how!
Yes
CA Britline fairly straightforward although not everyone likes CA as a bank.
Other alternatives include the more modern multi-currency setups with outfits such as TransferWise or Revolut.
Everyone has their favourite.
The answer is, yes, you can. We opened an account when we found a house we wanted to buyā¦ although we did not plan to move permanently (at that time). No problemā¦
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Many Thanks
Regards
Tony
Checked wrong website .Put my specs on!
We opened an cheque account while we were here in France, once we had put an offer in on the purchaseā¦ we chose the branch nearest to our future home.
We were listed as āoverseas clientā ( that sort of thing) with our UK address ā¦ until we moved and then became Resident with the UK address cancelled and replaced by the French addressā¦
We donāt know exactly where we will be . I assume I can kick off with an online account and join a local branch later.
C.A want to know an awful lot of information on current a/c application - value of house/investments/savings and so on. Will need to think about this. Is this usual in France? I donāt want to be bombarded by sales calls.
I bank with CA and have never received a sales call from them or their associates.
Mmmā¦ it was very easy, when we opened the accountā¦ no personal/financial info such as you mentionā¦ 
Why not wait until you know where you will be livingā¦
do you actually need an account in France right now ??
I was thinking it would help us when we rent somewhere.
If you intend to rentā¦ then an account near where you are rentingā¦ it will be no problem to change to another branch if necessary.
It all depends on whether or not you like personal serviceā¦ being able to deal with folk, get to know them and they youā¦ etc etc
If notā¦ go totally online banking
whateverā¦ thereās lots of choice
My bank told me that I had to be here in person to open a account
Credit Agricole are enterprising in the efforts to persuade you to let them manage your insurances if you are a home-owner, and your investments if you are a saver. But you donāt have to give them financial information if you donāt want to. Weāve been very satisfied clients from the day we completed on our French home in 2015.
A face-to-face meeting with a counsellor in a local branch will fix you up with a current account, a Visa debit card (Carte Bleu), Ć cheque book if you want or need one, any insurances that will provide you essential householder indemnities, and a sense of having a foot in the door and of having āarrved" in France. But you need a French postal address to sign up, the place you hang your hat. I think It"s best to get a place to hang your hat first, even if you arenā t quite ready to move in permanently. Everything will be much, much easier: signing up with a doctor etc etc.
C-A have an excellent on-line banking service and act promptly and efficiently on issues or concerns raised IMO. I have no hesitation in recommending them, and at our branch most staff members will rise to the occasion of an English clientās limited or non-existent French.
Iāve never been pestered with phone calls or texts from C-A, itās not that kind of bank IMO.
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We have not yet moved to France or bought a property yet.
We have opened a French bank account with Briline which is part of Credit Agricole Normandie, they all speak perfect English!
We have a French checkbook, debit card, paying in book, and all are free if you deposit Ā£2500.00, in Euros.
They are very helpful!
AJWtilstock