29 Mai 2008
How ?
Just go to a bank and ask :
« Bonjour je voudrais ouvrir un compte en banque »
They won't do it immediatly, they will give you an appointment and you'll have to bring some documents, at least :
- your passport,
- a « justificatif de domicile ».
How can I choose ?
First, have a look at the « pages jaunes » the yellow phone book (on the net too), rubrique "banques". You'll have all the
name and address of the banks of your city.
Then, when you first go to the bank to get an appointment, ask them to give you «les tarifs des opérations bancaires », « la plaquette des tarifs des opérations bancaires », « les tarifs des frais de gestion bancaire ». It's a document stating all the fees of the bank : how much a credit card costs, how much you'll have to pay for the different services they have... It's with this document you can compare between the different banks and you'll be able to take a decision.
Découvert autorisé, agios and pénalités
Be careful, if you spend more money than you have, you'll have heavy fees to pay.
Usually, you're entitled to a « découvert autorisé », a bank overdraft which means you can spend more money than you have. Your « découvert autorisé » can be 500 euros or even 1000 euros depending on your incomes.
But « autorisé » only means « allowed » and not « free ». Check on the « tarifs » what is called « agios ». Agios are the charges you pay when your account is overdrawn.
But if you spend more money than your « découvert autorisé » allows you, you might be in « interdiction bancaire », « interdit bancaire », have your chequebook and card facilities withdrawn. Be very careful because it costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time to come back to a normal situation. If you know you're going to spend too much money one month, contact your bank and try to negociate with them.
See the article bank, incidents and "frais"
Back to the list of the administrative matters