American wanting to open French Bank account

[discipleduchrist]

Any tips for opening up a French bank account from abroad? I am an American and told to open up an account with an international bank prior to moving but don’t know where to start.

 

[justin1029]

@discipleduchrist Move and then open it. I don't see the benefit of having an account before. Your fist salery wont come in before you have been working for a month, plenty of time opening an account.

 

[tyler112]

@discipleduchrist If you will have investments, it's not a bad idea to maintain an account with a brokerage that lets you hold US ETFs while you are resident outside the US, like IBKR or Schwab Intl. French brokerages can't offer you US-domiciled ETFs due to EU PRIIP regulations, and holding EU-domiciled funds is tricky due to IRS PFIC rules (though not impossible with M2M election).

When you open your French bank account, the bank will have you fill out a W9. You'll also report the account on FBAR (and of course report interest income on Sch B).

 

[frhi]

@tyler112 You only have to report the account if you ever have more than $10,000 euros at some point during the year.

 

[frhi]

@discipleduchrist Try Wise or Revolt. They're most likely to let you open a euro account from the US.

Once you're there, N26 is a decent option.

 

[resjudicata]

@discipleduchrist Found this online for you:

"Foreigners can open French bank accounts. However, you'll often be asked for a French proof of address, or at the very least an address from another Eurozone or EEA country.

If you're still based in the US a flexible multi-currency account from a specialist provider may be a better option."

Hope this helps..

Best to you