Three friction points that shape every French business account
In France, the bank account is part of the company file, not just a place to keep cash. A SARL or SASU needs a capital deposit before the greffe finishes registration, and the certificate comes from a bank. That single step is why plenty of founders open an account before they have a single client.
Then there is the IBAN question. SEPA rules say a creditor in the euro area cannot refuse a valid IBAN from another member state. In daily life, an accountant, a landlord or a public body may still ask twice when the IBAN is not French. A business bank account with a French IBAN ends that conversation before it starts.
Cheques are fading, but not gone. Trade suppliers, older customers and some insurers still post them. Most online accounts accept cheques by mail. Some do not accept them at all. Cash is the other gap: neobanks route deposits through partner networks with caps, while a branch lets you hand over notes at the counter.
Paperwork decides more files than pricing does. Traditional banks often want an appointment and tend to decline applications when the director lives abroad. Online providers working with French-registered companies usually accept a director resident in the EU or EEA, verified by video. Onboarding times reported by founders run from three to seven days at Qonto, Shine and Finom, and one to two weeks at Memo Bank.
One more deadline now sits in the file. Since autumn 2026, every French business must be able to receive electronic invoices, and the obligation to issue them phases in through 2027. Some online accounts already include an approved e-invoicing platform. That is a practical reason to choose a provider that keeps pace with the rules rather than one that only looks cheap.
Comparing the realistic options
Prices below are the published entry points, excluding VAT where the provider quotes them that way. Your actual cost depends on transfers, cards and cash handling, so add those lines before you decide.
| Provider | What it is | Published pricing | Where it fits | What to check |
|---|
| Qonto | Payment institution regulated by the ACPR; funds safeguarded at Crédit Mutuel Arkéa | Solo plans from €9 per month; team plans €49 to €199 | Freelancers through to multi-person companies that want invoicing, expense and accounting tools in one place | Capital deposit costs €69; no authorised overdraft |
| Shine | Payment service agent registered with the ACPR; funds held at Société Générale; owned by Cegid, backed by Société Générale | Free entry plan; Basic €7.90; Premium €14.90 | Sole traders and small SASU/EURL, especially those wanting URSSAF tools | No credit, no cheque book; virtual cards limited on the free plan |
| Finom | Online provider with French, German or Dutch IBAN options | Solo free with limits; Start €9; Premium €19 | New freelancers and second accounts for side projects | Free plan caps transactions and cards |
| Memo Bank | Credit institution serving SMEs | Custom quote, priced above neobanks | Companies with real volume that want a named contact | Slower onboarding, around one to two weeks |
| Revolut Business | Multi-currency account run from an app | Free for sole traders; paid plans from about €7 | Exporters and teams holding several currencies | No cheque deposit; local IBAN details vary by plan |
| Traditional bank (BNP, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale) | Full banking licence with branches | From around €31.50 per month at BNP Pro; Crédit Agricole's Propulse entry offer is lower | Businesses needing credit, cash handling or a physical contact | Dense fee schedule and heavier paperwork |
Qonto says it serves 750,000 companies and publishes a customer quote from Thomas Kowalczyk, CEO at Kow: "No more nasty surprises. I know exactly how much my bank is going to cost me every month." Shine reports 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot and was named Customer Service of the Year 2026 in its category. Those are marketing claims, but they point at the two things founders actually complain about: surprise fees and slow replies.
There is also a cautionary tale worth knowing. Blank announced it is ending its brand and closing all accounts by 21 December 2026. Anyone who kept a single account there has had to rebuild mandates, update the RIB with clients and warn payroll. Keep a second account, even a cheap one, and you turn that kind of news into an afternoon of admin instead of a crisis.
What the protection label actually means
The French deposit guarantee scheme, the FGDR, covers deposits up to €100,000 per client per institution. That applies to accounts held at credit institutions, which includes Memo Bank and the high-street banks.
Qonto and Shine are not deposit-taking banks. Qonto is a payment institution supervised by the ACPR, and customer funds are safeguarded with Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Shine is a payment service agent registered with the ACPR, and it states that funds sit in a segregated account at Société Générale, are not invested or lent, and are covered without a ceiling if Shine fails. Safeguarding is a different legal mechanism from deposit insurance, and it is worth understanding the difference before you move six figures through an app.
The free check takes two minutes: look the provider up in the ACPR register, and confirm who actually holds the money. A familiar logo on the app is not the same as a banking licence.
What to prepare before you apply
Documents that move a file forward
A Kbis or an avis de situation SIRENE, a director's ID, proof of address, the ownership structure, a short description of activity, and forecasts if you expect high volumes or non-standard flows. Companies not yet registered can sometimes start with a capital deposit offer and finish the file after the greffe issues the papers.
Cost lines founders forget
Cheque deposit, cash deposit, capital deposit fees (€60 to €139 depending on provider), extra cards, international transfers, rejected direct debits, and the accountant's access. Payment ceilings matter too: Qonto starts around €20,000, Shine around €40,000, which is comfortable for a consultancy and tight for a wholesaler.
A five-step opening sequence
- List what your business actually does with money: cheques in, cash in, cards out, transfers outside the euro area, several staff, an accountant who wants a sync.
- Pick two providers, check both in the ACPR register and read the fee schedule, not the landing page.
- Prepare the file as one folder of PDFs so you are not hunting for documents mid-application.
- Open the second account first. Once the RIB is live, move direct debits, then client mandates, then payroll.
- Run both accounts for a full quarter before closing the old one, and keep the old statements exported.
Local help is closer than it looks. Your CCI can confirm registration steps, an expert-comptable will tell you which exports their software accepts, the Banque de France publishes an annual survey of bank tariffs, and data.inpi.fr lets you check a SIREN before you sign anything.
Start with two providers that match your workflow rather than six that match a comparison table. Open the cheaper one this week, keep it active for a month, and you will learn more about French business banking from one real transfer than from another hour of reading.
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