What French administration expects from the account
Most French business banking starts with paperwork rather than money. A company needs its SIREN/SIRET number, a KBIS extract or an equivalent SIRENE notice, proof of address for the legal representative, and sometimes a domiciliation certificate if the registered office sits at an accountant's premises. Online providers have turned this into a document upload, but the underlying checks are the same ones a branch adviser performs.
Micro-entrepreneurs face a specific rule. A dedicated business account becomes mandatory once turnover exceeds €10,000 for two consecutive calendar years. Below that threshold, a separate account is optional, though mixing professional flows into a personal account makes bookkeeping messy and weakens your position if the tax office asks questions.
The IBAN itself deserves attention. A French IBAN makes direct debits, URSSAF payments and client reimbursements straightforward, because French customers and public bodies are used to it. Some international platforms issue a Belgian or Lithuanian IBAN instead. That usually works for SEPA transfers, yet it can slow down a French client's accounting software or trigger extra checks from a supplier. If your customers are mostly French, a local IBAN removes a small but recurring source of friction.
The four friction points that decide the choice
Onboarding and document checks
A missing proof of address or a company name mismatch between the KBIS and the bank file will block an application for days. Payment institutions are faster than branch networks here, mainly because verification happens through a portal rather than an appointment.
Cash and cheques
France still uses cheques for deposits, equipment purchases and some business-to-business payments. Cash deposits are even more stubborn: many online accounts cannot accept them at all, while Shine allows deposits at a network of tabacs. If you run a shop, a café or a market stall in Marseille or Lyon, that single feature may outweigh every other comparison criterion.
Overdrafts and financing
Accounts operated by payment institutions are not full banks in the lending sense. Shine, for example, does not grant overdraft facilities or financing. A company that needs a short-term buffer or a credit line usually keeps a branch relationship alongside the online account.
Deposit protection
Licensed banks in France benefit from the deposit guarantee scheme, which covers up to €100,000 per depositor. Payment institutions and e-money institutions instead safeguard client funds through segregated accounts, known as cantonnement. Neither arrangement is inherently unsafe, but they are not identical, and it is worth knowing which one sits behind your balance.
The options most French businesses compare
| Provider | Best fit | Published entry price | French IBAN | Cash and cheques | Watch-outs |
|---|
| Qonto | Companies with mixed supplier and client flows | €9 excl. VAT per month, annual billing | Yes | Cheques by post, no branch cash deposit | Transfer quotas, card fees above plan |
| Shine | Freelancers and small teams | €0 subscription tier, paid tiers from €9 excl. VAT | Yes | Cash at partner tabacs, cheques accepted | No overdraft or financing |
| Revolut Business | Exporters and multi-currency activity | €10 per month for the entry plan | Yes | Card-heavy, limited cash handling | Support depth, cash-intensive trades |
| Traditional branch bank | Retail, cash and credit needs | Package-based, varies by branch | Yes | Full branch services | Account and card fees, slower onboarding |
| Indy | Solo consultants wanting bookkeeping nearby | Account at no subscription, paid filing options | Yes | Limited | Best value only if you use its accounting tools |
Qonto is the most complete for a company that invoices clients, pays suppliers and hands files to an accountant. Its mid-tier plan adds accountant access and cash-flow forecasting, which matters once several people spend from the same account. Shine appeals to independent workers who want invoicing and a simple dashboard without a monthly commitment. Revolut Business earns its place when part of your revenue arrives in dollars or pounds. A branch bank remains the practical answer for cash-heavy activity or borrowing.
Reviews tell part of the story: both Qonto and Shine sit around 4.8 on Trustpilot, and the recurring themes in those reviews are onboarding speed and response times, not interest rates. That is worth weighing, since a blocked transfer costs more than a monthly fee difference.
What the monthly price does not show
The headline figure covers a defined number of transfers, cards and users. Qonto's entry plan includes 30 transfers per month and one physical card, with extra cards billed separately. Shine's tiers step up from €9 to €20 to €45 excluding VAT on annual billing. Revolut Business moves from €10 to €35 to €125 as limits and currencies expand.
Costs appear later in less obvious places: additional cards, instant or international transfers beyond the quota, foreign exchange margins, cash deposit fees, and the capital deposit service used when forming a company, which Qonto prices at €69 excluding VAT and Shine offers from a similar level. Branch banking follows another logic. Account-keeping at French banks averages roughly €36 a year and premium cards sit between €130 and €144, based on published fee surveys, before business-specific charges for cash handling and transfers are added.
A useful test is to pull your last three months of statements and count transfers, cash deposits, foreign currency payments and extra cardholders. Most businesses discover they are paying for limits they never reach, or for overages they did not anticipate.
A practical route to opening the account
Start with your legal status. A micro-entrepreneur, a SARL and a SAS do not submit the same documents, and some providers restrict certain forms. Confirm the exact company name and address that appear on your registration, because a one-letter mismatch will delay verification.
Then list your payment habits in order of volume: SEPA transfers received, supplier transfers sent, card spending, cash, cheques, non-euro income. This list, not a comparison table, tells you which plan fits. If cash or cheques rank high, keep a branch account and use the online provider for day-to-day operations.
Prepare a folder with identity documents, proof of address dated within the last three months, the registration extract and, where relevant, the domiciliation certificate and company statutes. Applications move quickly when this folder is complete.
Fund the account with a small transfer first and confirm the IBAN works with one client and one supplier before moving recurring payments. Finally, connect the account to your accounting workflow, either through a direct export or by giving your expert-comptable access; Qonto includes that access from its mid-tier plan, while other tools charge separately.
Regional resources shorten the learning curve. The CCI network runs free advisory sessions on company formalities, the guichet unique handles registration online, and most accountancy firms in Paris, Bordeaux or Toulouse will confirm within a day whether a given provider's exports match their software.
Before you sign up
Compare the account against your actual flows, not against the plan with the most features. Keep a branch relationship if cash, cheques or credit are part of your week, and let an online account handle the transfers, cards and bookkeeping exports. Check the IBAN prefix, the transfer quota and the deposit protection arrangement before submitting documents, then test a single payment in each direction. That sequence takes an afternoon and prevents most of the problems that make business owners switch providers within the first year.
If you already hold a business account, request its annual fee statement this week and compare it with one online plan suited to your payment mix. The gap is usually visible without any negotiation.
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