Why the branch visit still trips people up
Opening a professional account in a French branch network usually starts with a document bundle: Kbis or avis SIRENE, statutes, identity papers, proof of address, sometimes a business plan. For a solo consultant billing three clients, that feels disproportionate. The adviser then offers a package built for a company with payroll, and the monthly line items arrive whether you use them or not.
Consumer surveys have put average annual account fees in traditional networks well above €200 once card fees, per-item charges and incident fees are counted. Online providers compete on a different model, which is why so many freelancers and small companies now start there.
Three friction points come up again and again. The first is the dedicated-account rule, widely misunderstood. The second is fee structure: the subscription looks cheap, then cheque deposits, cash handling or currency conversion eat the margin. The third is status. Not every provider you can open an account with online is a bank, and that distinction matters at two specific moments: incorporation and legal compliance.
What the rules actually require
For micro-entrepreneurs, Article L. 613-10 of the Social Security Code sets the trigger. If your activity is commercial, a dedicated account is required from the start, whatever the turnover. For service and craft activities, the obligation begins once annual revenue has exceeded €10,000 for two consecutive calendar years. The wording says exceeds, so exactly €10,000 does not count, and one year below the line resets the sequence.
A dedicated account is not the same thing as a product labelled professional. Official guidance allows a separate personal current account used exclusively for the business, provided it carries your name with the business identifier. Banks can still restrict business use on personal accounts, so check the terms before assuming.
Two other rules shape the choice. A company's capital deposit must go through a credit institution or a notary, and payment institutions are excluded from that step. And since a bank cannot simply refuse you, the Banque de France operates the droit au compte procedure: you request opening in writing, and if the bank refuses or stays silent, the Banque de France designates an institution to open the account.
Electronic invoicing is the other thing to have on your radar. All VAT-registered companies must be able to receive e-invoices from September 2026, with issuing obligations for smaller companies following in September 2027. Choosing an online business bank account in France that already runs an approved e-invoicing platform saves a migration later.
The main options, side by side
| Provider | Regulatory status | Monthly price | Card and transfers | Fits | Watch out for |
|---|
| Qonto (entry plan) | French-licensed institution, French IBAN | €9 excl. VAT on annual commitment, €11 month to month | One Mastercard plus virtual cards, 30 transfers or direct debits a month | Freelancers and small companies wanting invoicing and accounting links | Extra cards and volume push you to a higher tier |
| Shine (entry plan) | Payment institution licensed by the ACPR, funds safeguarded at Société Générale | €0 | Mastercard, five SEPA transfers a month, €0.40 excl. VAT beyond | Solo traders, simple invoicing | Limited cash and cheque handling |
| Indy | French fintech, French IBAN | €0 | Mastercard, unlimited transfers, invoicing included | Auto-entrepreneurs watching fixed costs | Thinner features for teams |
| Revolut Business (Basic) | Payment institution | from €10 | Multi-currency cards and accounts | Exporters and international receipts | Not a French bank, so no capital deposit |
| Regional branch bank | Credit institution | Roughly €10–€20 in monthly account fees plus per-item charges | Cheque and cash deposits, named adviser | Artisans and cheque-heavy trades | Slower onboarding, higher all-in cost |
Three setups that work in practice
Camille runs a small consulting practice in Lyon and bills two American clients in dollars. Her arrangement is a French-IBAN account at €0 a month for URSSAF, tax and local clients, plus a multi-currency account for dollar receipts. She learned the hard way that the subscription is rarely the expensive part. Converting dollars to euros twice, once on receipt and again to pay a French supplier, quietly cost more than a year of account fees. Now she converts once and keeps a buffer in euros.
Thomas, who sells outdoor equipment from Nantes, needed something different: several team cards with limits, a bookkeeping sync to his accountant's tool, and enough transfer volume to avoid per-item charges. A mid-tier plan at roughly €35 a month was cheaper than his previous branch package once card fees and transfer charges were added up. His advice is to count transactions before comparing prices.
Nadia, a ceramicist in Marseille, takes payment by cheque from galleries and cash at markets. Several online-only accounts simply do not accept those deposits. She kept a regional branch account for deposits and added a zero-subscription account for supplier transfers, which is a common two-account pattern in France.
Founders incorporating a SAS or SARL should sequence things properly. Deposit the share capital at a notary or a credit institution first, then move day-to-day operations to whichever online provider fits. Capital deposits through payment institutions are not accepted, and rebuilding the file later costs weeks.
A short sequence before you sign anything
Start with your obligation. Write down your activity type and your last two years of revenue; that settles whether a dedicated account is mandatory or simply sensible.
Map the flows you actually have: incoming SEPA transfers, card payments, cheques, cash, foreign currency, direct debits for rent and subscriptions. An account that ignores your real mix will cost more through exception fees than through the subscription.
Ask for the full fee schedule in writing, including out-of-plan transfers, additional cards, instant transfers, cash deposits, cheque deposits and currency conversion spread. Ask what happens when you exceed the included volume.
Confirm the IBAN works where it needs to: URSSAF, tax portal, payroll, landlord, and any approved e-invoicing platform. Cross-border IBAN refusal inside the euro area is not permitted, but verifying early avoids friction with a supplier's billing system.
Check the provider's status on the ACPR register if the account will hold significant balances or play a role in a company formation. A payment institution safeguards client funds rather than holding them on its own balance sheet, which is a different arrangement from a bank deposit.
Then run the account for two months at real volume before closing anything else. Compare total cost, not the headline price, and keep the comparison dated so you can revisit it when your activity changes.
From 2027, stronger authentication and payee verification rules will apply across European payments, which mostly affects how you approve transfers rather than what you pay. Review your setup once a year, and if a bank refuses to open an account, remember the Banque de France procedure exists.
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