Living in Paris means having your own place that you call home—but also paying your bills and taking responsibility for your finances. Having a French bank account is required for getting a mobile phone contract and paying bills such as rent and electricity. We advise all students planning to stay in Paris for more than one semester to open a bank account.
Losing your credit card
If you lose your banking card or it is stolen, you must call your bank immediately to block the card and prevent unauthorized access to your bank account. You can either look up the phone number for your bank or studentdevelopment
aup.edu (get in touch with us) for help if the incident occurred during our office hours.
The relevé d'identité bancaire
Another important part of French banking is the Relevé d'Identité Bancaire, commonly referred to as a RIB. This document contains your personal bank information, including your account number, name, IBAN, and BIC, so keep it safe and don't lose it. It enables you to provide your bank details to others, for example to pay phone bills automatically or to receive wire transfers.
Wire transfers
Wiring money is the fastest way to receive money from outside of France. You can either transfer money to your French bank account using the IBAN/BIC information from your RIB, or wire money using Western Union or TravelEx Moneygram.
Currency exchange
Places to change your money, called bureaux de change are located all throughout the city. At a bureau de change you can either change money or travelers checks. Make sure to check the daily exchange rate at all change agencies to ensure that you receive what is owed to you upon the exchange.