Opening a corporate bank account in France used to be a fairly simple process. You would go the bank and simply present your passport. However for various reasons, things have changed!

It is now more difficult to open a bank account than it is to register a company. The regulations have become more stringent since FATCA’s application in Europe. Banks now have good reason to refuse an application, whereas previously it was a mere formality.

Nowadays, the bank must perform due diligences to ensure that:

• • The direct beneficiaries of the account are not money laundering
• • The account does not enable or support tax fraud or evasion
• • Account holders are not concealing hidden beneficiaries.

There is something you ought to be aware of: the bank’s decision making process is carried out by a separate committee operating completely independently from the branch. Consequently, in order to obtain their approval, our strategy is to provide a file of the best possible quality and anticipate the bank’s various requirements. An example of this can be translating documents into french, as English supporting documents don’t make life easy for a French bank…

Having been successfully operating in France for more than 30 years, we have been endorsed by the government and are considered a reliable and trusted company. We are also based just off the Champs-Élysées, in the heart of Paris’ reputable 8th arrondissement, and have established trusting relationships with various nearby banks. For both of these reasons, choosing us to prepare and present your application to the bank will greatly improve the likelihood of the bank approving your application.

Our service has thus had to evolve; from a simple document compilation into an in-depth documentation and validation process to ensure the bank accepts your application. We are very experienced in providing this service, but it’s worth noting this process is very much a team effort, as there is a range of documents we will require from you.