# French Credit Cards



## gprit

I see many advertised, but does anyone recommend a fee-free credit card in France? Ideally one with travel cancellation protection. I don't use a mobile phone so would need it to be accessible on a laptop to check balance / make payment etc. How does one make the payment? Does it have to be by virement from a French bank....or can one pay using Wise.com (formerly Transferwise? I ask because althoiugh I have a French bank account my pensions continue to be paid into my UK bank account.


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## Bevdeforges

In France, most (if not all) credit cards are associated with a single bank account so that the fee for the card is part and parcel of the fees charged for that particular account. Wise offers a "credit card" (actually a debit card) that costs nothing to set up or use - and so far I've found that it is accepted just about everywhere - as long as you have sufficient funds in your "borderless account" (which can be in various currencies). No "goodies" like travel cancellation, but you can't really beat the price. 

There is also the option to have your pension paid into the "UK" section of your Wise borderless account and then just transfer what you need from there to your French account, leaving a nominal GBP balance for online purchases, etc. You'll get a bank and account number to use for transfers in to your account. I use my Wise US$ account to collect one pension payment from the US every month. It should work for your UK pension, too.


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## Crabtree

Carte de Crédit - Carte ZERO


Carte ZERO - Commandez GRATUITEMENT votre Carte ZERO dès maintenant ! Zéro Frais à l'Achat, Zéro Cotisation, Crédit inclus




www.cartezero.fr




Easy to apply for easy to use everything on line including payments of balance English speakers available if needed Travel insurance included if you pay for your trip with the card No fees


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## Tricky Dicky

Can you live easily in France without having a French bank account? I have a Wise account and apart from using my debit card in Greece for payments and withdrawing cash I really wouldn’t actually need a Greek account.


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## Bevdeforges

Traditionally it has been very necessary to have a French bank account, though the Wise system says that they can set up standing orders on their system now. Apparently their "European Union" bank is in Belgium and has a Belgian prefix'd IBAN number, which may or may not be a problem. But check their site to see what they say about standing order type payments. Wise definitely works for SEPA transfers, card transactions and similar stuff. 

That's where things seem to get crucial here - especially for administrative stuff like taxes, registrations, etc. or for utilities.


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## gprit

Crabtree said:


> Carte de Crédit - Carte ZERO
> 
> 
> Carte ZERO - Commandez GRATUITEMENT votre Carte ZERO dès maintenant ! Zéro Frais à l'Achat, Zéro Cotisation, Crédit inclus
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.cartezero.fr
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Easy to apply for easy to use everything on line including payments of balance English speakers available if needed Travel insurance included if you pay for your trip with the card No fees


Applied...and got turned down!!! No reason given. Not sure why as I have no debts apart from mortgage and a perfect history of payments. Does France have equivalent of Credit rating agencies? I still have my credit rating in Uk...which is just about perfect...


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## Bevdeforges

gprit said:


> Does France have equivalent of Credit rating agencies?


No. Your credit is evaluated by the issuing bank. (One of the reasons why a "credit" card here is nearly always linked to a specific bank account.) Or perhaps by the bank account you designate to pay off this card. It may have something to do with the French banking laws - or everything to do with the potential that you are a "US person" for tax purposes. Or just possibly that you haven't been with your current bank long enough.


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## gprit

Yeah...none of those though.....am UK person, tax resident in France since 2013. CA account conducted impeccably since 2000.....very odd.


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## Bevdeforges

Not really so odd. I note that the bank/company behind that Carte ZERO thing is German/Austrian based. In the past, people have reported problems using German online banks from France due to some sort of problems with the online transfer of funds. I know Wise has switched its "EU" banking contact to a Belgian bank, and I've heard comments that it is possible to use a Belgian bank for certain types of online transfers that usually require use of a French bank. 

I suspect that your getting turned down may have little or nothing to do with your personal information or financial status and more to do with some technical incompatibility between the systems in play here.


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## Tricky Dicky

May be a dumb question, but can’t you just continue to use your UK credit card - if you still hold one, of course. It’s what I do.


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## gprit

I have two uk credit cards (paid off every month), MBNA - which I use for most things monthly, and Santander. Neither charges any foreign transaction fees. However, Santander is one of those banks that insist on sending a One Time Passport (OTP) by text....except I do not use a mobile phone. They offer no option to send by email or Voicemail.
This means I cannot really use now for online purchases - I tended to use that card for children's purchases.
I do have a Credit Agricole Premier Card.....but again they insist on a OTP by text only!! WHY oh WHY do many companies seem to think that everyone uses a mobile phone!! 
SO..MBNA is the only one I can use for online purchases - they CAN contact me by phone (VOIP to my laptop).
I need a backup! Next stop is HSBC france - I have UK HSBC accounts and any security verification (login etc) is done via a very small red dongle.....hopefully that can be used with their French Classic card.


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## Crabtree

Do not forget that many Uk based credit providers and banks are withdrawing their services to EU residents


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## saffron_gin

gprit said:


> I have two uk credit cards (paid off every month), MBNA - which I use for most things monthly, and Santander. Neither charges any foreign transaction fees. However, Santander is one of those banks that insist on sending a One Time Passport (OTP) by text....except I do not use a mobile phone. They offer no option to send by email or Voicemail.
> This means I cannot really use now for online purchases - I tended to use that card for children's purchases.
> I do have a Credit Agricole Premier Card.....but again they insist on a OTP by text only!! WHY oh WHY do many companies seem to think that everyone uses a mobile phone!!
> SO..MBNA is the only one I can use for online purchases - they CAN contact me by phone (VOIP to my laptop).
> I need a backup! Next stop is HSBC france - I have UK HSBC accounts and any security verification (login etc) is done via a very small red dongle.....hopefully that can be used with their French Classic card.


I am running into the same problems using my US cc...I do use a mobile but my US mobile doesn't work in france (and haven't figured out the virtual number thing etc)...so the OTP thing hampers me from using it here in France...ironically the last time I was stumped was trying to buy a US virtual number...chicken.egg.chicken.egg.


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## BackinFrance

gprit said:


> Yeah...none of those though.....am UK person, tax resident in France since 2013. CA account conducted impeccably since 2000.....very odd.


If you don't have a regulat income stream coming into your CA account that could be the reason that they turned you down.

You only need the most basic mobile phone subscription in France, eg no internet, to send and receive text/SMS messages within France.


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## ccm47

Cost of a really cheap unlocked phone to keep on your desk 12.32€ https://www.cdiscount.com/telephoni...ure-phone-2g-1-7/f-14404-logfeatureposhr.html
Cost of a sim to keep it alive: 1.50€ a month from Reglomobile (Leclerc). Formule MINI+ - Offres - Réglo Mobile
As at this morning Cdiscount had a smartphone i.e one with a coloured screen at under 21€ ! 
But given that carrying such a phone,( even one that's switched off) could save your life, or that of somebody else, in the event of an accident I don't understand why one wouldn't.


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## gprit

Thanks for that information - I just have an aversion to mobile phones and being tracked wherever I go (even when switched off...). I managed all my life without one and I really do not need one apart from these **** OTP!!


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## Befuddled

I am another who's life doesn't revolve around mobile phones. A major annoyance is having to receive these damned security codes to do online purchases. I have a mobile but there is no mobile signal here at Hell's Half Acre so I never really switch it on. There is no point in owning one really. I do my online banking and purchasing on a desktop PC. I recently find that in the next few months I won't even be able to log in to my LaPoste Banque account without a code. They will not send this to my email address. When I finally bump into this brick wall I will be looking for another bank.


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## gprit

Yes...it is appalling they do not offer options other than text. As someone who worked in IT for over thirty years it is not a difficult option to implement alternatives. There is also a school of thought (including me) who do not believe OTP by text to a phone is very secure anyway....


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## Befuddled

That's a fact. It only takes some miscreant to set up a "Stingray" device and its payday.
Stingray phone tracker - Wikipedia


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## Chrissippus

saffron_gin said:


> I am running into the same problems using my US cc...I do use a mobile but my US mobile doesn't work in france (and haven't figured out the virtual number thing etc)...so the OTP thing hampers me from using it here in France...ironically the last time I was stumped was trying to buy a US virtual number...chicken.egg.chicken.egg.


Getting a Google Voice number is likely to solve that problem. GV is essential to live as a US expat imho.


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## saffron_gin

Chrissippus said:


> Getting a Google Voice number is likely to solve that problem. GV is essential to live as a US expat imho.


When I looked at it, it seemed that I ought to have done it in the US itself...? Since I'm already in france, that is no longer an option?


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## Chrissippus

saffron_gin said:


> When I looked at it, it seemed that I ought to have done it in the US itself...? Since I'm already in france, that is no longer an option?


It's still possible to get a Google Voice number even though you are abroad. This link explains how:









How to Get Google Voice Number & Account Outside the US in 2022


Google Voice number can replace all your phone numbers with just one single number, but to get this outside of the US, you will need to use a VPN.




www.vpnranks.com


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