No Fuss: France Makes Bank Switching a Breeze

Under the Loi Macron, France has streamlined the process of switching banks, making it much easier for customers to find a bank which understands their needs. We talk to Catriona, a senior advisor from CA Britline to learn how it works.

What is the Loi Macron?

The aim of the Loi Macron was to improve competitiveness in the French economy, a reform which began in 2015 when Emmanuel Macron was then Minister for the Economy. The legislation affected a range of different industries and sectors – including banking.

How does the law affect bank customers?

It has made it much easier for customers to move banks when they wish to. Before, if you wanted to switch banks, the customer had to do most of the work! They had to open the new account, advise companies of their new bank account details (for payment of direct debits etc.) and wait for the transfer to complete. It took time and it could be extremely frustrating for customers. The Loi Macron introduced major changes, requiring banks to take responsibility for managing the whole process. Customers now have greater control. This flexibility allows them to select a bank that best suits their financial goals, projects and lifestyle.

How does the new system work?

At CA Britline we have a streamlined system ensuring that customers can switch to us from another bank with the minimum of fuss. It follows these steps:

• Open a new bank account with your chosen bank
• Give the new bank a copy of the RIB details for your old account
• The new bank will provide a mandate for you to sign
• The old bank will be requested (via the Loi Macron system) to provide the new bank with information on any direct debits that are taken from the account
• They can, at this stage, refuse the request for a variety of reasons
• If accepted, the new bank will inform the relevant companies of your new account details
• The old account will be closed

It is advisable to keep an eye on your utility or other regular payments to ensure that they have transferred to your new account.

The Loi Macron system takes a minimum of 40 days to switch your account.