You live in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore, your French SAS is ready on paper, and then the process stalls on something no founder expects: no French bank will take your money. One bank asks for a French proof of address you do not have, another freezes the file after seeing a foreign passport, a third accepts the capital transfer and then refuses to issue the certificate your registrar demands. Without that certificate there is no registration, no Kbis (the official registration certificate that proves your company exists, issued after entry in the company register), no SIREN number (the nine-digit national business identifier), and no operating account to invoice your first client. This guide explains the two blockages foreign founders actually meet — the capital deposit that cannot be placed and the current account that is refused or closed — and the remedies French law gives you when you live abroad: the identity checks banks must run, the written refusal certificate they owe you, the designation procedure before the Banque de France (the French central bank), and the sixty-day notice rule that protects your existing account and credit lines. For the general incorporation journey, read our companion guide Setting Up a Company in France as a Foreign Founder: Bank Account, Kbis, VAT and Your First Hire; for the capital certificate in particular, see our detailed walkthrough Opening a French Business Bank Account as a Foreign Company. All statute citations below link to the official texts on Légifrance, the French public legal database.

I. Your capital is ready but no French bank will take it: how to deposit the funds and pass the identity checks from abroad

French company law treats the share capital as a guarantee for third parties, so the money must be verifiably blocked before the company is born. Banks treat the same money as a compliance risk, because the depositor is a non-resident they have never met. Understanding both logics is the only way to get through: what the registrar requires, what documents unlock the deposit, and why the bank is legally obliged to check your identity before touching a euro.

A. How do I deposit the share capital of my SAS or SARL and obtain the deposit certificate when I live abroad?

The certificat de dépôt des fonds, the certificate of deposit of funds, is the document the greffe — the clerk’s office of the commercial court acting as the local company registrar — checks first in every incorporation file. It proves that the cash subscriptions stated in the draft articles (statuts) were actually paid to a qualified depositary. Since 2023 the registration itself is entered in the RNE (Registre national des entreprises, the single national business register operated by the INPI, the National Institute of Industrial Property), and the creation is published in the BODACC (Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, the official gazette of company announcements). But none of that happens without the certificate, and the certificate only comes from three kinds of depositaries: the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (the state-owned public financial institution), a notary (notaire), or a credit institution. A transfer to the personal account of a founder, to a foreign bank with no French establishment, or to a payment platform does not count.

The amount you must actually pay on day one depends on the vehicle. In a SARL (the limited liability company with parts sociales, partnership-style shares), Article L.223-7 of the Commercial Code (Code de commerce) provides that “Les parts représentant des apports en numéraire doivent être libérées d’au moins un cinquième de leur montant”, meaning cash shares must be paid up for at least one fifth immediately, with the balance callable by the manager within five years of registration. In a SAS (the simplified joint-stock company, the vehicle most foreign founders choose for its flexible governance), Article L.227-1 of the Commercial Code makes the rules on public limited companies applicable to the SAS except for the listed exclusions, and Article L.225-5 of the Commercial Code requires the cash subscriptions and the list of subscribers to be deposited under conditions set by decree, adding that “nul ne peut détenir plus de huit jours les sommes recueillies pour le compte d’une société en formation” — nobody who collects incorporation funds may hold them more than eight days. For the SARL the parallel rule is even more direct: Article R.223-3 of the Commercial Code states that “Dans les huit jours de leur réception, les fonds provenant de la libération des parts sociales sont déposés pour le compte de la société en formation” with the Caisse des dépôts, a notary or a credit institution. In practice this means your depositary must act fast, and a file left sleeping in a compliance queue can breach the very deadline the law imposes on the person who received your money.

From abroad, three practical points decide whether the deposit succeeds. First, the name on the transfer must match the future company name exactly as written in the draft articles, followed by the words “en formation” (in formation); a missing suffix or a founder’s name instead of the company’s is the most common ground for rejection. Second, the amount credited must cover the required paid-up portion in euros after conversion fees: a shortfall of a few euros forces a second transfer and a corrected certificate. Third, the depositary needs the full draft file — draft articles, proof of identity and address of each subscriber, and where a subscriber is a foreign company, its own registration certificate with a sworn translation — before it issues anything. The certificate lists the company name in formation, the amount deposited, and the subscribers; the registrar compares it line by line with the articles. Keep the certificate, the transfer slip and the depositary’s receipt together: the funds stay blocked until registration, and they are released to the new company only against presentation of the Kbis. If registration fails, the same documents allow the subscribers to recover their money.

Registration itself is what turns the blocked deposit into working capital. Article L.123-9 of the Commercial Code warns that a person subject to registration cannot rely against third parties or public authorities on facts subject to entry unless they have been published in the register. Translated into business terms: until your company appears in the register and the Kbis is issued, it cannot properly invoice, hire, or open an operating account in its own name. Founders living abroad should therefore treat the deposit as step one of a chain — deposit, certificate, filing with the INPI single window (guichet unique), Kbis, release of funds — and chase each link in writing, because a delay at the deposit stage pushes back everything downstream, from the VAT number to the first employment contract.

B. Why does the French bank demand my passport, proof of address, draft articles and beneficial owner details before opening anything?

Banks that seem to invent paperwork are in fact applying anti-money-laundering law, and knowing the exact rule helps you prepare a file they cannot send back. Article L.561-5 of the Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) requires covered institutions to identify their client and, where applicable, the beneficial owner, and to “Vérifient ces éléments d’identification sur présentation de tout document écrit à caractère probant” — they verify those identification details against any probative written document. This duty arises before entering into the business relationship or assisting with a transaction, so the bank is entitled, indeed obliged, to ask for your passport, proof of domicile, the draft articles, and the identity of every natural person who ultimately controls the future company.

The beneficial owner (bénéficiaire effectif) deserves special attention because foreign groups trip on it constantly. Article L.561-2-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code defines the beneficial owner as the natural person or persons who ultimately control the client directly or indirectly, or on whose behalf a transaction is carried out. If your French SAS will be held by a foreign holding company, which is itself held by a trust or a chain of entities, the bank must look through every layer to the human beings at the end. A file that stops at the holding company is incomplete by law, and the bank’s refusal to proceed is then legally grounded. Prepare an ownership chart naming each intermediate entity with registration numbers, plus passports of the ultimate individuals and an explanation of the chain in plain language; founders who deliver this chart on day one clear compliance in days rather than months.

Where the file cannot be completed, the bank has no choice but to walk away. Article L.561-8 of the Monetary and Financial Code provides that where the institution cannot satisfy the identification duties, “elle n’exécute aucune opération, quelles qu’en soient les modalités, n’établit ni ne poursuit aucune relation d’affaires” — it carries out no transaction and neither establishes nor continues any business relationship, and it may file a suspicious-transaction report with Tracfin (the French anti-money-laundering intelligence unit). This is the legal reason behind the coldest refusals: an expired document, an unverifiable foreign address, a shareholder who refuses to disclose, or a jurisdiction the bank’s policy excludes can each trigger a mandatory no. The same article extends the rule to banks designated by the Banque de France under the right-to-account procedure, which means even the designated bank may still refuse if identity verification genuinely fails — a point developed in Part II.

Practical consequence for founders abroad: build the compliance file before contacting banks, not after a refusal. A complete file contains certified passport copies, recent proof of address (utility bill or tax notice, translated where needed), the full draft articles, the ownership chart down to the beneficial owners, the foreign parent’s registration certificate, and a one-page description of the planned French activity with expected flows. Send it to several banks in parallel — traditional banks, online business banks and the notary route for the deposit — because nothing in the law obliges a bank to accept your capital deposit on commercial grounds, and parallel filings are the only way to keep the eight-day and registration timetable under control. Every refusal must be documented in writing, because written refusals unlock the remedy examined next.

II. The bank said no or closed my French business account: how to force a solution through the Banque de France and challenge an abrupt closure from abroad

A refusal is not the end of the road in France: statute gives every eligible person a right to an account and a procedure to enforce it, and case law punishes banks that ignore a Banque de France designation or close a business account overnight. Both remedies work from abroad if you follow the formal steps, keep every letter, and act within the deadlines. This part walks through the designation procedure first, then the defence of an existing account and its credit lines.

A. How do I get the Banque de France to designate a bank that must open an account for my French company?

The right to an account (droit au compte) is set by Article L.312-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code, which opens with the principle that any natural or legal person domiciled in France, deprived of such an account, is entitled to the opening of a deposit account with the credit institution of its choice. For a French company in formation or newly registered, the condition is straightforward: the company has its registered office (siège social) in France and holds no account yet. The procedure runs in three documented steps. First, apply to a bank of your choice and, if it refuses, demand the written refusal certificate (attestation de refus): the statute obliges the refusing bank to deliver it systematically, without charge and without delay, and to inform you that you may ask the Banque de France to designate an institution. Never leave a refusing branch without that paper or an equivalent written refusal; without proof of refusal the central bank cannot act.

Second, file the designation request with the Banque de France, enclosing the refusal certificate, the company’s draft or registered documents, and the identity file described in Part I. The same Article L.312-1 provides that the Banque de France designates an institution near the domicile or another place of the applicant’s choice within one business day of receiving the required documents, and that the designated institution “procèdent à l’ouverture du compte de dépôt dans les trois jours ouvrés à compter de la réception de l’ensemble des pièces qui lui sont nécessaires à cet effet” — it opens the deposit account within three business days of receiving all the documents it needs. The account opened this way carries the legally defined basic banking services (services bancaires de base): Article D.312-5 of the Monetary and Financial Code lists them — opening, maintenance and closing of the account, bank identity statements, direct debits and SEPA transfers, monthly statements, cheque and transfer collection, cash deposits and withdrawals, remote balance consultation, and a payment card for internet payments and EU cash withdrawals. Expect a functional account for receiving revenue and paying suppliers and salaries, not an overdraft or a chequebook: credit facilities remain a commercial decision of the bank.

Third, enforce the designation if the bank drags its feet. The courts treat a designation as an order, not an invitation. In a judgment of 21 December 2023 (RG No. 22/05426), the Court of Appeal of Versailles (Cour d’appel de Versailles) upheld a first-instance ruling that “avait commis une faute en n’y procédant pas dans les trois jours ouvrés à compter de la réception des justificatifs fournis par ce dernier alors qu’il disposait de l’ensemble des pièces nécessaires à l’ouverture d’un compte de dépôt en ses livres au nom de M [E]” — the bank designated by the Banque de France had committed a fault by failing to open the account within three business days of receiving the supporting documents when it held everything needed. The court confirmed damages of 2,000 euros and a penalty-backed order (astreinte, a daily financial penalty for non-compliance) compelling the bank to open the account. The lesson for foreign founders is direct: once designated, send the complete file by traceable means, diary the third business day, and if the account is still not open, have counsel put the bank on formal notice (mise en demeure) citing the designation and the Versailles precedent before suing for an injunction and damages. Banks sometimes invoke their vigilance duty over an anomaly — in that case a date-of-birth mismatch — so make sure every document in your file is mutually consistent before you force the issue.

Two limits must be stated clearly. The designated bank still runs the identity checks from Part I, and Article L.561-8 expressly applies to designated institutions: if verification genuinely cannot be completed, the bank must still refuse. And the procedure designates one institution near the place you indicated, taking market shares into account — you cannot use it to shop for the most prestigious brand. From abroad, the whole exchange can be handled by post, email with acknowledgment, and a French representative under written mandate (mandat écrit); what matters is the paper trail: refusal certificate, designation decision, proof of transmission of the complete file, and the bank’s replies. The general public guidance on this remedy is published by the public service portal service-public.fr (search “droit au compte”) and by the Banque de France on its official site banque-france.fr, which describe the same documents and time limits.

B. Can my French bank close my business account or cut my overdraft without warning while I live abroad?

Many founders discover the second risk after the account is open: the overdraft (découvert or autorisé de découvert) that smooths cash flow is reduced without discussion, or a closure letter arrives with a one-month deadline while you are on another continent. French law draws a sharp line between ordinary deposit accounts and credit facilities granted to businesses. For credit, the protection is strong and written into statute. Article L.313-12 of the Monetary and Financial Code states: “Tout concours à durée indéterminée, autre qu’occasionnel, qu’un établissement de crédit ou une société de financement consent à une entreprise, ne peut être réduit ou interrompu que sur notification écrite et à l’expiration d’un délai de préavis fixé lors de l’octroi du concours. Ce délai ne peut, sous peine de nullité de la rupture du concours, être inférieur à soixante jours.” Any open-ended credit other than occasional lending granted to a business can only be reduced or cut off by written notice after a notice period set when the facility was granted, never less than sixty days on pain of nullity of the termination.

The courts apply this text strictly, including against major banks and including where the account is deeply overdrawn. In a judgment of 19 May 2026 (RG No. 25/04564, SARL B.C. Football Agency v. BNP Paribas), the commercial chamber of the Court of Appeal of Versailles examined the closure of a professional account and the denunciation of credit facilities, recalling the sixty-day rule of Article L.313-12 and the requirement of written notification with expiry of the notice period before any reduction or interruption takes effect. The bank in that case pointed to a debit balance of nearly 31,000 euros above a 25,000-euro authorised overdraft, a denunciation letter of 29 November 2023 with notice running to 31 January 2024, and a closure letter of 1 February 2024 taking effect on 8 March 2024 — an illustration of the paper trail a compliant bank builds. For a founder abroad, the practical checklist is therefore: read the credit agreement to find the agreed notice period (sixty days minimum), require every reduction or termination in writing, count the days from receipt, and treat any cut without written notice or before expiry as potentially void, with the debit balance potentially not yet due. Conversely, do not expect a court to order a closed account to be reopened: judges recall that nobody can be forced to remain in a contractual relationship, so the realistic remedy for an abrupt cut is damages and, where the notice was void, a declaration that the termination is ineffective with the debt consequences that follow.

For the deposit account itself, without any credit attached, the bank may terminate with notice under the account agreement and the general law, but it must still give prior written notice and respect the agreed period; the designated-account regime of Article L.312-1 adds its own closed list of termination grounds (suspected illegal use, inaccurate information, loss of domicile conditions, a second account opened elsewhere, repeated incivility, or anti-money-laundering termination) with a minimum two-month notice except for the most serious cases. Living abroad does not remove these protections, but distance makes proof harder, so organise the defence in advance: keep the credit agreement and every amendment, archive all letters and emails with dates of receipt, react to any reduction letter within days by registered letter asserting the sixty-day rule, and mandate a person in France to collect registered mail (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception) and alert you. If URSSAF (the social-security collection agency, Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d’allocations familiales) or the tax authorities (impots.gouv.fr, the online portal of the French tax administration) debit the account while a closure dispute is pending, that parallel pressure is a reason to act fast, not a reason to accept an irregular termination: ask the court for interim relief (référé, the fast-track emergency procedure) alongside the claim on the merits.

Finally, founders who operate through several banks should spread risk before trouble starts: hold the capital-deposit relationship, the operating account and any credit line in a documented structure, keep at least two months of fixed costs reachable outside any single overdraft, and calendar every credit renewal date. A bank that knows you can survive sixty days without its facility negotiates differently from one that knows a cut would stop salaries tomorrow. And where a closure is lawful and final, open the replacement account first — using the designation procedure if needed — then transfer direct debits and SEPA mandates, so clients and the social-security bodies never face a rejected payment that could trigger penalties or a labour dispute.

Conclusion

A French business account for a founder living abroad is won in two stages, each with its own law. First, the capital deposit: pay the correct paid-up portion to a qualified depositary within the eight-day logic of Articles R.223-3 and L.225-5, under the exact company name in formation, and keep the certificate that unlocks registration, the Kbis and the release of the blocked funds. Second, the operating account: present a compliance file that answers Articles L.561-5 and L.561-2-2 before the bank asks twice, demand a written refusal certificate when the answer is no, and use the Banque de France designation under Article L.312-1 to obtain an account with basic services within days — a designation the courts enforce with damages and penalty orders, as Versailles showed in December 2023. Once the account lives, protect its credit lines with the sixty-day written-notice shield of Article L.313-12, confirmed in commercial case law as recently as May 2026, and never accept a silent or overnight cut. Distance from France complicates every step but excuses none of the formalities; complete files, traceable letters and calendared deadlines are what turn a foreign founder’s banking file from a compliance problem into an ordinary account.