You live in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore. You have signed the draft articles of your French SAS (société par actions simplifiée, the flexible joint-stock company most foreign founders choose), you have a French registered office address, and you are ready to deposit the share capital. Then the bank says no. Or it asks for a French residence permit you do not hold, a French tax notice you cannot produce, or a physical meeting in Paris next week. Your company formation stalls before it has started, because without the capital deposit certificate (certificat de dépôt des fonds) you cannot register, and without registration you cannot get the Kbis (the official registration certificate issued by the greffe, the registry of the commercial court, which proves your company exists).

This situation is common and it has a legal solution. French law separates two questions that banks often mix: the commercial decision to open a full business account, and the legal right to a basic deposit account plus the separate procedure for depositing company capital. A company domiciled in France (with a French registered office, or siège social) holds rights even when its founder lives abroad. The anti-money-laundering checks are real and strict, but a refusal must follow rules, and a refusal opens a second path through the Banque de France (the French central bank), which can designate a bank. This guide explains, for a foreign founder running the process from abroad, why refusals happen, what to demand in writing the day you are refused, how the droit au compte (the statutory right to an account) works for a company, and how to get from the capital deposit to the Kbis (registration certificate) through the Guichet unique (the single online company filing portal run by the INPI, the French intellectual property and business registry institute) without flying to France.

I. Your bank says no while you live abroad: understanding the refusal and activating your rights

When a French bank turns down a non-resident founder, the reasons fall into three families: regulatory caution, commercial policy, and incomplete files. Only the third can be fixed the same day. The first two require method, and the law gives you tools for each.

A. Why French banks refuse company accounts opened by founders who live abroad

French banks must, before entering into a business relationship, identify the client and verify that identity on the basis of documents. Article L561-5 of the Code monétaire et financier (the Monetary and Financial Code) states that the bank must “Identifient leur client et, le cas échéant, le bénéficiaire effectif au sens de l’article L. 561-2-2” and “Vérifient ces éléments d’identification sur présentation de tout document écrit à caractère probant” (Article L561-5, Code monétaire et financier). In practice this means a passport, proof of address abroad, the draft articles (projet de statuts), proof of the registered office in France, and the identity of every beneficial owner (bénéficiaire effectif, the natural person who ultimately owns or controls more than 25 percent). For American founders, the bank adds FATCA (the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) forms. For founders from other countries, it adds CRS (Common Reporting Standard) self-certification for the automatic exchange of tax information. A file without these pieces gives the bank a legitimate reason to wait.

Beyond identity checks, banks apply a risk policy to non-resident files. A company with no activity yet in France, a president (président, the legal representative of a SAS) resident outside the European Union, funds arriving from a third country, and a business description of two lines looks, to a compliance officer, like extra work for uncertain revenue. Some banks therefore decline remotely opened files as a matter of internal policy, or accept them only with a minimum deposit, a visit to a branch, or a French-resident co-signatory. That commercial choice is lawful in itself. What the bank cannot do is leave you without traces: Article L312-1-1 of the same Code provides that “Les établissements de crédit sont tenus de mettre à la disposition, sur support papier ou sur un autre support durable, de leur clientèle et du public les conditions générales et tarifaires applicables aux opérations relatives à la gestion d’un compte de dépôt” (Article L312-1-1, Code monétaire et financier). Ask for the written fee schedule and the written account-opening conditions before you argue about the refusal itself.

A third cause is confusion between two different products. The full business account with overdraft, cards for every manager, and online multi-user access is a commercial product the bank may decline. The deposit of share capital for a company in formation is a regulated custody task, and the basic deposit account under the droit au compte procedure is a statutory safety net. When the adviser tells you that it does not open accounts for non-residents, ask which of the three you were refused: the capital deposit, the current business account, or both. The answer changes the next step completely. Keep every refusal in writing, with the date, the branch, and the name of the person who answered. The safety-net procedure runs on paper, not on oral statements, and the broader formation guide for foreign founders describes the standard path from bank account to Kbis to VAT once the account question is solved (Setting Up a Company in France as a Foreign Founder: Bank Account, Kbis, VAT and Your First Hire).

Practical method from abroad starts with parallel applications, not sequential ones. File two or three complete applications at the same time: one traditional bank with a non-resident desk, one online business bank that accepts foreign directors, and, for the capital deposit only, a backup route such as the Caisse des dépôts (the public long-term investment institution that can hold formation capital) or a notaire (a French public officer who can receive and certify funds). Each file should contain the same core: certified passport copy, proof of address abroad with translation if needed, draft articles stating the registered office in France, lease or domiciliation contract for that office, list of subscribers with amounts, FATCA or CRS forms, and a one-page business plan with the origin of funds. Send applications by email and keep the sent messages. If a bank stays silent, that silence has a meaning once you move to the next stage.

B. The droit au compte with the Banque de France: how a refused company gets a bank designated

The droit au compte is not limited to individuals. Article L312-1 of the Code monétaire et financier opens with a clear rule: “A droit à l’ouverture d’un compte de dépôt dans l’établissement de crédit de son choix, sous réserve d’être dépourvu d’un tel compte en France” and it lists as beneficiaries “Toute personne physique ou morale domiciliée en France” (Article L312-1, Code monétaire et financier). A SAS in formation whose registered office is in Paris, Lyon or Bordeaux is a legal person domiciled in France for this purpose, even if its sole shareholder and president live in another country. The condition is concrete: the company must hold no deposit account in France. If it already holds one, the safety net does not apply and the dispute is a commercial one about services, not about access.

The procedure has three steps, and each step has a deadline written in the statute. First, obtain the written refusal certificate (attestation de refus). The bank that refuses must give it to you systematically, free of charge and without delay. Second, send the file to the Banque de France: the refusal certificate, identity documents, draft articles or proof of the company in formation, and proof of the French domicile of the company. The Banque de France then designates a bank near the domicile you indicate, taking market shares into account, and the statute sets the pace at “dans un délai d’un jour ouvré à compter de la réception des pièces requises” (within one business day from receipt of the required documents) (Article L312-1, Code monétaire et financier). Third, the designated bank opens the account within three business days from receipt of all the documents it needs. The account opened this way gives access to basic services defined by decree. Article D312-5 lists them, starting with “L’ouverture, la tenue et la clôture du compte” and continuing with statements, transfers, cheques and cash operations (Article D312-5, Code monétaire et financier).

Three practical points matter for a founder abroad. First, the refusal certificate must concern the company file, not only your personal file. A personal refusal does not automatically open the company procedure. Apply in the name of the company in formation, represented by the founder, and ask the certificate to name the company. Second, the designated account is basic by design: it receives capital, pays the formation invoices, and supports registration, but it may not include the overdraft, the multiple cards, or the foreign-currency tools you planned. Treat it as a bridge that lets you register and obtain the Kbis, then negotiate a full business relationship once the company exists and the SIREN (the nine-digit company identification number issued by INSEE, the national statistics institute) is active. Third, the procedure does not erase anti-money-laundering controls. The designated bank still verifies identity and the origin of funds under Article L561-5. A file with unexplained cash, an opaque chain of ownership, or a missing beneficial-owner declaration will stall there too. The safety net cures a commercial refusal, not an incomplete compliance file.

A common objection from banks is that the company “does not exist yet” because it is not registered. French company law answers this directly for the capital question, which belongs to the second part of this guide. For the account question, file the droit au compte request with the draft articles, the registered-office contract, and the list of subscribers. The Banque de France desks handle company-in-formation files every week. If you are told otherwise by a branch, ask for that position in writing and attach it to your file. In most cases, one complete refusal certificate plus a clean compliance file is enough to unlock the designation within days, and that designation restarts the whole formation calendar.

II. From the capital deposit to the Kbis without travelling: the registration chain that no bank can block

Once the account question is reframed, the formation follows a fixed chain: deposit the funds, obtain the deposit certificate, file the single electronic dossier, and let registration create the legal person. Each link has its own rule, and none of them requires the founder to live in France.

A. Depositing the share capital of a SAS from abroad: banks, Caisse des dépôts, notaire, and the certificate that unlocks everything

A SAS can be formed by one or several persons whose risk is limited to their contribution. Article L227-1 of the Code de commerce (the Commercial Code) states: “Une société par actions simplifiée peut être instituée par une ou plusieurs personnes qui ne supportent les pertes qu’à concurrence de leur apport” (Article L227-1, Code de commerce). The SAS has no statutory minimum capital: one euro is legally enough, although a symbolic amount alarms banks and suppliers. Foreign founders typically deposit between 1,000 and 10,000 euros for a service company, more for regulated or stock-holding activities. At least half of cash contributions must be paid up (libéré, actually transferred) at formation, the balance within five years. Contributions in kind (apport en nature, such as equipment or shares) follow separate valuation rules, and small ones can avoid a court-appointed valuer by unanimous decision of the founders within decree limits.

Cash subscriptions must be deposited, not kept by the founder. Article L225-5 of the Code de commerce provides: “Les fonds provenant des souscriptions en numéraire et la liste des souscripteurs avec l’indication des sommes versées par chacun d’eux font l’objet d’un dépôt dans les conditions déterminées par décret en Conseil d’Etat” (Article L225-5, Code de commerce). The authorised depositaries are a bank, the Caisse des dépôts, or a notaire. This point is the practical answer to the bank blockade: if no bank accepts the cash deposit for the company in formation, the notaire or the Caisse des dépôts can receive the funds and issue the certificate. The notaire route costs fees but works fully at a distance with a power of attorney and certified identity documents, and many Paris notaires handle foreign founders routinely. The Caisse des dépôts route runs through its online consignation portal with the draft articles and subscriber list. Either certificate has the same legal value as a bank certificate for the greffe.

The transfer itself needs preparation to survive compliance review. Send the funds by wire from an account in your own name, in a country that cooperates on tax transparency, with a reference stating the capital deposit, the company name in formation and the subscriber name. Keep the SWIFT confirmation, the bank statement showing the debit, and a short written explanation of the origin of the funds (savings, salary, sale of assets, intra-group loan with the loan agreement attached). If the funds come from a third person or a foreign company, attach the donation, loan, or board resolution that authorises the transfer and identifies the beneficial owner. Banks freeze files most often at this exact point: the money arrives from an account whose holder does not match the subscriber’s name, with no explanation. A one-page note in French or English, attached before the transfer, prevents weeks of back-and-forth.

Once the depositary holds the funds, it issues the certificat de dépôt des fonds (certificate of deposit) naming the company in formation, the subscribers, and the amounts. Check three details before leaving the depositary: the exact company name as it appears in the draft articles, the exact registered office address, and the exact breakdown per subscriber. The greffe compares the certificate with the articles and the filing form letter by letter. A difference in one word of the company name or one digit of the address sends the file back for correction, and a correction from abroad costs ten days. The funds stay frozen until registration; they are released to the company on presentation of the Kbis. If the company is never formed, any subscriber can ask a court for withdrawal of the funds. Never ask the depositary to release the capital back to you before registration: the certificate would become false and the founders would answer for it.

B. Filing through the Guichet unique and reading the Kbis: what the greffe checks and what to do if it asks for more

Since 1 January 2023, all company creation formalities pass through a single online portal. Article R123-1 of the Code de commerce states: “L’organisme unique mentionné à l’article L. 123-33 permet aux entreprises de réaliser l’ensemble des formalités et procédures nécessaires à l’accès et à l’exercice de leur activité” (Article R123-1, Code de commerce). The underlying duty is in Article L123-33: “toute entreprise se conforme à l’obligation de déclarer sa création, la modification de sa situation ou la cessation de ses activités auprès d’une administration, d’une personne ou d’un organisme mentionnés à l’article L. 123-32 par le dépôt d’un seul dossier” (Article L123-33, Code de commerce). Concretely, the founder or the attorney files one electronic dossier on the Guichet unique operated by the INPI: the signed articles, the capital deposit certificate, the registered-office title (lease, domiciliation contract with an approved domiciliation company, or proof of the president’s address with authorisation), the identity and clean-record documents of the president and any general manager, the beneficial-owner declaration (registre des bénéficiaires effectifs), and, for certain activities, the diploma or authorisation. The portal forwards each piece to the right recipient: the greffe for the RCS (registre du commerce et des sociétés, the trade and companies register), INSEE for the SIREN and SIRET (the 14-digit establishment number), and the tax and social bodies.

The greffe examines the file as a registrar, not as a business adviser. It checks identity, capacity, the registered office title, the deposit certificate, the articles’ mandatory clauses for a SAS (legal form, corporate purpose, registered office, capital, duration, president’s identity), and the absence of a ban on managing a company (interdiction de gérer). It does not judge the business plan. When the file is complete, the company is registered and acquires legal personality. Article L210-6 states: “Les sociétés commerciales jouissent de la personnalité morale à dater de leur immatriculation au registre du commerce et des sociétés” (Article L210-6, Code de commerce). Before that date, anyone who acted in the name of the company in formation remains personally liable, unless the company after registration takes over the commitments, which “sont alors réputés avoir été souscrits dès l’origine par la société” (are then deemed to have been undertaken by the company from the start) (Article L210-6, Code de commerce). This is why leases, bank papers, and service contracts signed during formation should state that they are signed in the name and on behalf of the company in formation, with a takeover clause (clause de reprise) in the articles.

The Kbis is the visible result: company name, acronym and trade name if any, SIREN, registered office, legal form and capital, duration, corporate purpose summary, president’s identity, and the greffe’s stamp with the date. Read it the day it arrives. Errors in the corporate purpose, the address, or the president’s name are common when the founder files from abroad with an apostilled passport (an apostille is the international authentication stamp under the Hague Convention that makes a foreign public document valid in France). A correction runs through the Guichet unique as a modificative filing, with a new fee and a BODACC notice (BODACC is the Bulletin officiel des annonces civiles et commerciales, the official gazette where company registrations and changes are published). Also check the SIRET activation on the INSEE directory and the VAT number allocation: the SIREN alone does not mean the intra-Community VAT number is active for cross-border invoices. If the greffe rejects or pauses the file (demande de régularisation), the portal message names the missing piece precisely: a blurry passport scan, an expired domiciliation approval, a deposit certificate whose company name differs by one word, or a beneficial-owner form signed by the wrong person. Answer with the exact piece asked for, not with a general letter. Most regularisations close within a week when the answer is precise.

After the Kbis, three moves complete the bank question. First, present the Kbis to the depositary to release the capital to the company account. Second, present the Kbis to the designated or newly chosen bank to upgrade from the basic account to a full business account: with a SIREN, a Kbis, and a first activity proof, compliance desks decide faster. Third, file the company with the tax office for VAT and corporate tax through the same Guichet unique flow, and keep the refusal certificates, the designation letter, and the deposit certificate in the company’s permanent file. If a later dispute arises about who authorised a pre-registration payment, that file proves the chain from your wire to the frozen capital to the registered company.

Conclusion

A bank refusal from abroad does not end a French company project. It moves the project onto a marked legal path. Identify which refusal you received, demand it in writing, and keep the proof. If the company, domiciled in France, holds no account, the droit au compte lets the Banque de France designate a bank within one business day of a complete file, and the designated bank opens a basic account within three business days. If the blockade concerns the capital itself, the Caisse des dépôts or a notaire can receive the funds and issue the certificate the greffe expects. Then the Guichet unique carries the single dossier to the greffe, INSEE, and the tax and social bodies, and registration gives the company its legal personality and its Kbis. Draft the articles carefully, match every name and address across every document, fund the deposit by a traceable wire with its explanation attached, and read the Kbis the day it is issued. Banks decide commercially, but company law decides legally, and a founder who files a complete, consistent, traceable dossier from abroad reaches registration without ever needing to argue at a counter.