GRANT PAYMENTS AND BANKING

Grantees who submit their travel receipts with their French bank account details will receive their travel reimbursement with the first stipend payment.

Those with grants of up to six months will receive the entire grant in one payment. Those with grants of more than six and up to nine months will receive two payments (60% and 40%). Grants of over nine months will be in three installments (40%, 30%, 30%). Grants are wired on the 25th of the preceding month, and take a few days to go from account to account. All grantees will receive their payment schedules over the summer. Please keep the schedule for your records.

Here is a sample payment schedule for a grantee coming for 9 months (October-June), to illustrate:

• • • • October 1: 60% of the grant + the first half of the travel allowance

      • March 1: 40% of the grant

      • Submission of final report at the end of the stay: Second half of the travel allowance

The Commission will not send money in the form of checks or money orders directly to grantees. For this reason, be sure to bring sufficient funds to support yourself for the first few weeks following your arrival in France, until you have a permanent address and have opened a local bank account. The Commission will only disburse stipend payments and reimbursement of your travel allowance by way of direct deposit to your French bank account. 

The Commission cannot send funds out of France. Please do not leave France without claiming the second half of your travel allowance. 

Opening a bank account

Some French banks may be reluctant to open short-term bank accounts for US persons due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (FATCA), a US law designed to prevent undeclared offshore accounts and tax evasion. As of mid-2014, all foreign banks that are signatories of FATCA (which includes all French banks) are obligated to report bank accounts held by US persons to the US Department of the Treasury or face steep fines, which is an added administrative burden. Be aware that you may not be accepted as a client at the first bank you visit. Our US grantees have been able to open bank accounts successfully in France without great difficulty. 

Since the passage of FATCA, US persons must be physically present to open a bank account (i.e., you cannot open an account from the U.S. or online). There will be two appointments at the bank: the first to make the request and submit the paperwork; the second to finalize the opening. Between the two appointments, the bank must check with its FATCA compliance cell, a procedure that can take up to a week. 

Please be prepared to have some or all of the following documents requested of you when opening an account:

• • • US passport with French visa

    • Convention d’accueil (for Research Scholars or doctoral students on a passeport talent visa)

    • Arrêté de nomination (for English Teaching Assistants)

    • Proof of student status in France (for those enrolled in degree programs and/or with a student visa)

    • Proof of residency in France: either a rental receipt (“quittance de loyer”) in your name; or an “attestation d’hébergement” (a letter from the owner of your apartment/house stating he/she is housing you), plus a utility bill in his/her name, and a copy of his/her ID

    • Recent US tax return (generally only asked of Research Scholars)

    • Letter of good standing from your home bank (rare but possible)

    • Proof of Fulbright funds (the “A Qui de Droit” letter sent to you via e-mail)

For the reasons listed above, all grantees (even grantees coming just for three months) should contact banks immediately upon securing a permanent address in France to open an account as quickly as possible. 

Please note that it is not necessary to have validated the ANEF procedure in order to open a bank account in France; however the account must be opened with a permanent French address, and may be opened with U.S. dollars or euros. $100 is a sufficient amount to open an account in most popular banks. This allows the Commission to credit your stipend and travel allowance directly to your account throughout the academic year. Please note that it might be necessary to wait three weeks to one month after first opening your account in order to start using it. 

Major French banks include: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, LCL, Société Générale, Banque Populaire, Banque Postale, Crédit Mutuel, CIC, CCF and Caisse d’Epargne. 

There are also a number of online banks (with no physical offices to receive their clients), including:  Boursorama Banque, Hello Bank, Fortuneo, ING Direct, and N26. Grantees have found Wise Bank or Revolut to be a particularly easy and flexible solution.
--> To note, however, some Académies are unwilling to wire salary payments to ETAs with online bank accounts with non-French IBANs (such as Wise); the same goes for the French national healthcare system (sécurité sociale) for payment reimbursements, for those grantees who are eligible. If you are an ETA and/or signing up for enrollment in the French healthcare system, you may want to open an online account upon arrival to receive your first Fulbright grant payment quickly, and then take the time to open an account at a brick and mortar bank.

Tips

Here are some tips to facilitate opening a bank account when you arrive in France (note that it is impossible to open an account online and/or outside of France):

• • 1.  If you are affiliated with a lab or research center, inquire with Human Resources about any partner banks. Otherwise, go to an agency near your lab or research center, as they are more likely to have experience with foreign researchers. 

    2.  If you are a degree-seeking student, check with the student affairs office about partner banks. Often these partner bank agencies have good deals for students, too. 

    3. If you are a research scholar or doctoral candidate, ask for assistance from your local Euraxess center. 

Other considerations 

We suggest having some cash on you upon arriving in France to facilitate your first steps. (Please note that individuals leaving or entering France with the equivalent of 10,000 euros or more in cash on their person must declare it at customs.)

Your expenses will probably be heavier during the first month than at any other time (rental deposit, etc.) and it is wise, if possible, to have additional funds to supplement your initial payment from the Commission.

Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted credit cards in France. American Express is often accepted. 

Important: many automated machines (for metro tickets, train tickets, highway tolls, parking garages) only read credit cards with microchips and a PIN. Most American debit/credit cards, even if they have a chip, do not have a PIN. At an ATM, your card will be confiscated after three incorrect PIN entries. 

             1.     Changing currency

French retail banks typically do not exchange cash. Money changers often offer a terrible exchange rate and stack on a series of fees. Read the conditions carefully before handing over your money.

            2.     ATMs 

ATMs are located in banks, post offices, airports and some big shopping stores. Please note that European ATMs require 4-digit PINs, instead of the 5-digit PINs that some American ATMs use. If you plan to use an American ATM card and your PIN is 5 digits, it is recommended that you change it before coming to France! 

Note that your American bank may charge you a service fee for ATM withdrawals. This makes getting a Carte Bleue (debit card) from your French account more desirable, as there is usually no extra charge when you withdraw from one of your bank’s own ATM machines. 

         3.    Transferring money

For transferring money to and from the U.S., recent grantees have recommended using Wise.