5. French Bank Cards - Cartes Banques

1. 5.1. Euro/Mastercard & Visa Cards
   5.2. Other Bank Cards

5.2. Other French Bank Cards

The banks offer a carte de retrait, which either enable you to withdraw cash from the ATM of your branch, or more widely.

The cards may be freely offered with a bank account or there may be a minimal charge. Thus, La Poste offers such a card at no charge. You cannot use these cards to purchase goods or services.

There is another type of smart card available in France called the Carte Moneo, also available in other European countries. Basically, the Moneo is an electronic purse (porte-monnaie électronique), with a storage limit of €100.

The card works by uploading money from your bank account onto the card. It can then be used in participating establishments to purchase goods up to a single value of €30. The card is simply entered into the card reader and the value of the purchase entered on the reader. No PIN number is required.

Moneo has not taken off on its own in the way it was hoped (it is mainly used by the student community) there are limits on where it can be used, and of course it is only available for small purchases. The other major disadvantage is security, because it is completely anonymous and if you lose it, it can be used by someone else.

However, most normal bank cards now offer a Moneo facility, which would enable you to pay either using your carte bancaire facility or with the Moneo option.

If you have an international Mastercard or Visacard from your home country you can use it in France (although 'swipe' machines are on the decrease) but you will, of course, face the currency risk and, depending on the terms of your card, you may also be required to pay a fee. Most banks charge a fee for withdrawing money on the card, although this is less common on the purchase of goods or services.

You need to check with your own bank on the terms of use for your card.

Others major debit cards you can find in France are American Express and Diners Club.

There are a range of credit cards available in France in the same manner is available elsewhere. Many large chains issue them with variable rates of interest and they are also offered by the banks.