Is it okay not to use a brick and mortar bank?
To meet ANEF’s review requirements, my contingency funds needed to be in a French bank account. So we opened a non-resident personal account in France with BNP Paribas.
Upon arriving in France and establishing a long-term lease, I submitted my lease and utility bills as proof of residency and asked to convert my account to a resident account.
First, my advisor stated I would need to submit a form. When I asked for the form, she told me I would need to wait 6 months. This is frustrating, and even if I can convince her that we should be able to convert our account now, I am inclined to look for another bank for my personal needs.
My question is: Is there a reason to maintain an account with a brick-and-mortar bank?
I use Qonto for my business account. And in general I prefer the modern business practices of neobanks like N26 and Revolut (which both offer accounts with French IBANs now), but want to make sure moving to one of them wouldn’t create issues for us in the future.
Thank you.