Expat Advice: Financial Issues in The first thing to know is not about France but about your financial institutions in your home country, especially if you will no longer have an address or phone number there. You may be able to put your French address on your checks, but can your bank continue to provide you with an account if you have only a foreign address? If you have to close your account, can you do it easily without being physically present at a branch? Be aware that you often cannot simply go online to update your contact information, because the fields are set for phone number formats that don't match your French format, which makes all 2-step identity verification, for example, a non-starter. If you are from North America, accept the fact that you may have to make important calls home just when you want to settle down to watch the news or turn in for the night. Bottom line: try your best to do as much as you can financially before you pull up roots in your home country. Establish an account with a bank like HSBC, which allows you to move money between your two countries with ease., France

What advice would you offer others about banking as an expat in your country? What do you wish you had known about banking when you first arrived?

The first thing to know is not about France but about your financial institutions in your home country, especially if you will no longer have an address or phone number there. You may be able to put your French address on your checks, but can your bank continue to provide you with an account if you have only a foreign address? If you have to close your account, can you do it easily without being physically present at a branch? Be aware that you often cannot simply go online to update your contact information, because the fields are set for phone number formats that don't match your French format, which makes all 2-step identity verification, for example, a non-starter. If you are from North America, accept the fact that you may have to make important calls home just when you want to settle down to watch the news or turn in for the night. Bottom line: try your best to do as much as you can financially before you pull up roots in your home country. Establish an account with a bank like HSBC, which allows you to move money between your two countries with ease.