The neobanks N26 and Revolut now offer French IBANs to their customers. IBAN? This acronym meaning International Bank Account Number, corresponds to the identity card of an account. It is made up of letters (FR for France) and a series of numbers.
“It’s an accelerator to becoming the everyday bank”underlines Jérémie Rosselli, general manager of N26 for France and Benelux, which has been offering a French IBAN to its new customers since July 2023. Those having opened their account before this date can request to switch from their German IBAN, in DE, to a French IBAN, or wait for the bank to offer it to them. “We are doing everything to ensure the transition is smooth, starting with customers who do not have recurring transactions on their account, such as standing transfers or direct debits”explains Mr. Rosselli.
The vast majority of the 2.5 million French customers of the neobank Revolut are now equipped with a French IBAN. A large-scale change announced in May 2022, but whose implementation, that is to say the replacement of the Lithuanian IBAN (Revolut operates in Europe through a banking license in this country) by the French IBAN, accelerated in the summer of 2023.
“The Lithuanian IBAN remains active for 365 days after switching to the French IBAN. Thus, a transfer arriving on the old account number will be automatically credited to the French account. After this period, the operation will be rejected. », Specifies Antoine Le Nel, director in charge of global growth at Revolut.
Illegal discrimination
The transition is delicate from a technical point of view, but it is ultimately essential for customers. Because life is simpler, that’s a fact, with an IBAN starting with FR. Indeed, certain public or private organizations are reluctant to make transfers or direct debits to accounts abroad. This discrimination has nevertheless been illegal since the entry into force, in 2014, of the European regulation on the single euro payment area.
“We have received more than 3,400 complaints across Europe since 2021 on our Accept My IBAN platformsays Magali Van Bulck, director of European public affairs at international payments specialist Wise. France comes first with more than 1,000 complaints alone, mainly involving public establishments and financial services. »
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