Nobody warned me about this one before I left Melbourne. To open a French bank account, you often need a French phone number. To get a proper French phone plan, you need a French bank account and an address. And to rent somewhere with an address, it helps to have both. It's the classic French bureaucracy loop, and almost every new arrival gets stuck in it for a while.
The good news is that there's a way through, and it mostly comes down to doing things in the right order. This is what worked for me, what I'd do differently, and how I moved my money from AUD to EUR along the way.
Why it feels impossible at first
When you try to open a French bank account online, it will usually ask you to confirm your identity with a code sent by SMS to a French mobile number. I tried using my Australian number and it simply didn't work.
Then when you look at a phone plan from one of the big French providers, the online sign up asks for a French mobile number to manage your account, a French billing address, and an IBAN for the monthly direct debit. You're stuck before you've even started.
The way out is to break the loop at two points: get a euro account before you leave Australia, and get a simple prepaid number as soon as you land.
Step 1: Open a Wise account before you leave Australia
I opened my Wise account while I was still in Australia, using my Australian address. It gave me euro account details with a Belgian IBAN (one that starts with BE), which meant I could hold euros, pay in euros with the card and receive money in euros from day one, all without a French address.
Wise was also how I moved my savings from AUD to EUR. Whatever service you use, compare the total cost of a transfer, not just the advertised fee. Many Australian banks charge a transfer fee and also give you an exchange rate that's worse than the real market rate, and that hidden margin is often where most of the money goes. Wise shows the exchange rate and fee up front, so you can see exactly how many euros will land.
Rates change daily. Before moving a large amount, check the quote on the day and compare it with your bank's. Splitting a big transfer can also make sense if you're worried about the rate moving.
Step 2: Get a prepaid number as soon as you land
For my first French number, I went with Lycamobile. I'll be honest, I don't recommend them long term, but they were by far the easiest company to start with because they didn't need a French bank account or a French address. You buy a prepaid plan, top it up, and you have a French number to give to banks, landlords and everyone else.
Expect to show your passport when you activate any SIM in France, prepaid or not. Prepaid providers like Lyca are still the quickest way to get a working number in your first week.
My experience with Lyca ended up being a bit unlucky. A few months in, I lost my phone. When I got a new one, Lyca wouldn't reissue my eSIM so I could install it again, which meant I had to change provider anyway. In hindsight, I would have moved to a main provider a lot earlier. Treat a prepaid number as a stepping stone, not a home.
Step 3: Sign your lease, then open a French IBAN
Once I had a signed lease, I finally had a French address. That was the moment to open an account with a French IBAN (one that starts with FR). I did this with Revolut.
Revolut gives French residents a French IBAN, and it's based on where you live, not your nationality. You give your French address when you sign up and verify your identity in the app, and sometimes they'll ask for proof of address too. Your lease is the key document here, which is why it's worth sorting housing early. If you're still looking, my guide to renting in Bordeaux covers how to get there.
If you'd rather have a traditional French bank, the same documents apply, and you'll now have your French number for the SMS checks. And if a bank ever refuses to open an account for you, France has a legal droit au compte (right to an account) for anyone living in France. You can ask the Banque de France to name a bank that must open a basic account for you.
A Belgian IBAN should be accepted (in theory)
Here's something I wish I'd known earlier. Under European rules, a company in France that takes payments by bank transfer or direct debit isn't allowed to refuse your IBAN just because it comes from another country in the SEPA zone. So a Belgian Wise IBAN should legally be accepted for your phone plan, your rent or your electricity.
In practice, some forms still reject anything that doesn't start with FR. If that happens, you can report it on SignalConso, the French government's consumer complaints site. But realistically, the quickest fix is usually just having a French IBAN as well, which is why I ended up with both.
Step 4: Move to a main phone provider (in store)
The main French providers are Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free. They're more reliable than a prepaid plan, and they're the ones I'd suggest for the long term. I'm now with SFR.
My biggest tip: go into a store. Everything is a lot easier to sort out face to face. The online process can feel impossible if you were born overseas. When I tried SFR online, the form asked for:
- An email address to create your customer account.
- A French mobile number in the 06 or 07 format, to manage your account.
- Your "department of birth". If you were born outside France, you enter 99, which nobody tells you.
- A French billing address with a postcode.
- An IBAN and BIC for the monthly direct debit.
- Identity verification if you want an eSIM. You're sent to a partner called IDnow to photograph your ID (I used my passport) and take a selfie in good lighting. If you'd rather skip the selfie, you can choose a physical SIM instead.
You'll also usually pay a small one-off fee for the SIM on top of your monthly plan. In store, staff can walk you through all of this, scan your passport for you and get you set up on the spot.
Keep your number when you switch. If you want to keep the number you got from your prepaid provider, ask your new provider about moving it across. In France you do this with a code called a RIO, which you can get by calling 3179 from the phone you're leaving. Your new provider then handles the transfer and closes the old line.
The order I'd follow if I did it again
- Before you leave Australia: open Wise, get your BE IBAN and move some savings to euros.
- In your first week: get a prepaid French number with your passport.
- Once you have a lease: open an account with a FR IBAN, such as Revolut.
- Straight after that: walk into an Orange, SFR, Bouygues or Free store and move to a proper plan. Don't wait months like I did.
It feels like a lot when you're in the middle of it, but once you have a French number, a French IBAN and an address, the rest of French admin gets so much easier. Everything from your CAF account to your residence permit asks for at least one of the three.
Sources
- Wise: Wise account details (euro details with a Belgian IBAN)
- Revolut: How to get a French IBAN (eligibility based on living in France, proof of address)
- La finance pour tous: IBAN discrimination in the SEPA zone (DGCCRF penalties and reporting on SignalConso)
- SignalConso (French government consumer reporting site)
- Banque de France: Faire valoir votre droit au compte bancaire (the right to a basic bank account)
- Service-public.fr: Mobile phone number portability (getting your RIO by calling 3179)
- Lycamobile France: SIM and eSIM (prepaid plans with no commitment)
Phone plans, bank requirements and exchange rates change often. This guide is general information based on my own experience and official sources as of October 2026, not financial advice. Check the current conditions with each provider before you sign up.