The French Franc was used as the national currency until euro was introduced in the country in 1999 became operational in the year 2002. However, each member of The EU have adopted euro as their official currency which express unity, harmony and prosperity among countries. Moreover, France is the sixth-largest economy of the world and second-largest in Europe.

Due to the union among the European countries, the currency of each state have same design on one side of the coin, while the other side represents the culture and historic moments of the specific country.

Coins are denominated in 2 and 1 Euro, along with 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents.

Bills are denominated in 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 Euros and they vary in colour and size.

As being a part of the Eurozone, France applies the same cash control regulations as the rest of the countries of EU. According to which if the transaction exceeds to €10, 000 then it be must be declared to the customs. However if you are transferring money across the border of EU countries, then banks in France would let you know the  charges that has to be provided by the sender in order to make the transfer. Moreover, if the transference of money is in euros, then banks would charges as minimal as they would charge for national transaction of the same value in euros. 

In France banking hours may vary from town to town, but general banking hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00 am – 5:30 pm, while some banks remain open on Saturdays. However each French bank is free to apply the charges on the transference of the money, €30 is the minimal amount that has been charges by the banks, or in some cases the charges can be increased.

Moreover, in order to send or receive the money through French banks, the payer needs to open up an account in the bank as per the laws governed by the European Anti Money Laundering laws. Additionally, the payers must provide the information regarding:

·             Account holder’s full name
·             IBAN
·             Swift Code
·             Payer’s ID card

However, while visiting France, it is advisable to carry plastic money for easier payments, including credit or debit cards majorly Visa and MasterCard. Additionally it is advisable to carry some euros in hands, to pay for smaller things in case if the trader does not accept card. It is best to obtain low denomination notes €20 or less. Moreover many shops in France does not accept notes larger then €50. 

In order to deposit the money in the recipient’s French bank account, the sender must have to provide receiver’s full name, bank account number, ID card, telephone number and full address to the money transferring agency. WorldFirst, TransferWise and PayPal are considerably the best option while sending or receiving the money through an instant transfer.

Moreover, the citizens tends to rely on the money exchange broker, as they offer attractive and competitive money exchange rate as compared to banks. Additionally, if you are a regular user of the service and transfer a large sum on regular basis, then using a currency broker is the best option to send or receive money from France.

The sender is required to provide IBAN, account number, SWIFT code and country code if you are making an international transfer. It is better to substantial steps to get hands on the rules and policies of the brokers. Once you get registered with broker, they allow you to use account with free of cost. However, in France frequently mislead travellers by convincing them that they are not charging for the transference of money, in contrast they does not charge for fixed commission but they may mislead you by giving you unfavourable conversion rate for the transference. 

France is the economic hub of Europe and has played a vital role in the building the European economy. The country has no regulations or currency controls for the transference of money. However, residents and non-residents of France are not restricted for the transference of money.

However, in 1970 France imposed regulations on transfer of money in order to protect Franc (former currency of France). The implication of euro as official currency has allowed France to follow the footstep of Eurozone’s single payments systems for all member states.

Being the second most traded currency as well as the second largest reserve currency of the world, France applies the same rules for transfers as the rest of the EU members, including:

Transfers over €10,000 to and from non-Eurozone must be declared to the European Union authorities, as well as the French authorities.