Not yet received interest from your French savings account? This may be why

France offers many savings accounts with fixed interest rates, some of which are regulated by the government. 

Popular choices include the Livret A, the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS) and the Livret d'épargne populaire (LEP), the latter being aimed at those with modest incomes. 

Interest for these accounts is calculated every 15 days, however it is not paid until the end of the year.

Not everyone will have received their interest from the 2024 year despite today, January 3,being a day where banks are open for business.

Read more: France's 'Livret A' savings rate set to drop

Banks have different payment dates 

There are not any rules dictating on which date the banks must pay the interest each year, even where savings accounts are regulated by the government. This means a small delay in receipt of the interest is possible. 

It is thought that some banks do not calculate the full interest until January 1 despite all interest rates for the year being known. Where this is the case it means the interest payment is likely to be on or just after the first working day of January.

The scheduled dates for interest payments from French savings accounts can be seen below: 

• Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Caisse d’Epargne, Banque Populaire, CIC – December 31

• Fortuneo – January 1

• La Banque Postale – January 1 after 14:30

• BoursoBank, BNP Paribas - January 2

• Société Générale, LCL – January 4

These scheduled payment dates were announced by the banks for the 2024 year. However as Crédit Mutuel, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne did not release official payment dates, payment dates from 2023 are shown.

You can check if you have received your interest via your bank’s statement, smartphone app or website. Contact your advisor / bank if you have not received it on the due date. 

Read more: Letters: French banking practices are commercial nonsense