Third online bank to close amid competitive market in France
'Ma French Bank' only opened in 2019. We look at what customers need to do
All services offered by the bank are digital
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Online banking service ‘Ma French Bank’ is to shut, leading to the closure of 675,000 accounts.
The bank began notifying customers that a closure was impending last December, but has now confirmed the timeline – services will remain open until summer 2025, by which point all existing clients will need to transfer their funds to an alternate bank account.
Customers will have until then to take the necessary steps to transfer their funds.
It is the third digital bank to close, following Orange Bank in 2024 and ING in 2022, as the market has become saturated.
Despite this turbulence however, the sector is becoming increasingly popular, with Revolut, N26, and Boursorama dominating.
This is particularly the case amongst younger people, who are attracted by lower fees and digital methods to save money, who are less concerned about the lack of a physical presence for the banks.
Read more: Neobank N26 gives customers in France local IBAN numbers
Bank open less than seven years
The digital bank was opened by La Poste in 2019, an early entrant into the digital banking sector.
It offered low banking fees (€2 per month), and gained 100,000 clients in its first year of operation.
It had no physical presence or face-to-face advisors, with all business conducted by telephone or digitally via the bank’s website or smartphone application.
The strategy of the bank was to offer a simple and digital model with competitive fees.
It was an attempt by the national postal service to diversify its portfolio, following a reduction in physical postal activity, however it has become a financial burden for the company, leading to the closure.
Workers at the digital bank will be offered roles in La Poste.
What can clients do?
Customers still have around six months to transfer funds from their Ma French Bank accounts.
To begin the process, clients must have another bank account in France (with a French IBAN) to transfer funds into.
You can open up an account at an in-person branch or with another online bank.
When opening the account, you can mention that you are doing so because of the closure of Ma French Bank as a justifiable reason. This may make opening the account easier.
You can then transfer your funds into this account. You can ask your new bank to undertake the process of transferring the funds, as well as direct debit payments, using the ‘mobilité bancaire’ law.
Read more: How to change bank account in France - and points to consider
Alternatively, you can manually transfer the funds from the Ma French Bank account into this new bank until the amount in your account reaches €0.
You can then begin the closure of your Ma French Bank account, following the online steps made available on their website.
It can be done either via the smartphone application, or via an online form.
It may take up to 30 days for the account to fully close, but the physical bank card associated with the account will stop working after 24 hours.
You should also download your statements before closing the account, as once it is closed, you will be unable to access them.
Read more: How long must I keep important documents in France?
As the service was offered by La Poste, one solution would be opening an account with La Poste’s traditional banking service, La Banque postale.
This can be done by visiting a physical La Banque postale centre – search for one near you online.
A welcome offer will see previous Ma French Bank clients receive €50 as a welcome gift, and retain the €0 fee on charges and payments outside of France until the end of December 2024 (one of the bonuses offered for opening the digital account).
Previous closures of French banks – such as Orange Bank – have made it even easier for clients to transfer information, with users, for example, being able to transfer the account and all details to one online bank HelloBank via a code.
EU laws protect fund of up to €100,000 in French bank accounts in the event of a bank collapsing.
This covers funds across multiple accounts including current accounts, and savings accounts such as a Livret A.
Read more: How to protect savings if your French bank crashes
