The procedure may seem complicated, cumbersome and costly: presentation of numerous documents, reading of banking agreements and commitment to the conditions of account maintenance and the fee schedules provided. In fact, opening an online bank account has never been easier and faster. It takes a few minutes by carefully respecting the subscription steps and at a lower cost. What are the steps to follow and the supporting documents to provide?How it works ?
Choose the best online bank according to your needs
Opening an online bank account is a simple and accessible process, provided you carefully follow a few steps.
Before starting, it is important to choose a bank , by finding out about the opening conditions required by the banks accessible online. For this, it is necessary to carefully compare online banks in order to make the right choice. Once your online bank has been chosen, you must then go through the subscription steps to open your bank account in an online bank .
Before embarking on a subscription process, it is important to choose an offer that best suits the needs of the future subscriber.
Most online banks offer free account openings (no fees for opening or sending the bank card, for example). From a general point of view, all online banks offer free bank account opening , with no account maintenance fees and with a free bank card . With the exception of standard offers from neobanks where sending the bank card can be chargeable (example of N26 where sending the card is €5.99) or prestigious offers from online banks (such as Bforbank and his Visa infinite card ).
What about traditional banks?
Traditional banks include in the opening of an account a chargeable bank card and account maintenance fees . This is why we speak of the opening of a paid account . At HSBC, opening an account is free but the card is chargeable . Traditional banks are very often more expensive than online banks, but this is the price to pay to benefit from a counter, a bank adviser and a wider range of banking services than online banks.
Open an online account without proof
First thing to know: it is impossible to open a bank account without identity document , it is registered in the law. However, the client does not necessarily have to include proof of address or proof of income in his account opening file.
Most online banks, even those offering an offer without income conditions, ask their customers to provide proof of income. So, the way to open an online account without proof is to subscribe to the offer of a neobank or a prepaid bank card .
Open an online bank account for a banking ban
If the procedure for opening an online bank account is simple, this process can be more complicated for a person in a situation of banking prohibition. Indeed, a file kept by the Banque de France indicates to all the banks if a person is on file for banking prohibition . It is therefore likely that a request to open an account will be rejected when it comes from a person registered in the file of the Banque de France.
Whether the individual is prohibited from banking, registered in the personal credit incident file (FICP) or in a situation of over-indebtedness, it is possible for him to have recourse to This recourse makes it possible to appeal to the Banque de France to obtain the right to open an account.
a sworn statement attesting to the fact that he has no other deposit account opened for personal or professional purposes.
Once this file has been sent to the Banque de France, the individual will receive a response within 1 working day. If the answer is positive, the bank having refused the prohibited banking customer will have to open an account within 3 days.
With the appearance of neo-banks , prepaid bank cards and accounts without a bank, people registered with the Banque de France can more easily open a bank account online . To go further, an article is specifically devoted to online banks that accept banking bans .
*The welcome bonus varies according to the chosen offer
The neobank N26 offers to open a current account “in less than 8 minutes”. To subscribe to its free standard offer , without obligation and without condition of income , simply complete a quick form and attach an identity document. The bank card is then received within a few days by post.
Open an online account with a welcome bonus
Opening an online account also allows the customer to benefit from a welcome bonus . The amount of welcome bonuses is often €80 and can go up to €200 during promotional periods. However, welcome offers can be tricky to get. They are subject to many conditions.
How to open an online bank account step by step?
Most online account openings are quite similar. Selectra has summarized the different account opening methods and explains how to open an account in a few steps
