Banking fees in France: nearly €72 a year on average for low use in 2026
Account holders have seen fees increased at levels significantly above inflation
Fees for services including ATM withdrawals have increased in the last year
Sergo Jaxua/Shutterstock
The owner of a ‘low-use’ bank account in France will be charged on average nearly €72 in fees in 2026, according to a new report.
It comes as banking fees rose around 3% across the board, following an increase of around 5% the year before.
The data comes from consumer credit association CLCV (Consommation Logement Cadre de vie) and its annual report on France’s banking services.
It looked at the expected fees of around 100 institutions set to be in place from February, comparing the fees which will be live as of 1 February 2026 to the fees as of 1 February 2025.
France’s financial advisory committee (Comité consultatif du secteur financier, CCSF) said that account costs had risen on average by 3.1% across the year.
A lower-use account holder is an individual who only subscribes to a basic set of bank services such as ATM withdrawals and minimal insurance, which saw a 2.98% increase in fees from last year.
In contrast, medium-use holders – for example a couple holding an account with two cards including loss and theft insurance – will pay around €135 in fees (+3.77% compared to the year before).
High-volume account holders – including two ‘premium’ cardholders with a Gold or Premier card and frequent withdrawals – will pay €221, a 3.04% increase.
Maintenance fees among highest increases
Fees increased across the board for several services, including using ATMs unaffiliated with your banking network, account insurance and even having a debit card – something becoming increasingly important as cards become the main way to pay in France.
Increased fees for account issues such as overdraft notices and account imbalances also came into force across several institutions.
Maintenance fees (frais de tenue de compte) rose by an average of over 6% / €24 per year for customers. This follows an 8% rise in 2024.
Overall, bank fees are rising by a minimum of 2% for all customers. National statistics body Insee’s latest analysis suggests inflation for 2025 was 0.8%.
Different banks highlighted based on user profiles, online versions remain attractive
Despite the overall increase in cost, customers can minimise costs by choosing an institution best suited to their needs.
Crédit Agricole performed strongly among all banking profiles in relation to fees. The bank offers the English-speaking ‘Britline’ service.
In contrast, bank LCL was highlighted as attractive for small-use holders who have a simple account (one debit card and minimal insurance) or are on a lower income.
LCL was however not noted as a good choice for larger account holders where Crédit Coopératif was generally seen as a better option.
Popular banks including Société Générale and Banque Populaire were noted by the CLCV to have higher-than-average fees across the board.
There are also differences at a regional level, with some banks performing better than others in some areas.
One tip from the CLCV is to consider online banking as an alternative to high-street banks, as cheaper fees are often one of their main attractions.
“Turning to online banking can be an attractive alternative, provided you pay close attention to any conditions and are comfortable with remote banking,” it said.
Online banks usually offer accounts that eliminate many administrative fees by offering fewer physical services.
CLCV notes these accounts may also be subject to additional requirements (certain monthly usage minimum / cap, limit on cash withdrawals, etc), particularly for lower-volume accounts.
When choosing a bank however, there will of course be other factors that customers may wish to look at outside of fees (availability of branches, customer service, processing times for account opening/modifications, brand reputation etc.).
