•Information regarding US ATM cards Cirrus and Plus (NOT NYCE):
The expansion of the Cirrus and Plus ATM network throughout Europe has made it more practical for students to use their domestic bank accounts. Call your bank ahead of time to let them know that you will be living abroad and using you ATM card more frequently. However, you should not rely on this system for large transactions until you have used it and are assured that it works with your home bank account. Despite reassurances from their US banks, many students have not been able to use their cards in French ATM machines SO, until you have used the card several times to assure its viability, have an alternate and sure means of obtaining large amounts of funds from home. If you have an ATM card that allows access to Cirrus or Plus, this may be the easiest way to have money sent to you.
• Since all transactions are conducted in the currency of the country in which you are using the ATM, you will receive euros from ATMs in France. The conversion from dollars to euros is made at the prevailing rate of exchange. A service charge is assessed for each transaction depending on the Parisian bank you use, so it would be best to withdraw larger amounts.
• With a Cirrus or Plus ATM, having money sent to you is a very simple process: your parents deposit dollars into your US bank account, from which you can then receive French currency automatically, for only the price of the transaction fee and exchange rate differential. The ATM machines that use these two cards have stickers on the window, which indicate that they can be used there. (Most Banque Nationale de Paris branches can be used for CIRRUS and Plus, and also the post office ATM machines and the major train stations.)
• Travelers checks: You should record the numbers of your checks and keep this record in a different place from your checks. If you lose them or they are stolen, report the loss to any Commissariat de Police in Paris and to the issuing bank immediately. If they are American Express checks, report the loss to American Express (see address below). Travelers’ checks can be exchanged only at currency exchange booths, called “bureaux de change” and banks showing the sign « CHANGE ». Most banks do not have a « bureau de change ». Compare different rates in small exchange booths and banks, especially near the Opéra or rue du Faubourg Montmartre and factor in the commission charged. Travelers checks can also be exchanged at American Express, 11, rue Scribe, 75009 Paris, M° Opéra, tél. 01 53 30 99 00, Mon. through Sat., hours : 9- 6:30pm, and on the weekends at the Gare du Nord and the Gare de Lyon. One can find exchange booths at all major train stations; though the best rates are not usually found there. They are often open when regular « bureaux de change » are closed, so are handy in a pinch. Avoid carrying large amounts of cash with you.
• The small exchange booth inside the travel agency « Voyages Montparnasse » at 95, boulevard du Montparnasse (past the M° Vavin station in the direction of the Montparnasse tower) has very good rates and is very convenient. Tel: 01 42 22 72 50, Mon. through Friday. Hours: 9:30 – 6:15 pm.
• Banking hours are traditionally: Monday–Friday, 9 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm. Closed Saturdays and lunch hours. However, a bank may be open at lunch, stay open later, or be open on Saturdays and closed on Mondays. Check the hours posted on the front door.
Should you open a bank account?
• If you have enough traveler’s checks to last the semester, or are able to access your funds with your US bank ATM card, there is no real need to open an account.
• For full-year students:
The main advantage of a bank account (savings) is that you can have money wired to you from the States, (however, this can take up to 3 weeks) and have an automatic teller card for quick cash. The nearest bank to Reid Hall that will open an account for full-year students is the BNP, on the boulevard Montparnasse located between the rue de Chevreuse and the rue de La Grande Chaumière. Tell them that you are a student at Reid Hall, as they are used to student accounts. If you need a letter from the Program in order to open an account, ask for it in the office.
Warning: Before returning to the States, make sure your account is not overdrawn. You must close your account well before you leave. Notify the bank four weeks before you leave that you will be closing the account and the date.
Key words: Mots-clés
• Opening/closing an account: Ouverture d’un compte/clôture d’un compte
• Savings account : Compte d’épargne
• Checking account : Compte chèque
• Checkbook : Carnet de chèques ou chéquier
• Bank statement : Relevé de compte
• Currency exchange office : Bureau de change
• Transfer of funds: Virement
• Money order : Mandat
• Bills : Billets
• Small change : Monnaie / Pièces de monnaie
• Cash : Espèces (« liquide »)
• Foreign currency : Devises étrangères