Pay in France

Basics

The most basic way to pay is cash. I hope you were aware that France belongs to the Euro zone, thus Euro is its currency. 

Outside of the airport, shops will not accept dollars, pounds or any other currency.

Withdrawing cash 

You can withdraw cash in 2 ways : 

• Withdrawing it from your bank account at the ATM.
• Changing foreign currency at a change booth.

In France, we don’t have a different ATM technology so the process will be the same as in any other country and the same safety precautions apply, like don’t let anybody see your pin code etc.

Keeping large amounts of cash in your wallet or at home ?

We strongly don’t recommend keeping large amounts of cash. Most of the payments can be done by cards and if you get pickpocketed, it’ll be lost forever, whereas with a card, you can cancel it.

The usual amount people carry in their wallet is between €20 to €100, nothing more.

Which cards are accepted in France ?

Most of the cards are accepted in France (CB, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Maestro…) but the main ones are MasterCard and Visa.

Usually, you’ll see a sign on the door of the shop that lays out the accepted means of payment. If there is no sign, just ask the cashier. If you check the businesses Google Business Profiles on Google Maps, they sometimes outline how they can take payments.

Note : Swipe cards are not accepted to pay in France.

Is there an upper limit to using your card ?

Usually yes, it depends on your bank and the plan you selected. For example, I can spend up to €5000 a month and never more than €2000 over a rolling 7 days period. 

Credit or debit in France ?

In France, the vast majority of banks will offer debit cards. A debit card means you can pay with the money you carry in your bank account, you pay the amount right away, and the bank does not loan you any money.

Credit cards, where the bank loans you the money you are spending and you have to pay it back, are not as common in France. With a credit card, you are debited every month or in instalments, and if you aren’t careful, you can rack up a lot of credit card debt. 

Little tip : everybody calls the debit card a “carte de crédit” in France, even though it’s not a credit card. Sometimes they are also called “Carte Bleue”, which is an old system: Carte Bleue was a major debit card payment system operating in France. Unlike Visa Electron or Maestro debit cards, Carte Bleue transactions worked without requiring authorization from the cardholder’s bank. The system has now been integrated into a wider scheme called CB or carte bancaire. All Carte Bleue cards were part of CB, but not all CB cards were Carte Bleue.

Is there contactless payment ?

Yes, this technology is available in France.

There are a couple of caveats though with contactless cards : 

• You cannot do a contactless payment over €50.
• There is a limit of purchase or amount per day you can pay contactless specific to each bank.
• Every once in a while you’ll have to dial your pin to confirm you are the one making the payments.

You can make contactless payments with your phone, too, respecting the same limits as your credit card.