France Country Report

Table of Contents

A comprehensive overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in France.

The Verisk Financial Research France Country Report delivers commentary on France's retail banking and payments landscape supported by historic and forecast data. The report gives detailed insight into the market's key players, including cards networks, issuers, acquirers, banks, and PSPs, plus the country's payments infrastructure, digital and mobile payments developments, demographic and consumer trends, regulatory drivers, credit card profitability, and more.

Key Facts

• France's retail banking and payments landscape is dominated by five large banking groups: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, BPCE and Crédit Mutuel.
• These banks are the leading issuers and acquirers in the market and are also key stakeholders in the national card association. Additionally, they compete with fintechs through mobile payment services and online banking subsidiaries.
• There are several new banks providing competition to traditional retail banks in the market. These banks vary considerably in their delivery mechanisms, range of services and ownership models.
• Contactless, mobile and instant payments are being promoted by the government as alternatives to cash and cheques, which remain in widespread use.
• Instant payments were made available in France in 2018 through the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. These have been made available by most banks – though many levy a charge which discourages widespread use.
• The average adult made 264 card purchases during 2018, of which 15 percent were contactless and 13 percent online.
• There is a competitive mobile payments landscape though usage remains low. Homegrown options such as Paylib, Lyf Pay and Lydia compete with Apple, Samsung and Google.
• Most bank-issued cards are issued on the domestic Cartes Bancaires network and cobadged with Visa or Mastercard.
• Deferred debit cards are more common than revolving credit cards and attract higher transaction volumes.
• Multifunctional cards are a feature of the French cards market with different combinations of debit, deferred debit and credit functionality available on a single card.
• The market for revolving credit cards has declined significantly in the last decade due to new legislation placing restrictions on revolving credit. This has resulted in a substantial shift away from revolving credit towards other forms of consumer credit.
• This has also weakened the position of consumer finance specialists such as Cetelem, which traditionally played a leading role in France's credit cards market.