France tightens up bank rules for loans and overdrafts

Starting in November 2026, France will bring in new, stricter rules to regulate loans and overdrafts.  

The goal is to reduce ‘over-indebtedness’ (surendettement) and to improve consumer protection, as well as bringing France in line with a European directive from 2023. 

As of September 2025, over a third of French people (36 percent) reported they had overdrawn their bank account at least once in the last 12 months, according to a survey conducted by YouGov and MoneyVox.

Meanwhile, eight percent of respondents said they overdraw their accounts every month.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: The website to compare bank fees in France

What are the current rules for overdrafts?

As things stand, there is no legal right to an overdraft in France. It is up to the bank to decide to authorise overdrafts.

However, many French banks do allow overdrafts.

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The first type is a facilité de caisse, which is basically an emergency allowance giving people the ability to overdraw their accounts (up to a limit) for part or half of the month, as long as their balance becomes positive again for the remainder of the month. 

The second type is the découvert bancaire, which is when your account is officially in the red (beyond the limits of the facilité de caisse).

French banks do charge overdraft fees, which are proportional to the amount you overdrew (plus interest).

Banks can also charge a flat processing fee (commission d’intervention), which is capped by the French government. This fee might be waived for a facilité de caisse.

These are limited to €8 per transaction, with a maximum of €80 per month. For people who have signed up for a special bank scheme, the flat fee limits are €4 per transaction, €20 per month, and a maximum of €200 per year. 

The limit can drop down to €25 per month for customers identified as financially vulnerable by their bank.

What is changing?

The gist is that French banks will need to be more strict about issuing loans, including small loans in the form of overdraft allowances.

The new rules will come into effect on November 20th, 2026, and they will also affect the facilité de caisse, which has largely existed as a grey area, particularly in regard to the associated fees.

Banks will have to be more explicit with overdraft and loan rules, and as such, they might update their rules in the coming months.

Clients will need to receive ‘pre-contractual information’ (l’information précontractuelle) that clearly presents the costs, interest and repayment terms for overdrafts.

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Banks will also have to assess a customer’s creditworthiness before approving overdrafts – essentially going through the same process as for a personal loan.

For overdrafts below €200, the approval process will be less stringent, but for those of €201 and above, the bank will have to consider the customer’s income, expenses and other factors, as well as whether or not they are listed in the credit default database (le fichier des incidents de crédits).

Jérôme Lasserre Capdeville, author and fiscal lecturer at the University of Strasbourg, told French news outlet MoneyVox that thanks to these changes, “There will be fewer easy and almost automatic [overdraft] authorisations.

“Overdrafts will lose their somewhat universal nature. Customers will have to make an express request, and each time, the bank will have to consider whether to grant it.”