Why contact the Banque de France?

As a key player in the economic and financial system, and banker to the French state and to French and foreign institutional clients, the Banque de France has recognised expertise in processing large-value transactions and retail payments, working in partnership with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

The Banque de France offers a wide range of cutting-edge banking services, and has developed active-active sites that function simultaneously in Paris and Poitiers. It has proven expertise in payment instruments, and employs a state-of-the-art monitoring system for combating fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

How to access online banking

Institutional clients can subscribe to the BDFdirect portal, which allows them to view their accounts and submit transfer orders.

Procedures for access

• Submission of an application signed by a legal representative setting out the services requested, the persons authorised to use them and the scope of their powers. Applications should be sent by email and accompanied by a covering letter.
• Conduct of approval tests.

Compatibility

• Connecting to BDFdirect requires the use of strong authentication via a token (or card) that the Banque de France will provide you with.

Subscription

• Subscribers to BDFdirect must designate a certification representative who is responsible for compliance with the Banque de France’s certification policy.
• This representative designates the persons authorised to consult or place orders. The representative may be also authorised to and carry out these actions themselves.

Requests for new authorisations

• Requests for authorisation must be submitted to the Banque de France by means of BDFdirect forms signed by the certification representative:
  • Form No. 3 for new requests for a certificate
  • Form No. 5 to define the profiles of BDFdirect users, the accounts they can access and the scope of powers granted to them

Support

The CESAR technical support and cash flow monitoring team is available to answer any questions about accreditations for the tool and how to use it.

The cheque portal

Role and function

The Banque de France’s cheque portal allows French Treasury structures that deposit cheques into accounts held by the Banque de France to make these deposits and access all related information in one central location. The portal notably allows them to:

• record deposited cheques
• download documents explaining any discrepancies of amount between the initial record and the actual processing of cheques deposited
• download documents relating to unpaid cheques among those deposited
• contact the Banque de France or its service provider in the event of a request (for instance, if a copy of a cheque is needed) or a difficulty with the processing of cheques
• access, in the case of some users, the Banque de France’s electronic records

How to obtain access

Listing in the DGFiP’s directory

The Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) regularly sends the Banque de France the directory of the Treasury’s legal and accounting structures so that they can be accredited to use the portal (accounting officers, departmental directorates, etc.).

Requests for access to the portal

The procedure for accessing the portal is communicated to Treasury structures that request it once they are listed in the DGFiP’s directory.

Named user access

Certain users may be given named access authorising them to consult the Banque de France’s electronic records directly. Requests for this type of access should be sent to the DGFiP (office CL1C), which will then complete the necessary procedures with the Banque de France.