An RIB or Relevé d’Identité Bancaire is a French bank document which details the coordinates of your bank branch and account.
When you live in France you’ll find it necessary to have an RIB for all sorts of things from setting up direct debits to paying utility bills or making cash deposits into your bank account. If you want to set up direct debits for your phone, electricity, gas, water etc – they will all require a copy of your RIB.
It is in essence a statement of identity from your bank and is used for all manner of monetary transactions.
You will usually find an RIB slip in your cheque book, but make sure that when you open a bank account in France you are given at least one RIB slip in case you need it to set up payments.
Some institutions requiring RIBs will accept a photocopy, but if you run out and need more, you may be able to print them online from your bank’s website or request your bank to post more to you or pick them up when you visit your branch.
Your RIB slip has an International Bank Account Number known as an IBAN which is an internationally agreed means of identifying bank accounts.
Understand your French Bank Statement – terms and abbreviations explained.
