Investing as a French Investor

If you are a French citizen – and you do not have an ITIN – we will require additional information in order to process your investments.

Please note that credit cards are often declined for French investors. For this reason, we strongly recommend sending all funds by wire transfer only.

TIN for French Investors

In France, individuals are given a 13-digit number called the Numero fiscal de reference; also known as as the SPI number (Simplification des Procedures d’Imposition).

In addition to this, the general identification number in France is the 15-digit National Registration Number (or INSEE code)

Because neither of these are 9-digit numbers, please use 000-00-0000 for any field requesting a social security number on our website.

Investing with Retirement Accounts for French Investors

The French pension scheme is made up of two parts, both of which are compulsory and set by the state

• Régime de base: this is the basic state pension, and it’s calculated based on how many quarters (trimestres) you have worked and paid social charges in France.
• Régime complémentaire: this is a complementary pension, based on a points system, which varies depending on the type of job you do and your salary.

The only private pension plan available in France is a Plan d’Epargne Retraite (PER), a retirement savings plan. France’s most popular tax-efficient savings plan is known as an Assurance Vie. [source]

However, we have not seen any evidence that these funds can be invested in private American companies.

AML/KYC For French Investors

As a reminder, all non-US investors are required to submit additional documentation for identify verification.

In order to expedite the AML/KYC check, please upload the following documents to your account prior to making an investment, or immediately after doing so:

• A valid government issued identification with address listed: state issued identification card, drivers license or federally issued passport are accepted. Military IDs are not accepted.
• Proof of address: Must be a utility bill, bank statement, mail from a government agency, dated within the last 90 days. Proof of address documentation must be in english. If it is not in english, please request an english translation from the document provider.

Please be advised that we cannot legally process your transaction without these documents.

For more information on our AML/KYC policies – along with a step-by-step walkthrough on how to upload your documents – please refer to our knowledge base.