Bank transfers unavailable for four days over Easter in France

If you are looking to transfer money soon, watch out: traditional bank transfers will be unavailable in France for four days over Easter, as banks close for the holiday.

This year, the Easter period means that any transfers made after Thursday, April 2 will only be credited in the other bank account from Tuesday, April 7. This means that no money will move for the four days in between (Good Friday Vendredi Saint April 3, to Easter Monday Lundi de Pâques April 6, inclusive).

In reality, banks using the system will effectively be unable to complete transfers for almost a week (from April 1 to April 7). This is because transfers initiated after 16:00 on April 1 will only be processed on Tuesday April 7 (as it can take two days for the transfer to be ‘approved’).

The TARGET2 platform, which is used by banks in the European Union (and countries in the Single Euro Payments Area, SEPA) to make secure transfers, will reopen on Tuesday, April 7.

For example:

• April 1 after 16:00: Transfer requested

• April 2: Transfer processed

• April 3: Transfer approved, but TARGET2 closed

• April 4-6: TARGET2 closed

• April 7: Transfer processed and completed

The platform is always closed in the evenings, at weekends, and on some major public holidays (New Year’s Day, May 1, and December 25 and 26).

Many banks will have already let their clients know this via banking app or email.

Which countries are in the SEPA zone?

All 27 European Union countries are part of the SEPA zone (including the six that do not use the Euro; Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden), and so are the microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.

The following non-EU countries are also part of SEPA:

• Albania, Montenegro, Moldova, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and the UK.

Despite no longer being part of the EU, the UK is still in the SEPA zone.

Instant transfer option

Not all bank transfers need to use the secure TARGET2 system, however. Most banking apps will let you make ‘instant’ online transfers, which are available 24/7 and are not affected by the Easter closure (or any holiday closures).

Since January 2025, these transfers have been free to make. You can typically make them using online banking (on a computer browser or on your smartphone app), and set up a transfer by typing in the details of the account you wish to pay. 

You may need to use extra security checks, such as face recognition on your phone, or by using a separate banking keypad, to approve the transfer, but this is normal. Most banking apps can now check recipient details for you before making the payment, and can prompt you to check for scam activity first too.

Because these transfers are instant and do not use the usual bank system, they should only take a minute or so to credit the other bank account, regardless of the date or time.

This is similar to other payment apps, which can send money to people via phone number or email address, such as PayPal, Wero etc.

Similarly, payments between two accounts held at the same bank are not impacted by the pause.