In France, what a bureau de change must display is set by one short text, the arrêté of 30 December 1998 on consumer information about the price of currency exchange. This page goes through it rule by rule, with the other obligations a changeur manuel has at the counter.
A bureau de change in France is a changeur manuel: it exchanges banknotes and coins in different currencies on the spot. It needs an authorisation from the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) before it opens (Code monétaire et financier, article L524-3), and what it must display is set by the arrêté of 30 December 1998 on consumer information about the price of manual exchange. The DGCCRF, the consumer protection authority, checks that it is followed.
This page was checked against the texts on Légifrance in October 2026. It is not legal advice: confirm what applies to your business with the ACPR, the DGCCRF or a lawyer.
Who the rules apply to
The display rules apply to anyone who exchanges currency as a regular activity, not only to specialist offices: hotels, travel agencies and shops that change money for their customers as a matter of course are covered too. Businesses that only exchange currency now and then are exempt (article 2).
What the board must show
At a minimum, the display must give (article 3):
- The exchange rates of the euro against the main currencies, to buy and to sell.
- How any fees and commissions are calculated: a fixed amount, a percentage, a minimum charge.
The arrêté leaves “the main currencies” to the office. In practice that means the currencies you actually deal in, or at least the ones customers ask for most.
The same size for rates and commissions
Rates and commissions must be displayed in characters of the same size (article 2). A board with large rates and the commission in a line of small print at the bottom does not meet this. If you charge a commission on top of the rate, it has to be as readable as the rates themselves.
Inside, and outside above 5% of turnover
The conditions must be displayed in the place where the exchange happens. They must also be visible from outside when currency exchange makes up more than 5% of the business’s total turnover (article 2). A dedicated bureau de change is always above that threshold, so it needs a board that can be read from the street: in the window, or on a screen facing it. A hotel whose exchange desk is a small part of its turnover only needs the display inside.
No “no commission” when the commission is in the rate
The arrêté forbids any sign suggesting that an exchange carries no fees or commission when they are included in the rates applied (article 2). “0% commission”, “no fees” or “commission free” are therefore not allowed if your margin is built into the rate, which it almost always is. On top of that, a misleading price claim is a misleading commercial practice under the consumer code (Code de la consommation, article L121-2), which can be prosecuted as an offence.
You can say that your rates include everything, so long as that is true and the rates are shown properly. What you cannot do is present a margin as free.
Before and after the exchange
- Before the exchange, the customer must be told, at least verbally, the net exchange rate for the operation they are about to make (article 3): the rate once the fees are taken into account.
- After the exchange, the customer gets a slip (bordereau) stating the nature of the operation, the currencies, the amounts exchanged and the rates applied. The changeur keeps one copy and gives the other to the customer (arrêté of 10 September 2009, article 4).
Identity checks
A changeur manuel must check the customer’s identity for any exchange, or linked exchanges, above €1,000, and for any operation where the customer is not physically present (Code monétaire et financier, article R561-10, as amended by décret 2018-284). Operations of occasional customers above €1,000 are recorded separately in the register. A sign at the counter about when ID is needed is useful, but it is not part of the required display.
Can the board be a screen?
Yes, as far as we can tell. The arrêté says what must be displayed, where and at what size; it does not say on what. A screen meets it as long as it shows the rates and the commissions all the time, at the required size, in the required place. Two things to watch:
- Outside visibility. A screen in the window has to be readable from the pavement in daylight, which usually takes a high-brightness panel.
- Equal size. If your screen pages through a long list, keep the commission on every page, not on the last one.
A checklist for a bureau de change in France
- Buy and sell rates of the euro against each main currency you deal in.
- How your fees and commissions are calculated, including any minimum.
- Rates and commissions in characters of the same size.
- The display visible from outside if exchange is more than 5% of your turnover.
- No “0% commission” or “no fees” if your margin is in the rate.
- The net rate told to the customer before the exchange, and a slip after it.
- The customer’s identity checked above €1,000.
How easyCMS helps
The easyCMS currency board shows every currency with its buy and sell rates side by side, buy first, in French with decimal commas and French currency names, and a portrait design made for the window. Rates follow the daily reference rates with your own margins, or stay locked at what you type, and the same rates table feeds the window, the counter and your website. Studio warns you if you type “0% commission”.
For the equal-size rule, each board has a commission line that is printed exactly as large as the rates, under them, on every page; the smaller footer line is left for your ACPR authorisation number. For the rules in other countries, see the exchange rate display rules by country, and for Spain, what a currency exchange office must display in Spain.
The texts
- Arrêté of 30 December 1998 on consumer information about the price of manual exchange, articles 2 and 3
- Arrêté of 10 September 2009 on changeurs manuels, article 4
- Code monétaire et financier, article L524-3 (ACPR authorisation)
- Décret 2018-284, identity checks for manual exchange