Bank Index

BNP Paribas

Universal bank · Paris, France

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BNP Paribas is Europe's largest bank by assets, with 180,000 staff in 64 countries and home retail networks in France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. Its corporate and institutional bank runs cash management, trade finance and securities services from Paris and London. Small French businesses get the Esprit Libre Pro package from 41 euros a month or the online Hello bank! Pro account at 10.90 euros. It sold Bank of the West in 2023 and serves the US through corporate banking only.

Legal name
BNP Paribas SA
Regulated by
ECB/ACPR (France), AMF (France), PRA/FCA (London branch), Federal Reserve (US), OSFI (Canada branch), HKMA (Hong Kong), MAS (Singapore)
Licence confirmed
yes, on a regulator's own list
Established
1848
Website
group.bnpparibas

Scores, 0 to 10

10.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)
Domestic retail and corporate banks in France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg plus operations across the EU with 146,139 employees in Europe and SEPA Instant native. · source
10.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export
Global Finance best trade finance provider 2025 and Euromoney Europe's best trade finance bank 2025, with documentary trade, structured and export finance, supply chain finance and guarantees. · source
9.5Financial strength & stability
FSB G-SIB bucket 2, CET1 13.0% at June 2026 and long-term ratings of A+ (S&P), AA- (Fitch) and A1 (Moody's). · source
8.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts
Global network in 64 countries with Kantox FX automation integrated into Global Markets, but reviewers note marked-up exchange rates on international operations for small business accounts. Coalition Greenwich 2025 share leader for corporate cash management in Europe, with a unified digital platform across its 64-country network. · source
6.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)
20,831 employees in Asia-Pacific with branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Korea and mainland China focused on corporate and institutional banking. · source
6.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia
Retail and corporate networks in Turkey (TEB), Morocco (BMCI) and Ukraine (UkrSibbank) plus 3,245 employees in South America and 5,186 in Africa. · source
5.5United Kingdom
BNP Paribas London Branch is PRA-authorised and FCA-regulated with about 7,500 UK staff, serving corporate, institutional and securities-services clients rather than SMEs. · source
5.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank
Provides a stand-alone guarantee covering part of Qonto's safeguarded client funds and integrates Kantox, but is not a specialist sponsor bank for EMIs. · source
5.0United States
After selling Bank of the West in 2023 the group serves the US through corporate and institutional banking with 5,136 employees in North America. · source
5.0Canada
BNP Paribas is a Schedule III full-service foreign bank branch with over 1,400 employees in Montreal and Toronto serving corporate and institutional clients. · source
5.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS
Mercanet online payment gateway and merchant services are available to French business clients, but there is no multi-currency collection or marketplace payout product. BNP Paribas serves software companies through its normal professional and corporate offer in 64 countries; no API-first account, Stripe-style integration or receiving-account product is published on the group site. · source
5.0Startups & VC-backed companies
Accepts all French legal forms including auto-entrepreneurs and offers Hello bank! Pro fully online at 10.90 euros, but startups are served as ordinary SMEs. · source
5.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)
The BNP Paribas Carte Visa Business costs EUR 57 a year with adjustable limits of EUR 4,500 per 30 days and EUR 800 withdrawals per 7 days; subscribing requires an appointment in a branch and no virtual card is mentioned. · source
4.5Middle East & Gulf
Only 458 employees in the Middle East, serving corporate and institutional clients from Gulf offices; no SME banking. · source
4.5Crypto-friendly bank
No public policy on onboarding crypto businesses found; the group gives retail clients access to six bitcoin and ether ETNs and runs institutional digital-asset custody with Metaco and Fireblocks. · source
4.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat
BNP Paribas sells no crypto to companies and publishes no policy on transfers to exchanges; French press in 2026 reports refusals and long checks on transfers to Binance and Coinbase at traditional French banks without naming BNP, so the evidence is thin. · source
4.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies
The professional offer is opened through a branch appointment with a BNP Paribas adviser and is built for businesses operating in France; no remote path for owners abroad is published. · source
4.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account
No BNP process for crypto proceeds is published, and a 2026 first-person account describes BNP freezing a client's account after EUR 150,000 arrived from an exchange in three days; this is a single blog testimony, not a verified case. · source
4.0Bitcoin
Since 30 March 2026 individual, entrepreneur, private banking and Hello bank! clients in France can buy six ETNs tracking bitcoin or ether in a securities account, which is price exposure only. · source
4.0Ethereum
Ether exposure is offered only through the same ETNs launched in March 2026, with no direct ether holding or staking, checked September 2026. · source
3.5Best interest on business balances
Current accounts pay no interest; term deposits (depot a terme) require a minimum single deposit of 50,000 euros for 1 to 12 months, quoted at 2.5% for 12 months. · source
3.5Fast digital onboarding
Traditional business accounts are opened by branch appointment after an online request form; only Hello bank! Pro is opened fully online. · source
3.5Customer satisfaction
Ma Banque BNP Paribas scores 2.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 3,590 reviews (September 2026). · source
3.5High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)
No published policy on gambling, adult or cannabis clients was found on the group or professional sites opened today; only the general 64-country footprint is documented. · source
3.0Lowest fees
Esprit Libre Pro costs 21 euros a month for micro-entrepreneurs and 41 euros for companies plus commission de mouvement; Hello bank! Pro costs 10.90 euros a month. · source
2.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)
BNP Paribas is a founding member of the Qivalis euro stablecoin consortium, which still had no DNB licence in September 2026, and the bank offers no stablecoin accounts or payouts today. · source
1.5Crypto wallet and custody for a business
BNP Paribas holds no crypto for clients; its Securities Services unit picked Metaco and Fireblocks in 2022 to build digital asset custody, used so far for security token work, and no live crypto custody for companies was found, checked September 2026. · source
1.0Accept crypto payments
The payment methods list of BNP Paribas's Axepta merchant platform shows cards and local methods with no crypto or stablecoin option, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.