Editing Debit card (section)

===France===
Carte Bancaire (CB), the national payment scheme, in 2008, had 57.5&nbsp;million cards carrying its logo and 7.76&nbsp;billion transactions (POS and ATM) were processed through the e-rsb network (135 transactions per card mostly debit or deferred debit). In 2019, Carte Bancaire had 71.1&nbsp;million cards carrying its logo and 13.76&nbsp;billion transactions (POS and ATM) were processed through its network.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cartes-bancaires.com/a-propos/cb-en-chiffres/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190627121835/https://www.cartes-bancaires.com/a-propos/cb-en-chiffres/| archive-date = 2019-06-27| title = CB en chiffres - Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB - Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB}}</ref> Most CB cards are debit cards, either debit or deferred debit. Less than 10% of CB cards were credit cards.

Banks in France usually charge annual fees for debit cards (despite card payments being very cost efficient for the banks), yet they do not charge personal customers for chequebooks or processing checks (despite cheques being very costly for the banks). This imbalance dates from the unilateral introduction in France of [[Chip and PIN]] debit cards in the early 1990s, when the cost of this technology was much higher than it is now. Credit cards of the type found in the United Kingdom and United States are unusual in France and the closest equivalent is the deferred debit card, which operates like a normal debit card, except that all purchase transactions are postponed until the end of the month, thereby giving the customer between 1 and 31 days of "interest-free" credit. Banks can charge more for a deferred debit card.

Most France debit cards are branded with the CB logo, which assures acceptance throughout France. Most banks now issue Visa or [[MasterCard (credit card)|MasterCard]] co-branded cards, so that the card is accepted on both the CB and the Visa or Mastercard networks.

In France payment cards are commonly called [[Carte Bleue]] ("blue card") regardless of their actual brand. Carte Bleue was a card brand acquired in 2010 by Visa which is not used anymore. Until its purchase the main characteristic of Carte Bleue was to benefit from its alliance with Visa which allowed the use of the cards on both networks.

Many smaller merchants in France refuse to accept debit cards for transactions under a certain amount because of the minimum fee charged by merchants' banks per transaction. But more and more merchants accept debit cards for small amounts, due to the increased use of debit cards. Merchants in France do not differentiate between debit and credit cards, and so both have equal acceptance. It is legal in France to set a minimum amount to transactions, but the merchants must display it clearly.

In January 2016, 57.2% of all the debit cards in France also had a [[contactless payment]] chip.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cartes-bancaires.com/spip.php?article274 |title=Les chiffres clés - Site officiel des Cartes Bancaires CB |access-date=2016-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307174424/http://www.cartes-bancaires.com/spip.php?article274 |archive-date=2016-03-07 }}</ref> The maximum amount per transaction was originally set to €20 and the maximum amount of all contactless payments per day is between €50-100 depending on the bank. The per-transaction limit increased to €30 in October 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Contactless payment limit to rise |url=https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Contactless-payment-limit-to-rise |website=The Connexion |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416232207/https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Contactless-payment-limit-to-rise |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the per-transaction limit increased to €50 in May 2020 to comply with demands from the French government<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A14045|title=Paiement sans contact : augmentation du plafond à 50 euros pour le paiement en carte bancaire|website=www.service-public.fr|accessdate=21 December 2022|archive-date=2 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202223036/https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A14045|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[European Banking Authority]].

==== Liability and e-cards ====
According to French law,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F31241 |title=Perte de sa carte bancaire |access-date=2016-03-01 |archive-date=2016-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308000402/https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F31241 |url-status=live }}</ref> banks are liable for any transaction made with a copy of the original card and for any transaction made without a card (on the phone or on the Internet), so banks have to pay back any fraudulent transaction to the card holder if the previous criteria are met. Fighting card fraud is therefore more interesting for banks. As a consequence, French banks websites usually propose an "e-card" service ("electronic (bank) card"), where a new [[virtual Card|virtual card]] is created and linked to a physical card. Such virtual card can be used only once and for the maximum amount given by the card holder. If the virtual card number is intercepted or used to try to get a higher amount than expected, the transaction is blocked.