Current State of Business Verification in France

Many businesses consider France their most significant market and preferred country because it is rich in opportunity. The French workforce is known for being highly skilled and of exceptional quality. According to the report published by the World Bank for Doing Business 2020, France ranks 37th for easiness in beginning a business worldwide. This article investigates the efficacity and drawbacks of existing business verification systems in France. 

Challenges of Business Verification in France:

Various impediments appear during business verification in France for multiple reasons. A few of the obstacles to corporate compliance in France are listed below.

• Language barrier:

The native French language significantly hinders business verification and company name checks in France. Many business documents in France are in French, which non-natives cannot understand. This can lead to either the mistranslation of business documents or incomplete know your business checks. Besides this, the official business registry used for KYB France also exists in French, which is problematic for non-native users. All these challenges associated with the native language of France create significant repercussions for know-your-business checks.

• Limited  information about UBO:

Identifying beneficial ownership is crucial to business verification, which helps analyze complex ownership structures. The official business registry of France does not provide information about the percentages of Ultimate Beneficial Owners, which can increase the risks associated with intricate structures. The limited information on beneficial ownership can heighten compliance risks and negatively impact Know Your Business Checks. 

Primary Regulatory Bodies for Compliance:

Many regulatory bodies in France regulate business compliance to ensure corporate compliance in the marketplace. A few of them are as follows;

• L’Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE):

 One key role of INSEE is to provide statistical data about the French economy that helps businesses create marketing strategies accordingly. This data is a key resource for companies already functional or about to operate in France, facilitating the corporate due diligence process.  It also maintains official registers for companies with essential information about the registered companies in France and helps in business verification in France.  

• Centre des formalités des entreprises (CFE):

This institute is designated to facilitate the registration process of new businesses. Its primary goals are to streamline administrative processes during business onboarding and adhere to regulatory compliance. In addition to streamlining administrative processes, it maintains records and a database of registered businesses. This helps verify the legitimacy of companies and extract critical information for business verification in France. 

Also Read: Current State of Business Verification in Germany

Data Score of Business Verification – France:

Key Beneficial Ownership Information – France:

How can The KYB help?

Multiple regulatory bodies govern corporate compliance in France. The KYB consolidates data from 20+ official data sources for business verification in France in one place. It also provides AML  and UBO screening solutions to enhance your knowledge of your business checks.

A few of the data sources from which The KYB retrieves data are listed below

• Chamber of Commerce of France:

It adds to the data points by providing data about local business networks, growing businesses, and the developing economy in France.

• Department of Economic Affairs:

This official department supplements the KYB data by providing information about business registration and licensing to ensure regulatory compliance in France. 

• Ministry of the Economy:

It adds to The KYB data points by providing market research and business analysis data. 

• National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies:

It provides the data points of The KYB by providing demographics and actionable intelligence to the businesses.

• Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Reunion:

This adds to The KYB by providing information about the business registration, licensing, and compliance requirements.  It also provides industry insight into the operating businesses.

You can contact us for more information and know how we can help you with smooth business onboarding in France.

Read more: Current State of Business Verification in Japan