Subsection 1: Liability regime

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L133-18

Article L133-18

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force
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Updated 8 Nov 2023

In the event of an unauthorised payment transaction reported by the payment service user under the conditions set out in Article L. 133-24, the payer's payment service provider shall reimburse the payer the amount of the unauthorised transaction immediately after becoming aware of the transaction or after being informed of it, and in any event no later than the end of the first following business day, unless it has good reason to suspect fraud by the payment service user and it notifies the Banque de France of these reasons in writing. Where applicable, the payer's payment service provider shall restore the debited account to the state it would have been in had the unauthorised payment transaction not taken place.

Where the unauthorised payment transaction is initiated via a payment service provider providing a payment initiation service, the payment service provider managing the account shall immediately, and in any event no later than the end of the next business day, refund the payer the amount of the unauthorised transaction and, where applicable, restore the debited account to the state in which it would have been had the unauthorised payment transaction not taken place. The value date on which the payer's payment account is credited shall not be later than the date on which it was debited.

If the payment service provider fails to comply with the obligations set out in the first two paragraphs of this article, the following penalties shall apply:

1° The sums due shall bear interest at the legal rate plus five percentage points;

2° After seven days' delay, the sums due shall bear interest at the statutory rate plus ten percentage points;

3° After thirty days' delay, the sums due shall bear interest at the statutory rate plus fifteen percentage points.

If the payment service provider that provided the payment initiation service is responsible for the unauthorised payment transaction, it shall immediately compensate the payment service provider managing the account, at its request, for any losses incurred or sums paid as a result of reimbursing the payer, including the amount of the unauthorised payment transaction.

The payer and his payment service provider may contractually agree on additional compensation.

Mariela Petrova

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Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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