Irish Banks are a joke: I'm closing my Irish bank account

ElJeffe

McGinniesta wrote: »

It will certainly reduce fees. You will still need a bank account to have it paid in to but cash is still king

Yeah iv'e always been a cash person tbh but over the lockdown if i've found places that are refusing to take cash iv'e just walked out and not give them my business.

dxhound2005

dxhound2005 wrote: »

How do banks abroad make a profit if none of them charge for any service?

The problem is that with the artificial interest rates kept at 0, there's a net cost to keeping money on deposit, where previously they would have made interest on your money. They do make a decent margin on loans though. After computerising their services and getting rid of most of their tellers, their actual cost per transaction has gone way down. I always felt it was unfair to penalise the low income people by putting the requirements for free banking out of their reach, while giving free banking to the people that didn't necessarily need it.

I don't have an objection to banking fees, but I think 1 to 5 cents per computerised transaction is enough to generate a small margin, maybe 5-10 cents per ATM transaction, and a euro if you insist on going to a teller for a transaction that can be done on your phone.

PhilOssophy

dxhound2005 wrote: »

How do banks abroad make a profit if none of them charge for any service?

Same way as the banks here make their profit - deposits 0%, lend it out at 4%.

I still love how the OP is getting so worked up about something which
1. SHOULD have no effect on him (as he is presumably living in the wonderful GB given his macbook purchase in £)
2. Wouldn't bother me in the least as I never have any cash - I don't even carry a wallet any more as I pay for most things with my phone
3. Is another industry of diminshing returns for those purchasing it the machines.

No need to guess which bank either OP - your posting history tells all!

parc

dxhound2005 wrote: »

How do banks abroad make a profit if none of them charge for any service?

By changing interest on loans, overdrafts, investing/trading etc.

Some here will probably argue that account/withdrawal fees, in say a UK bank, are just abstracted away into these other financial instruments as higher charges?

The point is, these services are all optional. I don't have to take out a loan, I don't have to have an overdraft, I don't have to have a credit card.

But I need someplace to deposit my money - and that's free in foreign countries. In fact, the bank pays me to keep money with them, however small. It's crazy how Irish banks can get away with these fees and it's even more crazy that there are some here defending it.

whisky_galore

Euronet ATMs are a respectable means of scamming tourists.

PhilOssophy

parc wrote: »

But I need someplace to deposit my money - and that's free in foreign countries.

Take it all out and put it under your mattress, nobody will charge you and you can sleep all night safe in the knowledge that you'll never have to pay for an ATM transaction again.

Daragh1980

When I worked in England, the bank charges were a lot higher than here. Particularly if you went overdrawn or had a cheque or direct debit bounced on you.

Not sure what is like now but it always amuses me to see people like the OP who think it should be free. Why should any business offer its services for free? Does the OP work for free?

dxhound2005

parc wrote: »

But I need someplace to deposit my money - and that's free in foreign countries. In fact, the bank pays me to keep money with them, however small. It's crazy how Irish banks can get away with these fees and it's even more crazy that there are some here defending it.

I took a look online and you were wrong about "abroad" not having ATM charges. Plenty of countries do. I am not going to bother with this "free in foreign countries" statement. But I would be surprised if it applies to every foreign country.

The Mighty Quinn

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

Cashless society.... I'm actually in favour of it, if the data is managed appropriately. There are too many people operating on the black or grey markets, cash in hand, earning money while in receipt of welfare payments etc. It's not fair to those who work and pay their taxes. I know cashless isn't a perfect system either, and i'm not against anybody earning extra money or finding ways to legally avoid tax, but evasion just costs everybody else more in the long run. I know there's also the argument that "most people only pay their taxes because it's automatically taken from them" and that's probably true, so I'm not soapboxing either.

Back on thread... I am with Bank of Ireland. Considering moving, but not sure who to - suggestions and whys?

I moved to an post. 5 percent back on Lidl which negates their €5 a month charge. Plus I now have s branch 2 miles away. It was 25

Wanderer78

neoliberalism rocks, the wealth will trickle down, happy days!

Wombatman

daheff wrote: »

I tried twice to open a bank account with them. Never actually did they manage to open the account so I gave up. If they aren't bothered to take my business then I'll go elsewhere.

Took me about 20 min to open an account with them (KBC) using their mobile app. No charges if you lodge more that €2000 a month as previously stated.

Revolut soon to have Irish accounts too.

I also have N26, Fire and Monese accounts.

Never been a better time to find a fee free current account.

Bank of Ireland has reported an underlying profit before tax of €758m for 2019, down 19% on the €935m reported the previous year.

Poor banks. Wouldn't your heart just bleed for them.

Wanderer78

Wombatman wrote: »

Took me about 20 min to open an account with them (KBC) using their mobile app. No charges if you lodge more that €2000 a month as previously stated.

Revolut soon to have Irish accounts too.

I also have N26, Fire and Monese accounts.

Never been a better time to find a fee free current account.



Poor banks. Wouldn't your heart just bleed for them.

poor, me hole, they cant pretty much create as much money as they want, then sell it to us!

Daragh1980

Wombatman wrote: »

Poor banks. Wouldn't your heart just bleed for them.

That’s last year’s figures. 2020 very different. The big three banks in Ireland all announced significant redundancies in recent months. A lot of those staff will be out of work.

Wanderer78

Daragh1980 wrote: »

That’s last year’s figures. 2020 very different. The big three banks in Ireland all announced significant redundancies in recent months. A lot of those staff will be out of work.

i wouldnt be overly worrying about the banks, that model is well in intact, their staff on the other hand....

daheff

Wombatman wrote: »

Revolut soon to have Irish accounts too.

Revolut don't have a banking license in Ireland....so buyer beware

Wanderer78

daheff wrote: »

Revolut don't have a banking license in Ireland....so buyer beware

what are the issues with that?

Wombatman

Daragh1980 wrote: »

That’s last year’s figures. 2020 very different. The big three banks in Ireland all announced significant redundancies in recent months. A lot of those staff will be out of work.

Paying excess fees to banks won't save the staff. Cutting costs = extra profit, simple as.

Wombatman

daheff wrote: »

Revolut don't have a banking license in Ireland....so buyer beware

Soon to have one.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/revolut-shifts-regulation-of-irish-customers-to-lithuania-1.4369544

Ush1

Wanderer78 wrote: »

what are the issues with that?

Well the most obvious is no Irish deposit guarantee.

Sheep Shagger

Needed cash for kids birthday party (in a park today), had to drive home to get my debit card as use my phone for contactless for everything. Used a Euronet ATM (no charges). First time I've used an ATM all year I think.

No longer have an old school bank account, only n26 and Revolut.

galway_lad

Daragh1980 wrote: »

When I worked in England, the bank charges were a lot higher than here. Particularly if you went overdrawn or had a cheque or direct debit bounced on you.

Can't speak to the latter but here's an example of our joint current a/c for November:

Fees: £5
Interest: £9
Cashback: £3.50 (you get this on certain bills)

Net gain of £7.50. No government raid on debit/credit card fees either.

My own personal account doesn't get cashback but due to being paid into it etc, there's enough activity in it to get no fees.

Our instant saver account is with Marcus. No fees and some interest.

Sheep Shagger

Ush1 wrote: »

Well the most obvious is no Irish deposit guarantee.

Use n26 then, they have a German bank guarantee.

Wombatman

Ush1 wrote: »

Well the most obvious is no Irish deposit guarantee.

Lithuanian deposit guarantee scheme protects up to €100k.

If you have more than €100,000 on deposit with a retail bank, you deserve to lose your money.

https://thebanks.eu/banks/18978/deposit_guarantee

Sheep Shagger

Daragh1980 wrote: »

That’s last year’s figures. 2020 very different. The big three banks in Ireland all announced significant redundancies in recent months. A lot of those staff will be out of work.

Feel for the staff but they've been overstaffed for years with their antiquated processes. Banks in other countries of a similar size have a fraction of that headcount.

ratracer

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Needed cash for kids birthday party (in a park today), had to drive home to get my debit card as use my phone for contactless for everything. Used a Euronet ATM (no charges). First time I've used an ATM all year I think.

No longer have an old school bank account, only n26 and Revolut.

Surely the kid has a Revolut account on his/her phone??

senordingdong

daheff wrote: »

Banks are charging more fees so they don't need to charge you for negative interest. PR wise that would be a disaster. People would close accounts in droves to avoid it. Yet extra fees are largely ignored.

Doesn't have to be the banks, didn't Enda Kenny govt. consider this as a 'stimulus' incentive?
Also, if you acknowledge that most people endure fees without a second thought, there's no reason to believe that negative interest rates would drive people away.
Furthermore, if we were hypothetically living in a cashless society and all the banks had adopted negative interest rates, people couldn't leave in droves.
That's the problem I envisage.

Wanderer78

senordingdong wrote: »

Doesn't have to be the banks, didn't Enda Kenny govt. consider this as a 'stimulus' incentive?
Also, if you acknowledge that most people endure fees without a second thought, there's no reason to believe that negative interest rates would drive people away.
Furthermore, if we were hypothetically living in a cashless society and all the banks had adopted negative interest rates, people couldn't leave in droves.
That's the problem I envisage.

why couldnt people leave in droves?

senordingdong

Wombatman wrote: »

Revolut soon to have Irish accounts too.

I also have N26, Fire and Monese accounts.

Never been a better time to find a fee free current account.

Can you have your salary etc paid into the above? And are they valid for proof/financial statements if you were looking for a loan?

senordingdong

Wanderer78 wrote: »

why couldnt people leave in droves?

As I said, if the society was cashless, and all the banks had adopted negative interest rates, where exactly would they go?

Wanderer78

senordingdong wrote: »

As I said, if the society was cashless, and all the banks had adopted negative interest rates, where exactly would they go?

alternatives maybe, cryptos, digital only platforms etc