KBC exiting Ireland

bonjurkes · 19-05-2021 10:53AM

The problem with fintech banking is, for whatever reason, they have rights to froze your assets while they do investigation. This can be legit case, or something triggered by their internal system (their AI messing up and misflagging you). Then you will have to sit tight and wait till they come back to you. There is no one to discuss the matters with, as customer service will keep saying there is nothing they can do.

This kind of thing never happened to me with traditional banks but there is possibility with fintech banks. Especially the part that there is no human you can actually discuss your situation what worries me the most. Just visit N26 or Revolut subs on reddit and there is plenty of people having this issue. That's why I am not willing to store all my cash in some fintech bank. I can lose my monthly salary but no way I will keep my all savings there.

The J Stands for Jay · 19-05-2021 11:02AM

bonjurkes wrote: »

The problem with fintech banking is, for whatever reason, they have rights to froze your assets while they do investigation. This can be legit case, or something triggered by their internal system (their AI messing up and misflagging you). Then you will have to sit tight and wait till they come back to you. There is no one to discuss the matters with, as customer service will keep saying there is nothing they can do.

This kind of thing never happened to me with traditional banks but there is possibility with fintech banks. Especially the part that there is no human you can actually discuss your situation what worries me the most. Just visit N26 or Revolut subs on reddit and there is plenty of people having this issue. That's why I am not willing to store all my cash in some fintech bank. I can lose my monthly salary but no way I will keep my all savings there.

The regulations say that if your account has been frozen, they can't tell you why and they can't discuss it with you. The real question is whether the fintechs are flagging accounts too easily, or if the trad banks are too lax.

Cabaal · 19-05-2021 11:44AM

I certainly don't plan on keeping all my savings on N26 so I'm not worried.

I would urge caution of perhaps just how many people might be actually doing dodgy stuff via N26 accounts which is causing them to be legit flagged, of course if these same people post online they'll never want to admit what they've done is dodgy

Bob24 · 19-05-2021 12:17PM

McGaggs wrote: »

The regulations say that if your account has been frozen, they can't tell you why and they can't discuss it with you. The real question is whether the fintechs are flagging accounts too easily, or if the trad banks are too lax.

Agree. I think it is pretty easy to answer the question though.

Basically it is a trade-off between how the want to spend in this and the corresponding fraud detection/review capabilities. I.e. fintechs tend to had fewer staff and spend less on this, leading to more false positives and longer review times (if their capability to inquire about potential cases is lower, the safe choice is to put any account which was flagged as potentially problematic on hold until an actual person can look into it, whereas in a traditional bank the account might have been reviewed and cleared immediately).

Sam W · 19-05-2021 04:07PM

bonjurkes wrote: »

The problem with fintech banking is, for whatever reason, they have rights to froze your assets while they do investigation. This can be legit case, or something triggered by their internal system (their AI messing up and misflagging you). Then you will have to sit tight and wait till they come back to you. There is no one to discuss the matters with, as customer service will keep saying there is nothing they can do.

This kind of thing never happened to me with traditional banks but there is possibility with fintech banks. Especially the part that there is no human you can actually discuss your situation what worries me the most. Just visit N26 or Revolut subs on reddit and there is plenty of people having this issue. That's why I am not willing to store all my cash in some fintech bank. I can lose my monthly salary but no way I will keep my all savings there.

Absolutely spot on. N26 froze some of my assets and there was never any proper investigation for 2 months despite countless calls, emails, chats and letters.

I would be left with no cash flow for my business for 2 months had I got no other accounts.

The biggest problem is that such ‘digitised’ banks are unreachable at all (even though they claim they have 24/7 support) when an issue needs a bit of expertise knowledge. I would be able to just walk into an AIB branch and ask to talk to an account manager, or make a complaint on their online platform which someone will be able to discuss the case with me within a day or two. With a foreign and digital bank like N26, the only thing you could do is to wait and hope you still have cash left to feed yourself and your family whilst they play their wait game.

unkel · 25-05-2021 11:49PM

Cabaal wrote: »

Decided I might as well get it over and done with, moving from KBC this week.
I have all but one thing switched over to new bank.

Shame to leave KBC as I've been happy with them since about 2018 after awful issues with Ulster

Cabaal wrote: »

N26,
I've had an account with them since 2018 as a backup when traveling so I've now moved proper to it.

I don't need cheque's, cash lodgements or overdrafts. N26 unlike Revolut is of course a proper bank license wise so thats why I'm with it, also the N26 app is actually decent.

+1

Getting my finger out whenever I have a bit of time in the next few days. Have exactly the same history as yourself and decided this evening that I will make N26 my main current account (and also keep using Revolut exactly like I am using it now)

unkel · 26-05-2021 02:53PM

Done now. Was not as bad as when I switched to KBC in early 2018, but Jaysus some of people have no idea that you should be able to use an IBAN that doesn't start with "IE" these days :rolleyes:

Cabaal · 27-05-2021 10:37AM

unkel wrote: »

Done now. Was not as bad as when I switched to KBC in early 2018, but Jaysus some of people have no idea that you should be able to use an IBAN that doesn't start with "IE" these days :rolleyes:

The only problem I've had so far is Vodafone's website wouldn't take it,
Its funny cause I expected my local credit union to be an issue but it was no problem at all!

unkel · 27-05-2021 11:01AM

Yeah similar here. One of the easiest sites was the Revenue Commissioners. Wasn't expecting that. Easy online job, same with the likes of GoMo and Energia. Most others required a phone call, one (Flogas) required me to fill in a direct debit paper form and return it to them.

krissovo · 29-05-2021 10:23AM

I am looking at leaving KBC and N26 looks good but I do make a few annual large transactions. With KBC if I exceeded their limits I could go to the hub show ID an then complete the transaction. I have 2 scenarios bank transfers of >€20k, in KBC I need to goto the branch and in N26 this looks unlimited. The 2nd is card transactions >€5k which is the limit for for N26, how do I get around this?

Sam W · 29-05-2021 11:43AM

krissovo wrote: »

I am looking at leaving KBC and N26 looks good but I do make a few annual large transactions. With KBC if I exceeded their limits I could go to the hub show ID an then complete the transaction. I have 2 scenarios bank transfers of >€20k, in KBC I need to goto the branch and in N26 this looks unlimited. The 2nd is card transactions >€5k which is the limit for for N26, how do I get around this?

You can’t. The limits in the app are already the highest they can grant.

krissovo · 29-05-2021 11:52AM

Sam W wrote: »

You can’t. The limits in the app are already the highest they can grant.

Thanks, looks like I will have to stay and transfer over to our BOI overlords :mad:

unkel · 29-05-2021 12:42PM

krissovo wrote: »

Thanks, looks like I will have to stay and transfer over to our BOI overlords :mad:

Is there no way around it? I seem to remember that with Revolut you could pre-arrange larger transfers. I paid for my Tesla with Revolut. I presume you have Revolut too? My plan is to keep using that for its unique benefits

Rock Steady Edy · 29-05-2021 04:00PM

Sam W wrote: »

Absolutely spot on. N26 froze some of my assets and there was never any proper investigation for 2 months despite countless calls, emails, chats and letters.

I would be left with no cash flow for my business for 2 months had I got no other accounts.

The biggest problem is that such ‘digitised’ banks are unreachable at all (even though they claim they have 24/7 support) when an issue needs a bit of expertise knowledge. I would be able to just walk into an AIB branch and ask to talk to an account manager, or make a complaint on their online platform which someone will be able to discuss the case with me within a day or two. With a foreign and digital bank like N26, the only thing you could do is to wait and hope you still have cash left to feed yourself and your family whilst they play their wait game.

This review has completely put me off ever opening a digitised non-Irish based bank account. I would even rather pay something towards the cost of an Irish bank account than potentially have this hassle.

Jim2007 · 29-05-2021 06:17PM

Rock Steady Edy wrote: »

This review has completely put me off ever opening a digitised non-Irish based bank account. I would even rather pay something towards the cost of an Irish bank account than potentially have this hassle.

This can happen with any bank and as all banks become more digitized and the cost cutting goes on the differences will reduce.

But there are things you can do to reduce the chance of this happening:
- Always responded to ID requests promptly with the requested documents
- Inform the bank of expecting unusual transactions
- Make sure that people paying you have all your payment details not just the IBAN number

I can’t emphasize this last point enough because banks often use these additional fields to flag up transactions for review. For example, if you are commonly known as John Smith, but the account name is John K. Smith make sure the payer knows this.

The J Stands for Jay · 14-06-2021 12:37PM

KBC have just sent out an email saying they're adding push notifications for payments to their app.

bonjurkes · 14-06-2021 12:41PM

That's great news, they can send a push notification to their customers before they are closing their doors officially

KBC Bank - 5 minutes ago
Bye lads!

unkel · 14-06-2021 12:57PM

LOL yeah same here. KBC just rang to confirm my account is now officially closed. Adios!

N26 is my current account now...

feelings · 14-06-2021 12:58PM

Strange one alright. Presume it was in the pipeline but would have thought they'd haved killed any future updates.

The thoughts of moving banks again. *sigh*

Yyhhuuu · 14-06-2021 07:14PM

unkel wrote: »

LOL yeah same here. KBC just rang to confirm my account is now officially closed. Adios!

N26 is my current account now...

Please update us as to how you find N26.

unkel · 14-06-2021 09:51PM

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Please update us as to how you find N26.

I've had N26 for years, just didn't use it much. They have a full EU banking license and your balance is covered by the German government €100k deposit guarantee. Unlike Revolut.

What else can I say? It's an online bank account, it's free with free ATM withdrawals. They have no branches. I've moved all my direct debits to them, without issue. They have an app for your phone.

I'm still keeping Revolut as it's the cheapest way to make payments in foreign currencies and it's a generally quite well accepted way of making and receiving instant payments to and from other people

Quazzie · 17-06-2021 07:55PM

unkel wrote: »

.

I'm still keeping Revolut as it's the cheapest way to make payments in foreign currencies

How accurate is this?

Me and my sister both purchased a product on Amazon and I paid with Revolut and she used her PTSB bank card. A quick check and she paid about 2% less when converted to euro.

unkel · 17-06-2021 09:27PM

Quazzie wrote: »

How accurate is this?

Me and my sister both purchased a product on Amazon and I paid with Revolut and she used her PTSB bank card. A quick check and she paid about 2% less when converted to euro.

Was that at a weekend? Revolut charges the interbank rate, which is the cheapest possible rate. No main bank offers this. But at weekends they charge a premium.

And I presume you both paid in GBP? If you pay in EUR then Amazon takes the FX rate difference

Quazzie · 17-06-2021 10:03PM

unkel wrote: »

Was that at a weekend? Revolut charges the interbank rate, which is the cheapest possible rate. No main bank offers this. But at weekends they charge a premium.

And I presume you both paid in GBP? If you pay in EUR then Amazon takes the FX rate difference

Wednesday 9th June. Both bought the same product. Both prime members. Both paid in Sterling allowing our respective banks make handle the currency exchange. I was always of the belief like the claims that Revolut was cheaper and definitely when compared to my own AIB card on any time I've tested it, it was. Maybe PTSB have a better rate though

The J Stands for Jay · 17-06-2021 10:43PM

Quazzie wrote: »

Wednesday 9th June. Both bought the same product. Both prime members. Both paid in Sterling allowing our respective banks make handle the currency exchange. I was always of the belief like the claims that Revolut was cheaper and definitely when compared to my own AIB card on any time I've tested it, it was. Maybe PTSB have a better rate though

I wonder is it because PTSB show their charge as a separate item on your statement?

unkel · 17-06-2021 10:45PM

McGaggs wrote: »

I wonder is it because PTSB show their charge as a separate item on your statement?

That's what KBC do too. And it might not show up on your statement until a week later or sometimes more. Must be the explanation here. The interbank rate is the rate at which banks buy and sell FX to each other (hence the name). This is the cheapest possible rate they could charge

It's either that or one of the two transactions has somehow gone wrong. Banks do make mistakes

Quazzie · 18-06-2021 08:32PM

McGaggs wrote: »

I wonder is it because PTSB show their charge as a separate item on your statement?

That actually makes perfect sense.

Sam W · 18-06-2021 10:42PM

This is how it will show up in PTSB account for foreign transactions. The FX fee doesn’t show up until a few days later.

Bob24 · 19-06-2021 09:48AM

McGaggs wrote: »

I wonder is it because PTSB show their charge as a separate item on your statement?

Yes, and also PTSB (like most banks) are waiting for the transaction to be settled before they apply the fee (because both the transaction amount and the fee amount could change before the actual transaction settlement). It usually takes a few days but it could be weeks if the vendor decides to keep in on hold.

Fintechs like N26 and Revolut chose to display the transaction immediately as people like to get instant notifications and immediate reflection on their mobile App. But it means they are actually showing provisional amounts which might need to be corrected if the final settlement is for a different amount or if the transaction is never settled.

adox · 26-06-2021 09:20AM

Started getting push notifications for transactions yesterday.

KBC exiting Ireland

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