With both Ulster Bank and KBC Bank in the process of withdrawing from the Irish market, hundreds of thousands of banking customers are going to be in the market for a new current account provider over the coming year.
With eight possibilities for switching, there is choice out there – just not as much as banking customers might like to see.
It's perhaps a sign of the limited competition in the banking market that none of the providers appear to be doing anything special to win this business – at least not yet. The Central Bank does ask that financial institutions act "honestly, fairly and professionally" when offering any incentives, but this doesn't appear likely to be an issue, as there are no incentives at play thus far.
Here, we take a look at all the options, including the one “free banking” offering, plus how digital-only banks stack up.
AIB
It offers one of the most comprehensive current account offerings in the Irish market, with access to about 170 branches. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, it is also one of the most expensive. The bank charges a flat fee of €4.50 a quarter, with additional transactional charges on top. For example, an ATM withdrawal costs 35 cent, or 20 cent for an internet transaction.
As a result, bonkers.ie estimates the typical users will end up with charges of about €7.25 a month (about €87 a year).
You can avoid these fees if you have either a mortgage with the bank or if you are over the age of 65.
You can open an account with AIB online if you're aged over 16 and a citizen of the European Union. This should take about 15 minutes. People from outside the EU, those looking to open joint accounts and those under 16 years of age, must open an account in a branch.
An Post Money
A big advantage of an account with An Post Money is its branch network, with 900 post offices nationwide. New customers will also get access to its Money Manager facility that is launching later this month. This is in addition to An Post’s current money jars/round up features, designed to help customers save and manage their money.
However, you won't get a cheque book or an overdraft with the postal provider. And according to bonkers.ie, it is the most expensive current account for the average user, at about €8 a month (€96 a year).
You can open an account with An Post either online or digitally via its banking app. Applying takes minutes on the app, with the account opened within 24 hours, according to a spokesman.
Bank of Ireland
It's also an expensive offering, at a set €6 a month (€72 a year); however, the bank does offer a full-service current account offering, even if it was late to the Apple/Google Pay game.
It does offer a cheque book although, like many people, you may decide to give up on this. Government stamp duty at 50 cent a cheque, or €12.50 for a book of 25, has made using this service onerously expensive.
As with AIB, these charges do not apply to customers aged 66 or older.
While the bank may have closed a plethora of branches earlier this year, it still operates 169 nationwide, which means that you should never be too far from one if you need to access in-branch banking.
You can open a current account with the bank online, and a spokesman says doing so takes only six minutes. Of course adding all your direct debits etc will take longer.
Credit unions
More than 50 credit unions across Ireland affiliated with the Irish League of Credit Unions now offer their members a current account, in conjunction with a globally accepted debit card.
To switch to your local credit union, you’ll first need to become a member, which can be done in branch in less than half an hour. You can then apply for a current account, which will be set up “within minutes”. It takes about two weeks before a debit card is issued.
There are two debit cards on offer from credit unions – Current Account and MYCU. At present Current Account offers Apple, Google and Fitbit Pay, while MYCU will offer these "in due course". You'll pay a fixed fee of €4 a month (€48 a year) for your current account.
EBS
If you're looking for basic banking facilities then EBS may be the right option. The lender's Money Manager account is the only free banking option on the Irish market and offers a debit account, plus online banking.
However, you can’t get a cheque book or an overdraft, while it has no access to digital wallets such as Google or Apple Pay.
Moreover, you can’t open an account online, you have to visit a branch to do so, while approval of account opening documentation typically takes a working day.
N26
Depending on your banking needs, you might find an account with German digital bank N26 also comes at no cost.
A standard account with the German bank is "free", but you only get three free ATM withdrawals – anything over that costs €2, which is why bonkers.iehas estimated a €4 monthly cost for the account. You'll also have to pay €10 if you want a physical card – as opposed to Google Pay etc.
Moreover, there is no telephone support (just online support) on the standard account. To access phone support, you’ll need to pay, from €4.90 a month for a Smart account, and €16.90 for a Metal. These options come with phone support, while the latter also comes with travel insurance.
At the moment, overdrafts are only available in Austria and Germany, but a spokesman for the bank said it was something they are looking at, as “a product like this is highly relevant for our Irish customer base”.
Permanent TSB
The Explore account from PTSB works a little differently to many of the other options. It has a steep quarterly account maintenance fee of €18 (which works out at €6 a month or €72 a year) but no day-to-day transaction charges. Moreover, it offers cash back on a range of transactions, although this is capped at €5 a month. For example, you get 10 cent back each time you use your debit card; so use it 50 times and your net charges will fall to €1 a month.
In addition, you can get 5 per cent cash back on a variety of bills from service providers including Sky and Circle K, when you pay via direct debit. Bonkers.ie says the typical user will end up paying about €2 a month for its banking service.
You can open an account with the bank either in branch, which will take about 30 minutes, or digitally, which will take less than 15 minutes.
Revolut
It's not always included in current account comparisons, possibly because it's not a bank and deposits are still not covered by the EU's deposit protection scheme. This is a state guarantee to protect deposits of up to €100,000 in any institution. All the other options covered on this page are part of the scheme.
Instead, as an e-money institution licensed by the Bank of Lithuania, Revolut is required to safeguard all money it receives from customers (with no cap per customer). All customer funds are held in JP Morgan and the Bank of Lithuania.
The low interest rate environment means that it is now costing banks to hold money and this is being passed on to customers
However, with some 1.5 million customers now using the service in Ireland, according to a spokesman, the e-money institution will likely be a consideration for many departing Ulster and KBC customers.
By opting for the standard plan, you can avoid maintenance and card transaction fees, although you will pay €7.99 to get a card delivered while you can only withdraw €200 from an ATM each month. After that, a fee of 2 per cent – minimum €1 – applies. You also get added benefits such as access to crypto/stock investing and savings accounts.
Like with N26, you can upgrade for better features, with plans starting at €2.99 a month and rising to €13.99 for the provider’s metal account.
Revolut also offers junior accounts which can be linked to a parent’s account. Interest paying accounts are due to launch in Ireland in 2022.
What about my savings?
If you have substantial deposits with either KBC Bank or Ulster Bank, you will also likely be looking for a home for them. This is no longer straightforward.
The low interest rate environment means that it is now costing banks to hold money and this is being passed on to customers either in the form of negative rates, or a limit on deposits.
Bank of Ireland, for example, charges personal banking customers if they have deposits in excess of €1 million, while AIB will shortly do the same. Not only that, but the threshold at which a charge on your deposits kicks in could fall even further: last month AIB chief financial officer Donal Galvin said the bank "remains always alert" to widening the negative rate net further.
N26 also has a charge on deposits – at 0.5 per cent on new customer deposits in excess of €50,000.
Permanent TSB doesn't currently levy such a charge but, from the start of December, it will apply negative rates to corporate customers. Could personal banking customers be next?
EBS on the other hand, imposes a limit on deposits – €500,000 per customer, across two accounts – while savings limits are widespread across the credit union sector. St Francis Credit Union in Ennis, Co Clare, for example, has a limit of €20,000, while any new member joining Cara Credit Union in Tralee, Co Kerry can only put €10,000 on deposit.
