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NEARLY THREE IN four people in Ireland believe fees charged by banks for basic services are excessive, a new survey has said.
73% of people surveyed said that the that fees for services such as account maintenance and ATM withdrawals are too high.
Additionally, 79% of people want to see banks provide more simple ways of transferring and spending money abroad.
The polling was conducted for money app Wise by market research company Censuswide, which surveyed 2,000 adults in Ireland in September 2024.
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73% of those surveyed said they don’t understand overseas transaction fees or that they believe their bank should make the fees clearer.
43% felt their bank had overcharged them on hidden exchange rate fees last year.
Sentiments were more positive overall in some other areas but still identified that problems are felt by a proportion of consumers.
37% believe there is a lack of competitive interest rates and 29% said they experienced poor customer service or lack of responsiveness by their bank.
27% were concerned by costly and slow international transactions and a further 25% believed there is a lack of transparency regarding bank fees.
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@Keyser Söze: Wait until they start taking mortgage applications.
@ Martin: That platititude doesn’t really work with transaction fees. It’s more to do with paying membership. The banks hit you with plenty of advertising too.
@Keyser Söze: how fo you get money to revolut when its a requirment to have an irish bank account. Also need Irish account for business setup and some services only accept mainsteam bank accounts.
@Martin Bishop: I’ve not once ever had an advert or spammy advert in the Revolut app. So either your device is infested with malware, or you’re using some third party app (if they exist).
@Keyser Söze: it’s not fully free as they charge for some transfers and currency exchanges, depending on your level of membership. But i find it much easier to use especially when going abroad and better rates for exchange when changing currency etc
@Martin Bishop: i have revolut premium or what it’s called, so many extras which i occasionally use and no ridiculous fees. If paid for 1 year in advance you even get a discount compared to monthly and those 8€ are much better value than ‘offline’ banks
@Martin Bishop: Zero ads on Revolut. Unless promotional emails for services are considered ads (they’re not). But you get those from your regular brick and mortar bank as well.
@Barney: There is zero requirement for an Irish bank account (even though a Revolut account is linked to an Irish IBAN). IBAN discrimination is forbidden in the EU. If the government or company refuses a non-Irish account, you should report them.
@Basildon Joe: No banks in Ireland charge anything for tap and pay contactless payments. I think some do charge for debit card chip and pin transactions though (use your phone to pay for free if transaction limits are an issue, or alternatively just pay with a credit card).
@Sean: incorrect. My AIB quarterly statement charges me 20 cent per contactless transaction, so this is a lot over the year and increases the charge of everything I pay with them. Obviously I try to transfer to revolut and use that, but AIB also charge per transfer to revolut. They charge for everything in fact, very bad. Then pay USC also for tha bailout still, yet they make 2 billion year? It is not right.
@Basildon Joe: AIB do not charge for contactless transactions. Check the itemised breakdown of your quarterly statement charges and it should explain that no such charges have applied. If you have been incorrectly charged for contactless transactions, you should submit a complaint to dispute these charges. You can cite the following statement on the AIB website:
“For debit cards the transaction fee is waived on contactless transactions until further notice”
@Basildon Joe: No they haven’t Joe. No Irish bank applies fees for contactless payments. You are either mistaken or your bank has made an error. If the latter I suggest you contact them to request a refund.
@Basildon Joe: if using Gpay to pay with your phone, this is a contactless transaction which is free. You may be getting charged for using your debit card for other transactions such as chip & pin or online transactions or ATM withdrawals.
Your breakdown of fees should itemise all such transactions (note you could see e.g. €4 in contactless transaction fees, with a corresponding credit of this same €4 meaning it nets off as free.)
@Kevin Collins: thanks Kevin it looks like they have been charging me no 2 ways about it. They probably do this to loads of unsuspecting customers. They are for it now, I will take it up with them.
@Basildon Joe: if this is the case, I would most certainly contact AIB to enquire and/or complain. As you say yourself, 20c per transaction adds up to a lot over the course of a year.
@Basildon Joe: https://aib.ie/help-and-guidance/personal-current-account-fee-changes-faqs explaining:
What is the fee for a contactless transaction?
Currently we do not charge for contactless transactions. While contactless transactions carry a fee of 20 cent per transaction, we have not charged this fee since we introduced contactless payments in 2012. We announced on 4th September 2020 that we will continue to provide contactless transactions free of charge until further notice for all our customers.
Banks & Bankers are the lowest common denominator in Irish society. Bankers are white collar criminals in suits & their track record in Ireland has proven this. Even after all the scandals & Govt appointed over seers & being told the culture had changed, they couldn’t tell the truth around the Tracker scandal. Just like the RTE criminals, it had to be pulled out of them but by bit, rotten to the core & aided & abetted by our Govt, Central Bank & Regulators.
@SV3tN8M4: Indeed. Just look at Brendan Mullin’s shenanigans at BOI Private. Tip of the iceberg. How much more underhanded and criminal behaviour is going on?
Banks should pay US interest for use of OUR money. The money belongs to depositors, not to the bank! Banks have lost sight of this drastically important fact!
Yes when ffg get back in they will sort everything out.
Giving free money to everyone,
Take on the banks, build trillions of houses, cure all disabilities. Bless the homeless.
Turn carers into saints.
Can’t wait!
I’ve transferred 65k to Revolut, but am unsure as what to do with the remainder, as I am concerned as to what happens if Revolut go belly up.
I get 4 euro post tax interest per day from Revolut.
Everything is automated… just like how digital products got more expensive despite them not being affected by medium production cost and shipping… pure greed.
I get charged €10 per quarter I don’t use tap my account is only used for Skytv and broadband €69 and 48 mobile €12.99 and storage fees. My sister uses tap like there’s no tomorrow and her car comes out monthly and she gets charged over €50 per quarter tap is the killer
My background is in Financial Services (Underwriter not Banker) and I will NEVER engage with a mainstream bank again.
Everything I had (Mortgage, current account, overdraft, personal loan, credit card) was vis AIB.
I resigned from my job and missed a mortgage repayment. I hate being in debt so immediately put my place up on the market…
Having engaged with them fully and truthfully, I was guaranteed a moratorium.
However someone never pressed the button so I ended up with such a bad credit rating that I couldn’t even open another account. Ended up on the streets literally as a result. Lol after we bailed them out!!
They are definitely way too high, considering that they charge per electronic transaction, regardless of the amount, which is something that they don’t mention as they try to get more of us to do. I use cash and just withdraw the week’s budget at the start of the week and work off that, and only use electronic payments when I really have to.
Ptsb 8€ for what? 96€/year to have an account where the salary goes in, can have the same with revolut and several other perks which no irish bank offers bit don’t want to move savings
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