AIB, Ulster, BoI ‘most costly retailers’

ULSTER BANK, AIB and Bank of Ireland have been blacklisted in a new survey of bank charges by the financial services watchdog.

But typical bank customers could save up to €112 every year by taking advantage of free banking offers from Permanent TSB and National Irish Bank (NIB), the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) said yesterday.

The survey found Ulster’s U First current account offering was the most expensive of the country’s five main retail banks, based on a typical customer with regular ATM and Laser card usage who also used direct debits and internet banking to pay bills.

A U First customer would pay €112 for the basket of services used, while a conventional current account holder at the same bank faced a yearly bill of €67. The U First product offers mostly free transactions in return for a fixed monthly fee of €9, while its regular current account has no fixed fee but charges 20c for each routine transaction. U First would, however, be better value for a customer with a higher number of regular transactions. It also offers discounts on other products and services.

AIB customers faced a typical bill of €81, while those in Bank of Ireland would pay €86, if they opted to be charged per transaction, or €46 if they went for the bank’s flat-fee product that charges €11 per quarter in return for up to 90 transactions.

Permanent TSB and NIB customers bank for free, although NIB’s offer is restricted to customers who keep their accounts in credit.

Banking umbrella group the Irish Bankers’ Federation said price was an important factor but that customers should also consider the specific features of their current accounts, the quality of service provided, convenience and their broader banking relationships before they decided to switch providers. But customers who wanted to switch could now do so more easily, thanks to the federation’s new code governing banks’ obligations, the body added.

The code forces banks to make it easier for customers to switch by streamlining the paperwork involved.