Ulster Bank’s current account holders to be hit with fees from July
Ulster Bank confirmed it will impose a fee of €4 a month on its current account customers after keeping its promise not to impose fees for a year after its computer systems failure.
Spokesperson for price comparison website bonkers.ie, Simon Moynihan, said the Ulster Bank move was disappointing.
“Ulster Bank was the last place Irish customers could get a truly free current account, so it’s disappointing to see that they will start charging fees from July. Ulster Bank customers will need to lodge a sizeable €3,000 per month to avoid paying the new charges which will put fee-free banking out of reach of many current account holders. Ulster Bank’s restrictions are very similar to Bank of Ireland and AIB which both require customers to keep large amounts of money in their current accounts at all times to avoid fees,” he said.
“Permanent TSB now has the lowest bar to fee-free banking, requiring customers to lodge €1,500 per month to avoid fees.”
A spokesperson for PTSB said its new account had received a very positive response from consumers.
“The campaign only launched about three weeks ago and the response had been very positive but it is too early to give out figures yet,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that ATMs in Ireland will start to dispense €10 notes as part of a drive to aid people who have less money in their accounts.
However, the two main banks confirmed that people would still be charged a transaction fee on withdrawing their money.
AIB said customers would be charged 20c to withdraw a €10 note while Bank of Ireland confirmed that on their pay-as-you-go scheme it would be 28c to take out €10.
“We would encourage customers to avail of options such as cash-back at retailers to reduce transaction charges,” a spokesperson for Bank of Ireland said.
