Almost 70% of us have never switched current account

Consumer Interests: There are savings to be made if you shop around for a better deal on your day-to-day banking, writes John Hearne

Women were less likely to have switched, while those in their 50s and 60s were most likely to say they found switching difficult.

Almost seven in 10 people have never switched current account provider, with just over a quarter holding back due to the perceived difficulty of the process. That is according to the Capital Credit Union’s just-published member survey, which gathered insights from 3,700 adults.

The good news is that of the one third of respondents who switched, most found the process quite straightforward.

Drilling into the data, we find women were less likely to have switched, while those in their 50s and 60s were most likely to say they found switching difficult.

Capital Credit Union chief executive Pat Byrne says these results reveal a clear need for greater awareness around the ease and benefits of switching accounts.

“With nearly seven in 10 people never having switched, perceived complexity is evidently holding many back. However, for the 32% who did switch, most found it straightforward, indicating that the perceived difficulty often outweighs the reality. 

"We all know that household admin tasks like switching accounts can be daunting, which makes it essential for financial institutions to streamline the process and communicate these improvements effectively.”

Daragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie points out that f or many of us, bank choice was taken care of by our parents in childhood, or else we signed up with whoever was offering the best freebies during Freshers week in college.

Either way, once we’ve signed up, for most of us, whichever bank has us — has us for life.

It does not have to be this way, however. The market for current account banking is highly competitive these days. If you are still paying substantially for basic services from your legacy bank, shopping around is a worthwhile exercise.

Mr Cassidy points out the biggest and most popular bank in Ireland, AIB, has a good mobile app, a large branch network and offers all the most popular mobile payment options such as Apple, Google and FitBit Pay. However, AIB's current account is expensive compared to all the other providers.

“It charges a €4.50 quarterly maintenance fee, a €0.35 fee for every ATM withdrawal and a €0.20 charge for every chip and pin transaction, self-service lodgement, online transaction, direct debit and standing order. These fees are applied regardless of how much you lodge or keep in your account each month. Contactless transactions are free though.”

An Post launched its current account back in June 2017 and recently completely redesigned and updated its app, which now comes with some novel features.

“For example, current account customers can easily save by setting money aside in up to 10 dedicated ‘jars’. You can set savings targets and deadlines and pay bills right out of a jar,” Mr Cassidy says.

The An Post account is, however, a little pricy. There’s a €5 monthly maintenance fee and if you want access to An Post Money Mate — a current account aimed at the under 15s — it will be an extra €2 a month. There is also a 60c ATM withdrawal fee. At 3%, the account also has among the highest foreign exchange fees if you use your card outside the eurozone.

Mr Cassidy points out that while Bank of Ireland has been slow to innovate where technology is concerned, its offering is improving. BoI also has a money management service called Money Insights 365 (Mi 365), which helps customers take more control of their money by providing them with insights into their spending. BoI used to charge individually for a host of current account transactions but has replaced all these with a flat €6 monthly account fee, regardless of usage.

Darragh Cassidy: 'Once we’ve signed up, for most of us, whichever bank has us — has us for life.'

Today, about 200 credit union branches offer a full-service current account, which offers all the features you would expect from a traditional bank account, such as online banking, direct debits and standing orders, as well as access to an overdraft facility.

“The charges all differ per branch,” says Mr Cassidy, “but in general it costs €4 a month, after which all your day-to-day banking is free. However, you only get five free ATM withdrawals a month. After that, there's a 50c charge per withdrawal.”

The EBS MoneyManager account has no monthly account maintenance fee and no charge for any day-to-day banking. There is also no minimum monthly lodgement requirement.

However, it does not offer an overdraft facility or a mobile app to help manage your banking on the go, and customers do not have access to either Google Pay or Apple Pay. However, if you're happy with the most basic of services, this is an account to consider and will cost you almost nothing to run.

Important to note: in 2022 EBS announced it was undertaking a strategic review of its operations, which could see it stop offering savings products and current accounts and focus on mortgages instead. There has been little update since but it is something to consider carefully before switching.

PTSB’s Explore Account is the only current account on the market that will actually pay you to use your card. While there's a hefty €8 monthly account maintenance fee, all your day-to-day banking is then free and you'll also earn 5c every time you use your debit card to pay for something in store or online. You can earn up to €5 a month through this feature alone, meaning you can offset some of the maintenance fee each month.

PTSB still does not offer Fitbit Pay or Garmin Pay, while its app, although recently updated, can be slow and still lacks basic features such as face or fingerprint log-in.

“It's a close call but if you want access to a nationwide branch network, need to be able to lodge cash or cheques from time to time, and require an overdraft, then PTSB seems like a decent option,” Mr Cassidy says. 

“However its digital offering is average at best so the account is by no means perfect. And the €8 monthly fee is hefty unless you can reduce it by making lots of payments with your card to avail of the five cent cashback feature.”

If you do all of your banking online these days and prefer card payments over cash, then N26 or Revolut are definitely worth a look. Both are an increasingly viable alternative to the traditional bank account.

“The point is that there's still choice out there at the moment. So if you're fed up with your existing bank's pesky fees and charges, you don't have to put up with it. You can switch to a better option for you today.”

Switching banks usually is not as much hassle as people think, thanks to the Central Bank’s Switching Code, which ensures switches have to be completed by the bank within a 10-day time frame, and this includes the transfer of all direct debits and standing orders. Nevertheless, you will still need to do some of the legwork yourself.