Back in February 2011 – Bank of Ireland announced changes to the fees charged on their current accounts. At the time it made some of the the newspapers – but many BOI customers probably forgot about it until they got their quarterly statements.
Some customers of BOI have been charged up to €50 in transaction fees in the first quarter . Second quarter fees may well be even higher because the changes were only introduced from Feb 21st 2011.
Current Account Holders at Bank of Ireland are exemp from transaction fees ONLY IF they ..
a) Lodge at least €3,000 into the account each quarter AND make nine payments from that account using either phone or online services
OR b) maintain a minimum credit balance of €3,000 throughout the full quarter.
If customers don’t meet the criteria – the transaction fees will be 28 cents for each of the following transactions:
Use of Debit Card (Laser)
Use of ATM
Standing order
Direct debit
Cheque
Branch transaction
Internet transaction
Phone transaction
So – someone with a BOI account using a debit card twice a day , using the ATM three times a week, writing one cheque a week and with 5 direct debits a month , would be charged €68 in transaction fees in a quarter. (€272 a year)
Prior to Feb 2011 to avoid fees – BOI customers had to only maintain a minimum credit balance of €500 in their account for the entire fee quarter
OR b) Make 3 or more payments each quarter from their current account using either phone banking or online banking.
See More details of the other Irish bank’s fees and where to get free banking in Ireland