An overdraft is an additional amount of money that is drawn down from a current account when it is in debit. Overdrafts are generally supposed to a short-term facility used to temporarily increase your cashflow.
An overdraft can be seen as a loan you arrange through your current account. It allows you to spend more money than you have in your current account up to an agreed limit, known as the ‘overdraft limit’.
Below we give some details of the Bank overdraft charges in Ireland made by the main banks.
Charges for Setting up an Overdraft Facility
Most banks will charge an annual fee for an agreed overdraft. The charge for this can range from
- €30 at Bank Of Ireland
- €25 at PTSB
- €25.39 at AIB
- EBS doesn’t do overdrafts.
Interest Rates on agreed Overdrafts.
Interest rates on agreed overdrafts range from –
- 11.85% at AIB
- BOI 13.25%
- PTSB 15%
Unauthorised Overdraft Interest rates.
Some banks have interest surcharges for un-authorised overdrafts. In the case of PTSB this is an extra 12% – bringing the total interest rate up to 27% . (No extra interest with BOI or AIB)
Other Charges when Overdrawn.
Some banks also charge “referral fees” when a payment coming from your account exceeds the available funds at that time. These will usually work out a lot more than any interest charges.
Note: BOI charges nothing for unpaid items, and referral items.
- AIB – charges €5.15 per item (max 5 items per day)
- PTSB charges €5.00 per item (up to €15.00 maximum per day)
- Standing Orders are treated separately. When there is not enough money in your account to cover a standing order the banksusually charge a fee.
- AIB and PTSB charge €10
- BOI doesn’t charge
Overdrafts are best avoided if at all possible as they are an expensive way of borrowing money – especially if you go overdrawn without a formal agreement. You would pay lower rates on some credit cards.
Instead of an overdraft, it would even be worth considering a personal loan. See the lowest rates for personal loans.
(Figures correct as at May 2024 )
See more about Current Bank Account Charges in Ireland here