# AIB current account holders to qualify for free banking



## MonsieurBond (4 Apr 2006)

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]*AIB current account holders to qualify for free transaction banking*
[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] _04/04/2006           - 11:28:11_[/FONT]   

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] AIB customers with personal current accounts who, each quarter, use AIB phone/internet banking and their AIB debit card for one transaction will now qualify for free transaction banking.

Apparently, this is going to be officially launched within the next week or so.

This is going to put some pressure on BOI in particular.

No doubt, this is a pre-emptive strike to ward off the risk of BOSI and Danskebank/NIB stealing more customers.
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## MugsGame (4 Apr 2006)

Interesting. I don't have an AIB debit card and will probably get one to avail of this (the free fees will easily pay for the €10 stamp duty.).


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## zat29 (4 Apr 2006)

Very welcome news to me. The thoughts of changing bank to avail of free transactions was way too much hassle judging by many of the posts here about switcher accounts...


From the AIB [broken link removed]....


Qualifying criteria details
  - have an AIB Current Account
  - be registered for AIB Phone & Internet Banking
  - have an AIB Debit Card


  then every fee quarter:-


1. Use your AIB Debit Card to make a purchase transaction at a point of sale terminal, by telephone, mail order or Internet.


  2. Make a debit transaction using AIB Phone & Internet Banking (e.g. pay a bill, top up a mobile, transfer money between accounts, transfer money to other branches and banks, make an international payment).
  Where the customer meets the qualifying criteria, free transaction banking is automatic and no maintenance and transactions fees will be applied for that fee quarter.
  Customers will not need to opt in for this offer. Service fees will still apply e.g. unpaids, duplicate statements and FX bureau transactions.


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## ClubMan (4 Apr 2006)

All those _AIB _customers who were struck by inertia could have saved money on banking transaction costs a long time before now.


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## gordongekko (5 Apr 2006)

Is there a government charge on a debit card?


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

Yes - €10 on a debit card (e.g. _Laser_). An additional €10 if it's also an _ATM _card. Per annum. See [broken link removed].


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## gordongekko (5 Apr 2006)

Well thats a tenner off any saving i am going to make


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

Are you sure it's not €20? Do (m)any banks do debit (e.g. _Laser_) only non _ATM _cards? 

Also - aren't you going to pay the stamp duty with any bank so it's a fixed cost that you simply have to accept wherever you go unless you forego the use of certain types of card/bank service?


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## gordongekko (5 Apr 2006)

i already have an atm card so the extra charge should only be 10 euros. If i had changed bank to either ptsb or ulster i would not have had to have got a debit card and so would not have faced this extra charge


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

OK - I get your point now. Thanks.


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

zat29 said:
			
		

> Very welcome news to me. The thoughts of changing bank to avail of free transactions was way too much hassle judging by many of the posts here about switcher accounts...
> 
> 
> From the AIB [broken link removed]....
> ...


Isn't that all a bit convoluted? Why not just say it's transaction fee free banking or not rather than having to follow a flowchart to figure out whether or not you qualify?


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## MugsGame (5 Apr 2006)

They want to encourage people to move to electronic transactions. In return they will share the cost savings with customers. It's not really about free banking for the sake of competition. I predict they will bring back the fees in a few years when most people have gone electronic; AIB have had free fee deals before.



> All those AIB customers who were struck by inertia



What evidence do you have for your belief that AIB customers who did not switch were struck by inertia?


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## CCOVICH (5 Apr 2006)

I wasn't struck by inertia.  I have never received any bother with AIB (I'm sure many have) and was actually reasonably happy to pay for what I considered good service.  Hence I kepy my account there based on my experiences, not laziness.  I didn't spend much (if any) time beomaning the fact that I payed charges.

Of course the fact that it is free now is great-it's always better not to have to pay of course (every little helps etc.).  Increased competition certainly _appears_ to be working for the consumer.


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## MugsGame (5 Apr 2006)

Exactly CCOVICH. I evaluated the alternatives, and the AIB service is actually better for my needs. Plus the chances were something would go wrong with a standing order/direct debit despite the automated switching procedure. The extra time involved to correct it would cost me more than the fees saved, at least in the first year.

I can't understand the focus by IFSRA and others on bank charges, when there are far more significant issues facing the banking industry -- e.g. misselling of payment protection insurance and poor value investment products pushed by tied agents more interested in their commission than customer needs.


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## elcato (5 Apr 2006)

Bear in mind that AIB only produced charges , in my opinion, after realising that their SSIA fixed rate account was offering 4% interest. I have always maintained that this is why they brought in the charges in the first place. They insisted that anyone holding their SSIA account would have to service it thru' an AIB current account thus saying either pay your way or move. Of course, this condition was buried nicely in small print and was not something that would be even checked by anyone opening the account at the time. I choose to move rather than give them any further business even though I lost out on interest by moving. Strange that when the accounts start maturing that they change back again. So don't be fooled into thinking that its competition that was the motivation for this.


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## Lorz (5 Apr 2006)

Can I take it there is no min balance required in your current account?


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## CCOVICH (5 Apr 2006)

MugsGame said:
			
		

> I can't understand the focus by IFSRA and others on bank charges, when there are far more significant issues facing the banking industry -- e.g. misselling of payment protection insurance and poor value investment products pushed by tied agents more interested in their commission than customer needs.


 
Really an issue for another thread, and maybe you're right, but IFRSA is more of a consumer watchdog IMHO that some kind of hard hitting regulator.


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## CCOVICH (5 Apr 2006)

elcato said:
			
		

> Bear in mind that AIB only produced charges , in my opinion, after realising that their SSIA fixed rate account was offering 4% interest.


 
I honestly don't have any recollection of this as I was a BoI customer at that time.  But I thought that current account charges were around before that time.




			
				elcato said:
			
		

> Strange that when the accounts start maturing that they change back again. So don't be fooled into thinking that its competition that was the motivation for this.


 
Sorry, but when I see the moves made by ptsb, UB, BoSI, and BoI, I have to say that the AIB move looks like a response to those offerings.  But that really doesn't bother me-it's free banking for me, and as long as the level of service I have experienced in the past doesn't decline, I won't second guess the motives too much.


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

MugsGame said:
			
		

> What evidence do you have for your belief that AIB customers who did not switch were struck by inertia?


 None - but I never said/insinuated that most or all _AIB _customers who didn't switch were struck by inertia. I simply said that those that *were *could have saved money before now.


			
				CCOVICH said:
			
		

> I wasn't struck by inertia. I have never received any bother with AIB (I'm sure many have) and was actually reasonably happy to pay for what I considered good service. Hence I kepy my account there based on my experiences, not laziness. I didn't spend much (if any) time beomaning the fact that I payed charges.


 Who mentioned laziness? Or that bank charges might not be justified or a relatively minor cost/concern in the greater scheme of things?


			
				CCOVICH said:
			
		

> Increased competition certainly _appears_ to be working for the consumer.


It would work better/faster if people for whom bank charges were an issue switched sooner to institutions that did not charge them thus forcing the hands of other instutitons who persisted in levying them. Competition is also driven by the consumer but some consumers act passively as if competition just "happens", eventually and by default.


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## MonsieurBond (5 Apr 2006)

CCOVICH said:
			
		

> I honestly don't have any recollection of this as I was a BoI customer at that time.  But I thought that current account charges were around before that time.
> 
> Sorry, but when I see the moves made by ptsb, UB, BoSI, and BoI, I have to say that the AIB move looks like a response to those offerings.  But that really doesn't bother me-it's free banking for me, and as long as the level of service I have experienced in the past doesn't decline, I won't second guess the motives too much.



The BOI offering is pathetic - keep €500 (or more to allow for bank charges which BOI insist on taking out of your account suddenly each quarter without notifying you of the date in advance)  in the account permanently, earning no interest? You would probably have to keep €750 in the accont most of the time in order to ensure you never dip below the €500 accidentally.

If you "invested" this "surplus" €750 in AIB's 4% PSP account you would get €30 in interest. How much are the BOI fees again? €45 a year!

I have a BOI account and while the AIB free banking is tempting, I don't trust them not to bring fees back in through the back door as other posters have said below. I am going to wait to see what happens with NIB/Danskebank and BOSI.

While the fees are an irritant, I am more interested in a bank that (for example) offers an overdraft rate at 21st century rates i.e. at 5 or 6 percent and not twice that.


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## ClubMan (5 Apr 2006)

MonsieurBond said:
			
		

> While the fees are an irritant, I am more interested in a bank that (for example) offers an overdraft rate at 21st century rates i.e. at 5 or 6 percent and not twice that.


That's fair enough. Just wondering why you started this thread so if bank charges are not an issue for you?


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## CCOVICH (5 Apr 2006)

MonsieurBond said:
			
		

> I have a BOI account and while the AIB free banking is tempting, I don't trust them not to bring fees back in through the back door as other posters have said below. I am going to wait to see what happens with NIB/Danskebank and BOSI.


 
Who said (in this thread) that they would bring them in through the back door, and couldn't any bank who currently offers free banking do this?



			
				MonsieurBond said:
			
		

> While the fees are an irritant, I am more interested in a bank that (for example) offers an overdraft rate at 21st century rates i.e. at 5 or 6 percent and not twice that.


 
Haven't overdraft rates always been higher than personal loan rates? Otherwise, where is the incentive to take out a personal loan?

Anyway, I'm happy enough to have the €100 or so in my pocket at the end of the year.


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## oysterman (5 Apr 2006)

Of course it won't be free banking at all - only "free transactions banking" - so you'll still pay account maintenance @ €18pa; a facility fee (for the _right_ to pay premium rates of interest on pre-arranged overdraft borrowings) of €25.39; statement fees; something called an "on-line overdraft" of €15.24 _per quarter _- whatever the hell that is (and I bet I have one....); and, quite frankly, too many other charges to list - but do have a look at them for yourself (paying particular attention to how trifling the "transactions charges" section appears within the ugly lineup):
[broken link removed]

If anything, I think this offer will simply serve to draw the attention of AIB customers to the very high charges they (will continue to) pay.

I've banked with AIB for a couple of years (I'm a refugee from the customer service wasteland that is BOI) and have been happy enough to pay for the good service I have received.

But the paucity of this offer and its trumpeting as some sort of breakthrough for the consumer is just nauseating.


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## Theo (5 Apr 2006)

I was just on to them today and they confirmed that you have to have a debit card as well as use phone/internet to qualify.  I use the phone/internet all the time but don't have a debit card.
Still, it seems it will be worth it to get one (20 euros stamp duty per annum versus 100 euros in charges per annum)


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## CCOVICH (5 Apr 2006)

oysterman said:
			
		

> Of course it won't be free banking at all - only "free transactions banking" - so you'll still pay account maintenance @ €18pa;


 


			
				oysterman said:
			
		

> statement fees;


 
I'm not sure that you will pay these charges.  From their [broken link removed]



> Where the customer meets the qualifying criteria, free transaction banking is automatic and *no* *maintenance* and transactions fees will be applied for that fee quarter.
> Customers will not need to opt in for this offer. Service fees will still apply e.g. unpaids, *duplicate statements* and FX bureau transactions.


 
(My emphasis)


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## oysterman (5 Apr 2006)

Thanks for the clarification.

I'd read the press release you've linked but had stopped scrolling down when I got to the "for further details, please contact..." bit so I missed the clarification bit.

This is all good news - it's just such a shame that I'll have to get one of these Maestro cards and pay the government a tax for the privilege of embracing the cash free economy.


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## hamster (6 Apr 2006)

Hmmm,

If you qualify for free banking and during any quarter you make 1 visit to the bank to cash a physical cheque or some necessary transaction in the bank itself - does this impact the new offer ? would you pay charges for that quarter.


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## MonsieurBond (6 Apr 2006)

CCOVICH said:
			
		

> Haven't overdraft rates always been higher than personal loan rates? Otherwise, where is the incentive to take out a personal loan?



Yes, they have. However, loan rates of 7 - 8% are not hard to get, while overdraft rates are usually well over 10% and in some cases as high as 13% which is heading for TWICE the loan rate. All while the lending rates are at historic lows. Something is not adding up here.

There is still plenty of margin there for Irish banks and certainly room for new entrants to undercut.


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