Limit in Debit Card

R

roker

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I was about to make a large purchase today and by chance found out that my debit card could only purchase up to €2,500 even though I had many times more in my account. Their solution was to load up my VISA card and purchase this way. I would not have had this problem if I did it the old fashioned way with a cheque
 
You also would not have had the problem had you paid attention to your limit and asked for it to be increased in this case. Cheques are heading for the history books, you just have to get used it.
 
It's not possible to increase the limit with the Irish banks, and very few people would be aware of the limit unless they'd tried to exceed it at some point.

There is a cumulative daily limit in both transaction amount, and number.

What's of benefit in some cases is the limit is per card, so a joint account with 2 cards can allow 5k per day between them.

Otherwise, for now, cheque, bank transfer or credit card is the way to go for larger amounts.
 
Most people would not necessarily know about maximum transaction amount limits on Debit Cards which can sometimes have a healthy credit balance until one is about to make a unique/special purchase. Following advice contained in this forum thread, I must start making enquiries with my bank, EBS dac as I have a MoneyManager Current Account linked to an EBS MasterCard Debit Card and had been thinking of making a significant purchase in the coming weeks. If the maximum transaction limit is only in the region of 2,500EUR approx. it will probably complicate matters at the point of sale. I will now call into my nearest EBS Bank branch and request an increase to this limit in advance. This would have been embarrassing at the point of sale if I had made incorrect assumptions based on having a healthy credit balance in the account. I wonder how high a transaction limit they are prepared to permit if one has already maintained an EBS MoneyManager Account in credit for quite some time?
 
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Red has pointed out that they will not increase this limit.

If you are spending more than this, you can pay by bank transfer.

Alternatively, you can pay with a combination of credit card and debit card.

Or, I suppose you could call into your bank and take out pounds shillings and pence.

Brendan
 
I was talking to someone recently who's working in one of the main banks, and tasked with reducing cheque usage, and asked them about this. The only practical option they have for customers with large value transactions where POS payment is required is to give them credit cards with very large limits.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
But this does not work that well for the retailer who has to pay a much higher charge than on a debit card.
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True, but it's not normal retailers that are the target in reducing cheque numbers (small transactions by cheque cost more than a credit card payment).

One example we discussed was livestock marts (farmers love cheque books). The larger ones would be receiving 50 - 100 payments over 1k every week. They're at the scale that they're not paying standard credit card charges, especially when the banks get them onboard to help reduce cheque volumes. Plus, they've no more bounced cheques to worry about.
 
It’s rare enough when this is an issue, but it can be annoying.

I had to buy some stuff relatively recently so I transferred funds to a couple of other accounts and used a credit card.
 
Aren't you generally better off buying by credit card in any case because better options if anything goes wrong with the purchased goods.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Red has pointed out that they will not increase this limit.

If you are spending more than this, you can pay by bank transfer.

Alternatively, you can pay with a combination of credit card and debit card.

Or, I suppose you could call into your bank and take out pounds shillings and pence.

Brendan
Click to expand...

Following my initial post yesterday, I discovered that the contributor RedOnion, did in fact indicate that requesting an increase to the limit where Debit Cards are concerned is unfortunately not an option from the Irish banks. Apologies to all concerned and especially to RedOnion for that oversight on my part :) I'm so glad this forum exists while researching all available options. I will ask EBS about "Bank Transfer" options for larger amounts given that limits will not be increased. Another option would be to transfer some of my credit balance from my EBS MoneyManager Account over to my local Credit Union Account and have a cheque issued by the Credit Union branch. Once I've made a final decision on the purchase item and discussed payment options with the retailer in question; I can then proceed without any nasty surprises.
BTW thanks for the heads up on this one Brendan :)
 
RedOnion said:
The limit is applied at this level by all the Irish banks.
Click to expand...

To correct myself, current limits apear to be as follows (banks don't all publish these, and generally reserve the right to amend at any time).

Based on standard personal current account cards - student and business products might be different. Limit is per card, per day.

EBS: 2,000
PTSB: 2,500
KBC: 2,500
AIB: 5,000 max per transaction. Max 7,100 per day
BOI: no limit, once cleared funds available. There may be limits applied by retailer / acquirer. I think there is a 50k limit on chip & pin cards.
Ulster: I haven't been able to find.
 
Sue Ellen said:
Aren't you generally better off buying by credit card in any case because better options if anything goes wrong with the purchased goods.
Click to expand...

There was a item discussed on RTÉ Radio 1's "Liveline" programme in the last few weeks about a wedding store that had ceased trading and I seem to recall some customers who had paid directly by credit card had still been waiting to be sorted out when the item aired on radio although; those who had used PayPal had managed to obtain their money back promptly. I'm not sure which payment method was linked to the PayPal accounts in question for those who received their money back but certainly food for thought.
Perhaps someone else out there knows more about this and can provide better advice...
 
RedOnion said:
To correct myself, current limits apear to be as follows (banks don't all publish these, and generally reserve the right to amend at any time).

Based on standard personal current account cards - student and business products might be different. Limit is per card, per day.

EBS: 2,000
PTSB: 2,500
KBC: 2,500
AIB: 5,000 max per transaction. Max 7,100 per day
BOI: no limit, once cleared funds available. There may be limits applied by retailer / acquirer. I think there is a 50k limit on chip & pin cards.
Ulster: I haven't been able to find.
Click to expand...

This is invaluable information for those who take the time to do some research in advance. It's interesting to read that EBS only allows a max limit of 2,000EUR per transaction per day. As far as I recall EBS dac (originally known as: Educational Building Society) has been part of the AIB Group in recent years although; the basic EBS MoneyManager Account is far cheaper to maintain and ideal for those on lower incomes whereas; the charges can add up with most of the other financial institutions.

A new mobile/online bank called "N26" is also an option to consider although; N26 has no branches, no overdrafts and you can’t pay in cash or cheques.
 
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