New requirement- for aib cheques-a special plastic bag??

B

Bolter

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So I was in the post office today and had a birthday gift- a cheque that I wanted to lodge to my AIB account.
I was told that I need a" special plastic bag with barcode" that I can only get from AIB-
and I must put my cheque in said magic bag if I want to lodge a cheque in a post office??
Bewildered and curious, I then went a further distance to aib branch and just lodged the cheque in their atm. (No tellers it was after 4pm)
I then rang aib asked about the mysterious bag.
I was told yes you need a plastic bag with a barcode which you can only get from staff in an aib if you want to bring a cheque to a post office to lodge...
Apparently this is a new rule??

I rarely lodge cheques.
The post office is nearer than my aib bank so would be handier for Me when I have a cheque.

I cannot see the point of a "plastic bag rule", except to stop people lodging cheques in a post office.
What is this about?
 
So you go to the bank get a plastic bag with barcode and go back to the post office and then lodge it :p:p If that isn't Irish style I don't know what is.

Presumably you are probably meant to get a few bags for future use but it still seems nuts. Did anyone say why the post office can't have a supply of these magic bags?
 
The lady in the post office was quite apologetic. The aib guy on the telephone seemed slightly embarrassed telling me.
At first he said he never heard of such a thing. He then checked and confirmed yes you need the "magic bag".
I thought for a minute it was some elaborate windup!
 
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According to the AIB website, you should be able to get the bags at the Post Office.
 
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Post office lady was quite emphatic that I couldn't get a bag there. She mumbled something about the rules having changed. I expressly asked her if she had any of these bags. She said no -you can only get them in aib bank.
I then suggested I get a few so I can use them again.
It was all rather odd.
 
Regarding accepting cheques, it was a gift from my 80 year old aunt. I wouldn't tell her I'm not accepting cheques. That's how she transacts and I respect that.
It's lodged anyway.
Just found it all a bit strange.
 
Bolter said:
Regarding accepting cheques, it was a gift from my 80 year old aunt. I wouldn't tell her I'm not accepting cheques. That's how she transacts and I respect that.
It's lodged anyway.
Just found it all a bit strange.
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I wouldn't be minded to put any barriers in the way of birthday presents either!
 
There was a discussion on Ireland AM/TV3 few weeks ago about a cashless society. Alan Hughes the presenter said he never carried cash anymore, all card for him, couldn't see an issue etc etc. Anyway in the course of the discussion one of the guests being interviewed said that it was unlikely cash would totally go as look how long banks were trying to get rid of cheques and he gave the number of cheques processed last year which I can't remember but was quite high.

Alan Hughes (not old as in the usual definition re banking!) then admitted to regularly writing cheques, uses them for various things he said, so despite using no cash he still has a chequebook and uses it! I was in the garden centre a few weeks ago and the person ahead of me wrote a cheque to pay, must say I was surprised at that, haven't seen someone actually write one in many years, not that elderly either!
 
The "magic bag" is obviously awkward but how many people will it actually apply to? Hardly anyone writes cheques anymore and for those who receive them, they have to go to the post office to cash them and not just use an ATM. It is a tiny percentage.

Monbretia said:
I was in the garden centre a few weeks ago and the person ahead of me wrote a cheque to pay, must say I was surprised at that, haven't seen someone actually write one in many years, not that elderly either!
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I'm surprised it was accepted. Did they have to provide a bank card too as guarantee?
 
Steven Barrett said:
The "magic bag" is obviously awkward but how many people will it actually apply to? Hardly anyone writes cheques anymore and for those who receive them, they have to go to the post office to cash them and not just use an ATM. It is a tiny percentage.


I'm surprised it was accepted. Did they have to provide a bank card too as guarantee?
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There was a couple of staff so I was gone before the other transaction was complete but doubt they looked for a card, customer seemed to be known to them, small garden centre out in the country I'd say they know most of their regular customers myself included!
 
There has been no change in the Interbank clearing rules regarding lodging at a post office. That's because you are not really "lodging" it, all the post office are doing is acting as a catch and dispatch hub. The lodgement slips and bags will get collected and then sent to a company in Citywest called Exela who carry out AIB's cheque clearing for them.

key statement below from the AIB website
We will not credit cheques lodged at the post office to an AIB account until we receive them. We usually receive cheques the next business day after you lodge them at a post office, if you have lodged them up to 15 minutes before the last time of posting.

To be honest, the AIB website is at best disingenuous about this. Bear in mind that by using the post office, you are adding at least 1 day to the clearing cycle for the cheque.

There was around 18m cheques processed in Ireland at last count, that's about 75000 a day. Average value would be higher and clever companies can use cheque payments as a way of managing cash flow since it can take longer for funds to leave your account.
 
Bank of Ireland have the same requirement but they don't use the word bag, they use 'wallet' which sounds much fancier;
When lodging a cheque or cheques, you will need to put the cheques and lodgement docket into a designated clear wallet (cheque wallet) which you seal. Cheque wallets are available in all post offices and in Bank of Ireland branches.
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Didn't AIB have an advert on TV recently about reducing single use plastics.
 
Near certain that Danske Bank had the same requirements when they closed many of their branches and used an post for cash and cheques
 
Does anyone actually know what the purpose of the magic plastic bag/wallet is supposed to be, other than to add to the unnecessary plastic waste that we, as a species, insist on producing? :confused:
 
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