Key Post Rating the personal online banking for current accounts from AIB,BoI, PTSB and EBS

Freelance said:
Interface is like something designed for the Young Scientist Exhibition 1995 to show the future of banking in the 21st Century and programmed in VBA4
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That is brilliant.

But it raises a serious issue. Can a small bank like ptsb hope to have the same facilities are AIB who would be spreading their development costs over many more customers?

Or does it arise from ptsb's history of giving people free banking and thus not having the money to invest in it?

Brendan
 
lledlledlled said:
In BOI, does the 2-3 turnaround for Saving Account transfers apply to transfers to you own BOI current account? I'm leaning towards BOI for my change from KBC, but i'm used to this being an instant transfer. It's something i do frequently so it would drive me mad waiting 3 days for it.
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I'll clarify this.

A transfer from my BOI Demand Deposit Account to my BOI Current Account (and visa versa) is instant
A transfer from my BOI Regular Savings Account (e.g. Goal Saver) to my BOI Current Account is what I was referring to above. Technically there is no notice period applying to these accounts, however the withdrawal request process is so cumbersome it takes BOI 2/3 days to transfer the money from one BOI account to another BOI account.
 
Freelance said:
A transfer from my BOI Regular Savings Account (e.g. Goal Saver) to my BOI Current Account is what I was referring to above. Technically there is no notice period applying to these accounts, however the withdrawal request process is so cumbersome it takes BOI 2/3 days to transfer the money from one BOI account to another BOI account.
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Getting statements for the Goalsaver accounts is also a real pain. They can't be viewed online, in fact all you can see is the balance, instead you have to send a request via their weird messaging system, wait a couple of days for that to be acknowledged, then wait for them to be posted out 2/3 weeks later. You also can't print off a statement in a branch, as the account is "online only". Very frustrating when applying for mortgages (with other banks).
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I am an AIB current account customer and I have an auto top up on my Revolut account which works fine. In other words, when it falls below €50 , it sucks another €200 from AIB automatically.

I had to pay a bigger bill during the week and needed €1,000 in my Revolut account. So I went to Revolut and sucked €1,000 from my AIB current account.

Sorry, just reading your post again. This thread is about current accounts. Do your comments apply to something other than a normal current account?

Brendan
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I regularly pay Revolut & N26 users into their account. The sucking money from the AIB Credit/Debit card is not an option as they are 3rd parties.

I used to be a BOI credit card holder but waiting 2-3 days for the payment to hit the account did my head in, I switched credit card to AIB & payments are pretty much instantly shown.

There is another topic which hasn’t been mentioned and that is the speed with which transaction appear in BOI/PTSB compared to teh other banks, thos 2 are definitely slower, not sure why... Possibly one for another thread...
 
rejoyce said:
I regularly pay Revolut & N26 users into their account. The sucking money from the AIB Credit/Debit card is not an option as they are 3rd parties.

I used to be a BOI credit card holder but waiting 2-3 days for the payment to hit the account did my head in, I switched credit card to AIB & payments are pretty much instantly shown.

There is another topic which hasn’t been mentioned and that is the speed with which transaction appear in BOI/PTSB compared to teh other banks, thos 2 are definitely slower, not sure why... Possibly one for another thread...
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BOI have admitted they have had issues updating their systems for SCA and are paying back €3m to account holders as a result. Just wondering if they have delays bringing some of the rest of their systems up to date as well?
 
Peanuts20 said:
BOI have admitted they have had issues updating their systems for SCA and are paying back €3m to account holders as a result. Just wondering if they have delays bringing some of the rest of their systems up to date as well?
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I would actually love to opt out of SCA, its a pain. Also it makes us even more dependent on our phones. I never got scammed before SCA.
 
rejoyce said:
I would actually love to opt out of SCA, its a pain. Also it makes us even more dependent on our phones. I never got scammed before SCA.
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Fallacy unfortunately. Without SCA it would probably be carnage out there. The increase in attacks in both number and sophistication specifically over the last 2 years alone is genuinely frightening to horrifying.
 
I find with my BOI account that I can transfer immediately even to a UK bank.
I dislike the fact that if I want to make a once off transfer eg. a tradesman, that I have to go the the whole lengthy process of setting up a payment which times out if you are not quick enough, and after payment delete it again.
Why do they make IBAN numbers so long? and why do they require a BIC when it contains the same information?
 
FOOTNOTE (12th April 2022)

I wrote the comparison in the above post when I was preparing to move from Ulster Bank to AIB. Having used AIB extensively for 3/4 months I have a much better insight into their online banking (and they way they conduct themselves generally). The following reflects my experience.
  • ApplePay Debit and Credit Card contactless transactions take two days to appear in the pending bucket, and a further day before they update your balance. This makes it very difficult to track your balance
  • Credit Card Available Funds (i.e. the remining balance of your credit limit after all transactions) is not visible on app/website and cannot be calculated as the balance shown online is very unreliable (generally a few days behind and does not take account of pending transactions, nor does it take account of recent contactless transactions). I spoke to AIB about this and they accept that it is a serious issue and they are quite OK with this and have no plans to fix it. The Credit Card Available Funds was very easy to access/understand on the Ulster Bank App/Website.
  • A transfer from AIB to (my) N26 account took 3 days. I threatened to report AIB for breach of the Payment Services Directive over this and to seek compensation. I will be monitoring any future transactions carefully.
  • Transfers from AIB C/A to AIB CC take 2 days to be applied which is at the outer limit of what is allowed.
  • AIB allows only Irish IBANS to be entered when setting up Payees. So if making regular payments to a payee with a non-Irish IBAN, the full payee details (name, BIC, IBAN etc) must be entered for every payment. There is a suggested workaround using the payment logs but as these are purged with the zeal of a Southern Baptist purging sins it isn't useful if the repeat payments are more than a few weeks apart
  • There is no way to set a (future) payment date for transfers between accounts (all transfers are “instant” ). Depending on how you operate your accounts this is either a nuisance or a major headache.
  • The transaction lists in the App are purged very frequently, greatly limiting their use and forcing you to use the web portal unnecessarily.
  • The overlap between transaction history and payment logs is unclear and frankly quite confusing and serves no purpose. The whole lot should be merged into one.
  • No iPad App: AIB has a iPad download in the Apple App Store, but all this does is to create a shortcut to the AIB Website which opens in Safari. (BOI is even worse, it downloads the BOI iPhone App, which only works in portrait mode which makes you feel like a Japanese tourist taking group photos with her tablet). These approaches are a far cry from Ulster Bank’s iPad App, which is specifically designed for that form factor and makes good use of its capabilities and screen real estate.
  • AIB Phone Support wait times are absolutely horrific and hours are limited to 9am-5pm. One call, on a fairly straight forward query, that I dialled while leaving the Dunkettle Roundabout (Cork) was still in progress when I passed through the M7 Portlaoise Toll gates, 90 minutes and 150km later.
  • Credit Card Limit - don't even go there - it is a plain straightforward case of "computer says no". Your track record with UB (even with 7 years statements available in PDF format) counts for nothing.
So as always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. It makes me realise just how good the Ulster Bank online facilities (Apps and Web) are. In relation to rating I gave the various Apps/Online facilities, I would still rate AIB, BOI and PTSB in that order, but probably slash the marks I gave.
 
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Freelance said:
FOOTNOTE (12th April 2022)

I wrote the comparison in the above post when I was preparing to move from Ulster Bank to AIB. Having used AIB extensively for 3/4 months I have a much better insight into their online banking (and they way they conduct themselves generally). The following reflects my experience.
  • ApplePay Debit and Credit Card contactless transactions take two days to appear in the pending bucket, and a further day before they update your balance. This makes it very difficult to track your balance
  • Credit Card Available Funds (i.e. the remining balance of your credit limit after all transactions) is not visible on app/website and cannot be calculated as the balance shown online is very unreliable (generally a few days behind and does not take account of pending transactions, nor does it take account of recent contactless transactions). I spoke to AIB about this and they accept that it is a serious issue and they are quite OK with this and have no plans to fix it. The Credit Card Available Funds was very easy to access/understand on the Ulster Bank App/Website.
  • A transfer from AIB to (my) N26 account took 3 days. I threatened to report AIB for breach of the Payment Services Directive over this and to seek compensation. I will be monitoring any future transactions carefully.
  • Transfers from AIB C/A to AIB CC take 2 days to be applied which is at the outer limit of what is allowed.
  • AIB allows only Irish IBANS to be entered when setting up Payees. So if making regular payments to a payee with a non-Irish IBAN, the full payee details (name, BIC, IBAN etc) must be entered for every payment. There is a suggested workaround using the payment logs but as these are purged with the zeal of a Southern Baptist purging sins it isn't useful if the repeat payments are more than a few weeks apart
  • There is no way to set a (future) payment date for transfers between accounts (all transfers are “instant” ). Depending on how you operate your accounts this is either a nuisance or a major headache.
  • The transaction lists in the App are purged very frequently, greatly limiting their use and forcing you to use the web portal unnecessarily.
  • The overlap between transaction history and payment logs is unclear and frankly quite confusing and serves no purpose. The whole lot should be merged into one.
  • No iPad App: AIB has a iPad download in the Apple App Store, but all this does is to create a shortcut to the AIB Website which opens in Safari. (BOI is even worse, it downloads the BOI iPhone App, which only works in portrait mode which makes you feel like a Japanese tourist taking group photos with her tablet). These approaches are a far cry from Ulster Bank’s iPad App, which is specifically designed for that form factor and makes good use of its capabilities and screen real estate.
  • AIB Phone Support wait times are absolutely horrific and hours are limited to 9am-5pm. One call, on a fairly straight forward query, that I dialled while leaving the Dunkettle Roundabout (Cork) was still in progress when I passed through the M7 Portlaoise Toll gates, 90 minutes and 150km later.
  • Credit Card Limit - don't even go there - it is a plain straightforward case of "computer says no". Your track record with UB (even with 7 years statements available in PDF format) counts for nothing.
So as always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. It makes me realise just how good the Ulster Bank online facilities (Apps and Web) are. In relation to rating I gave the various Apps/Online facilities, I would still rate AIB, BOI and PTSB in that order, but probably slash the marks I gave.
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Wow, that sounds really bad.
I was hoping for a relatively smooth transition from KBC to AIB but it sounds like the online experience will be somewhat less pleasant.
 
Freelance said:
FOOTNOTE (12th April 2022)

I wrote the comparison in the above post when I was preparing to move from Ulster Bank to AIB. Having used AIB extensively for 3/4 months I have a much better insight into their online banking (and they way they conduct themselves generally). The following reflects my experience.
  • ApplePay Debit and Credit Card contactless transactions take two days to appear in the pending bucket, and a further day before they update your balance. This makes it very difficult to track your balance
  • Credit Card Available Funds (i.e. the remining balance of your credit limit after all transactions) is not visible on app/website and cannot be calculated as the balance shown online is very unreliable (generally a few days behind and does not take account of pending transactions, nor does it take account of recent contactless transactions). I spoke to AIB about this and they accept that it is a serious issue and they are quite OK with this and have no plans to fix it. The Credit Card Available Funds was very easy to access/understand on the Ulster Bank App/Website.
  • A transfer from AIB to (my) N26 account took 3 days. I threatened to report AIB for breach of the Payment Services Directive over this and to seek compensation. I will be monitoring any future transactions carefully.
  • Transfers from AIB C/A to AIB CC take 2 days to be applied which is at the outer limit of what is allowed.
  • AIB allows only Irish IBANS to be entered when setting up Payees. So if making regular payments to a payee with a non-Irish IBAN, the full payee details (name, BIC, IBAN etc) must be entered for every payment. There is a suggested workaround using the payment logs but as these are purged with the zeal of a Southern Baptist purging sins it isn't useful if the repeat payments are more than a few weeks apart
  • There is no way to set a (future) payment date for transfers between accounts (all transfers are “instant” ). Depending on how you operate your accounts this is either a nuisance or a major headache.
  • The transaction lists in the App are purged very frequently, greatly limiting their use and forcing you to use the web portal unnecessarily.
  • The overlap between transaction history and payment logs is unclear and frankly quite confusing and serves no purpose. The whole lot should be merged into one.
  • No iPad App: AIB has a iPad download in the Apple App Store, but all this does is to create a shortcut to the AIB Website which opens in Safari. (BOI is even worse, it downloads the BOI iPhone App, which only works in portrait mode which makes you feel like a Japanese tourist taking group photos with her tablet). These approaches are a far cry from Ulster Bank’s iPad App, which is specifically designed for that form factor and makes good use of its capabilities and screen real estate.
  • AIB Phone Support wait times are absolutely horrific and hours are limited to 9am-5pm. One call, on a fairly straight forward query, that I dialled while leaving the Dunkettle Roundabout (Cork) was still in progress when I passed through the M7 Portlaoise Toll gates, 90 minutes and 150km later.
  • Credit Card Limit - don't even go there - it is a plain straightforward case of "computer says no". Your track record with UB (even with 7 years statements available in PDF format) counts for nothing.
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That's interesting. I can only speak as an AIB CC customer and I haven't had those experiences. I pay my balance from a non-AIB a\c and it appears the next day (maybe posted on the statement after 2 days but def credited the next day). Transaction list is fine for me, sometimes I even find it 'handy', when searching for a transaction! The 'payment log' and 'date search' is confusing i'll agree, but I just use the latter. They have the last two years of transactions for CC's anyway. For the credit limit, I just apply online for an increase and I get it! I notch it up by a couple of k every 6 months or so. Are you requesting a ~5/10k increase or something?

Phone support is diabolical!
 
I switched from Ulster Bank to AIB. I want to cry. Every month, I make a transfer to a U.K. Revolut Euro account (amount varies based on GBP to Euro exchange rate, so cannot use direct debit). In UB, this payee was saved under "International Payees" in my phone app, and I made the transfer in seconds on phone with no issues.

With AIB, I cannot save *any* international payee. Only Irish accounts can be saved as payees. So to make my monthly transfer to that Revolut Euro account, I need to login on a laptop, re-enter the IBAN, account name etc *AND* use a card reader for every single transfer. How can this be? It's like stepping back in time. I would never have switched to AIB had I known this was the case - all my direct debits have already been switched over. [rant over, but really putting this here as I think people need to know this before switching - and also wondering is it the same with BOI and PTSB?]
 
I just noticed the issue with international payments is mentioned in the list by Freelance above. AIB if you are reading this, please oh please let us know this will change soon!
 
P.S. to add to the hassle, both my AIB card readers have now failed in the space of a few weeks. I now can't make said international transfer - the one I used to make in seconds in Ulster Bank. I had the same Ulster Bank card reader for over 5 years - never failed.
 
Just realised that the UB card readers also work for AIB transactions - so any switchers can continue to use the UB card readers.
 
Pearl said:
With AIB, I cannot save *any* international payee. Only Irish accounts can be saved as payees. So to make my monthly transfer to that Revolut Euro account, I need to login on a laptop, re-enter the IBAN, account name etc *AND* use a card reader for every single transfer. How can this be? It's like stepping back in time. I would never have switched to AIB had I known this was the case - all my direct debits have already been switched over. [rant over, but really putting this here as I think people need to know this before switching - and also wondering is it the same with BOI and PTSB?]
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@Pearl See this post from Brendan for a workaround that lets you reuse saved payment details:

Key Post - Rating the personal online banking for current accounts from AIB,BoI, PTSB and EBS

In terms of selecting a bank, in preparation for this I spent a good deal of time looking at the online offerings (Web and App) of the three main players (AIB, BOI, PTSB, vs Ulster). In terms of functionality, interface quality etc I'd rate them as follows: AIB:8, BOI:6, PTSB:3. I'd give Ulster...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Still far from ideal but it helps.
 
Thanks, Paul. This feature is only available via browser. It's not in the app. I haven't logged into banking via a browser in years. The reuse feature will save some time, but still requires me to use a browser (and therefore a card reader) for every single transaction. A mind-blowing step backwards in usability.
 
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