There’s plenty of choice when it comes to current accounts in Ireland – we speak to a financial expert to find out which are the best, and how you can get free banking
Dan Malone from honest.ie
When it comes to banking, pretty much everyone in Ireland has a current account. It’s where we get our wages paid in to and where our bills come out of, and for most of us, we don’t give it a second thought – and we certainly don’t think of switching.
However, this is a mistake, according to financial expert Dan Malone from honest.ie. Here, he explains the best current accounts available in Ireland.
Dan says 89 percent of Irish customers are still using either AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB for their main current account. “Revolut alone has over three million customers in Ireland, yet only three percent of all Irish household deposits are held with the neobanks. Irish customers are more than willing to use the neobanks, but are hesitant to use those banks as their main account, where their salary and savings would be held.”
However, Dan says people shouldn’t be afraid of getting their salaries paid into neobanks, as they are covered by the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme, which covers savings up to €100,000.
Free accounts
If having free banking is your priority, there are five options available in Ireland, with four of those being digital and one traditional. “You have Monzo, Revolut Standard, Bunq Free, N26 Standard and EBS Money Manager.”
Monzo is the latest to enter the Irish market and is currently the best option, Dan says. “At the moment, they only offer a free current account. There’s no paid plan. They are originally a UK bank with 12 million users there and they have very strong scores on Trust Pilot.
“Interestingly, when they came here, they got regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland – the only digital bank operating here to do so. That’s a real boon of trust in our opinion.”
Dan says the only real fee Monzo charge is on ATM withdrawals. “They allow you to withdraw €300 from an ATM per month without fees globally. When you exceed this, they charge you a 2.5% fee, subject to a minimum of €1.”
They also charge zero foreign currency fees if you use your card abroad.
“There is a slick mobile app, great budgeting tools, income sorting, sub accounts for things like groceries and entertainment that can have specific virtual cards tied to them, so you know exactly what you’re spending each month.”
While there are no physical branches, they do have online and phone support, Dan says.
Paid accounts
Dan explains that all of the banks offer different features, but in terms of getting the best value for money, the neobanks come out on top again when it comes to paid current accounts.
“Revolut is above and beyond the best when it comes to perks, RevPoints is their loyalty scheme. Anything to do with travel insurance, airport lounge access, booking holidays abroad or getting Avios points with Aer Lingus, you can do all that through Revolut.”
Revolut Pay for online shopping has also just been launched, which is similar to Apple and Google Pay. “If you pay via Revolut Pay you get a bonus on your Rev Points.”
Subscriptions are another big offering from Revolut. “Revolut Premium, Revolut Metal and Revolut Ultra all have free subscriptions. A standard digital subscription to the Financial Times is included in Revolut Metal. That subscription alone is worth three times the price of Revolut Metal.”
Other subscriptions include NordVPN, Class Pass (gym and exercise classes) and Tinder Gold.
If budgeting is more important to you, the neobanks allow you to create multiple subaccounts underneath your main current account.
“This allows you to budget more effectively as you can fund subaccounts as you wish.”
Bunq Pro is €9.99 per month and is the only neobank where each of the subaccounts have an Irish IBAN.
Revolut and Monzo also have a salary sorter feature, whereby you can instruct the bank to split your salary between your subaccounts automatically.
From a security perspective, having subaccounts is safer, Dan explains. “Card Not Present (CNP) fraud is the biggest form of fraud in Ireland right now. It occurs when a malicious actor online gets access to your card details, maybe from shopping on a dodgy website, and they process a transaction online using those details. They don’t actually have your card.”
Neobank’s virtual cards can be deleted after using and new ones created instantly, Dan says. Some also have added security like rotating CVCs, meaning if a fraudster does get your card details, the CVC won’t work.
- To learn more about switching bank accounts and financial regulation, visit honest.ie.
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