Which bank has the best value current account?

Current account switching rates in Ireland are incredibly low.

Unlike with other bills such as energy and broadband, we tend to harbour incredible inertia in Ireland when it comes to switching financial institutions and current accounts in particular.

For many of us, our parents choose a bank for us in childhood, or we sign up to whoever is offering the best freebies during Freshers week in college. Either way, once we’ve signed up, for most of us, whichever bank has us - has us for life.

But that doesn't have to be the case as there are still plenty of options for those looking to switch and save.

So how do the current account providers compare? 

We've waded through all the details and charges to see how all the main current account providers compare.  

Note that as well as the day-to-day fees outlined below, in most cases you'll also be charged for non day-to-day fees such as bounced cheques and unpaid direct debits, replacement cards, overdrafts, as well as foreign exchange fees.  

AIB

The biggest and most popular bank in Ireland, AIB has a good mobile app, a large branch network, and offers all the most popular mobile payment options i.e. Apple, Google and FitBit Pay. 

However AIB's current account is expensive compared to all the other providers.

It charges a €4.50 quarterly maintenance fee, a €0.35 fee for every ATM withdrawal and a €0.20 charge for every chip and pin transaction, self-service lodgement, online transaction, direct debit and standing order. These fees are applied regardless of how much you lodge or keep in your account each month.

Contactless transactions are free though.

There is some good news in that some AIB customers can avoid fees. Student accounts, graduate accounts, accounts for those over 66 years of age and AIB’s Basic Bank Account are free of day-to-day charges.

Also, people who pay their AIB mortgage from an AIB current account are able to avoid day-to-day fees.

AIB also allows you to easily freeze and unfreeze your card within its app. So if you've misplaced your debit card, or want to stop it from being used, you can temporarily block your card to protect it from unauthorised use as opposed to having to cancel it and deal with all the hassle that then entails. You can then unblock it at any time. 

AIB customers can also send money quickly and easily to one another at the touch of a button through the AIB app.

An Post

An Post launched its current account back in June 2017 and recently completely redesigned and updated its app, which now comes with some novel features.

For example, current account customers can easily save by setting money aside in up to 10 dedicated 'Jars'. You can set savings targets and deadlines and pay bills right out of a Jar. 

Customers can also avail of the Round Up function, which rounds up your debit card payments to the next whole number and puts the difference in a Jar. So, a payment of €1.90 puts €0.10 in your Jar. If you turn on Round Up multiplier, that amount is multiplied. Customers of Revolut will note this is similar to its Vaults feature.

The account also lets you easily stay in control of your finances and avoid nasty surprises with helpful alerts for transactions like direct debits, credits to your account or failed payments. You just decide what alerts you want to receive and how you’d like to receive them – by email, text or online – and you'll be kept up-to-date.

Customers can also access An Post Money Mate. This is a current account aimed at kids between the ages of 7 and 15. With this feature, parents can set up an account for their child from their own app. With each account a child receives a Mastercard debit card allowing them to make contactless, chip & PIN or online payments - but fully overseen and controlled by their parent or guardian from their own account.

An Post is doing well on the mobile payments front, offering Apple, Google and Fitbit Pay.

However the An Post account leans on the expensive side. The account has a €5 monthly maintenance fee and if you want access to An Post Money Mate it’ll be an extra €2 a month. 

There is also a 60 cent ATM withdrawal fee. However the cash withdrawal fee reduces to 50 cent if money is taken out at an An Post branch and you get one free post office withdrawal each week.

You'll also be charged 50 cent for any cash or cheque lodgements at your post office. 

At 3%, the account also has among the highest foreign exchange fees if you use your card outside the eurozone. 

All other day-to-day transactions like direct debits, standing orders, online payments, chip and pin and contactless payments are free though.

No overdraft facility is available with the account however, so if you have an overdraft with your existing provider and want to switch to An Post, you'll need to clear it first.

Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland (BOI) has been slow to innovate where technology is concerned. But it's getting better although its app still feel clunky at times. 

BOI customers can freeze and unfreeze their card within the BOI app or online. You can now also view your PIN instantly (in case you forget it) and order a replacement card online without having to call the bank.

Like AIB, BOI customers can send money quickly and easily to one another at the touch of a button through the BOI app.

BOI also has a money management service called Money Insights 365 (Mi 365), which helps customers take more control of their money by providing them with over 40 insights into their spending. Mi 365 also shows where customers may have duplicate transactions leaving their account – such as similar online subscriptions – highlighting where a saving could be made.

BOI used to charge individually for a host of current account transactions but has replaced all these with a flat €6 monthly account fee, regardless of usage.

The €6 monthly fee also includes the charge for any 'bounced' or unpaid cheques, direct debits or standing orders, which can be as high as €10 per failed payment with some banks such as AIB and also the Credit Union. Speaking of which...

Credit Union

The Credit Union launched its current account in 2019 when some of the largest Credit Unions in Ireland came together under the currentaccount.ie brand to roll out a new, full-service current account for Credit Union members.

Now around 200 branches of the credit union offer a current account.

The new current account offers all the features you’d expect from a traditional bank account such as online banking, direct debits and standing orders, as well as access to an overdraft facility. 

Customers receive a Mastercard debit card, which can be used wherever you see the Mastercard logo worldwide. The debit card is also contactless enabled, meaning you can tap and pay for purchases on the fly.  

The Credit Union is also doing well on the mobile payments front, offering Apple, Google and Fitbit Pay.

The charges all differ per branch but in general it costs €4 a month, after which all your day-to-day banking is free. However you only get five free ATM withdrawals a month. After that there's a 50 cent charge per withdrawal.

There's an initial €25 fee for setting up an overdraft and €25 charge every time you renew it, which is similar to most of the other banks.  

Other charges for things such as direct debit or standing order set-ups and amendments differ more wildly between branches however. Some charge nothing, while others charge up to €2.50 per instruction. 

EBS

The EBS MoneyManager account has no monthly account maintenance fee and no charge for any day-to-day banking. There is also no minimum monthly lodgement requirement.    

However no overdraft facility is available with the account, there is no mobile app to help manage your banking on the go, and customers don't have access to either Google Pay or Apple Pay. There are no rewards schemes for customers to sign up to either. 

EBS operates euro accounts only. This means any payments sent to your EBS account in a non-euro currency cannot be processed and will be returned.

However, if you're happy with the most basic of services, this is an account to consider and will cost you almost nothing to run.

Important to note is that in 2022 EBS announced that it was undertaking a strategic review of its operations, which could see it stop offering savings products and current accounts and focus on mortgages instead. There's been little update since but it's something to consider carefully before switching.

N26

Comparison of main current account providers in Ireland 

Who wins?

It's a close call but if you want access to a nationwide branch network, need to be able to lodge cash or cheques from time to time, and require an overdraft, then PTSB seems like a decent option. However its digital offering is average at best so the account is by no means perfect. And the €8 monthly fee is hefty unless you can reduce it by making lots of payments with your card to avail of the 5 cent cashback feature.  

However if you do all of your banking online these days and prefer card payments over cash then N26 or Revolut are definitely worth a look and both are an increasingly viable alternative to a “traditional” bank account.

The point is that there's still choice out there at the moment. So if you're fed up with your existing bank's pesky fees and charges, you don't have to put up with it. You can switch to a better option for you today. 

Make sure you also check out our guide on 8 things to consider when choosing a new current account before deciding on a new provider. And check out our in-depth piece on which bank has the best mobile app.

How to switch current account 

Despite what you might think, switching banks usually isn't as much hassle as people think thanks to The Central Bank’s Switching Code, which ensures that switches have to be completed by the bank within a 10-day time frame; and this includes the transfer of all direct debits and standing orders. Nevertheless you'll still need to do some of the legwork yourself. You can learn more about the switching process in this guide.

If you're ready to switch you can easily compare current accounts across all the providers in Ireland on bonkers.ie right now.