Opening a bank account with the Bank of Ireland (1 Viewer)

[Alistair33]

Opening an account with the Bank of Ireland while not difficult did have a few hurdles to overcome ! If you follow the link above it will take you to the account opening page from where the account can be opened and by following the procedures & involving emails, documents can be submitted.


Below are a few things to watch out for when we opened an account


1. UK phone numbers will not fit in the boxes so we were advised to make up an Irish mobile number we used 086 1234567 ……… take note of this as you will need it when you call to set up on line banking (00 353 1 40 44 034 from the UK …… follow the many menus !)

2. When submitting the documents, (passport, address proof (drivers license) & second address eg utility bill under 3 months old) the web site doesn’t ask that they are certified ……. but they DO need to be


From when we submitted certified documents, the whole process to getting the cards took around 10 days. We funded the account via a transfer from the UK using the Times Currency Service (sorry can’t put a link as every time I try it fills out my login details !) and then called to activate the on line banking.


Fees seam reasonable 1c for contactless : 25c for ATM withdrawal €20 per year maintenance fee.


We made a few calls to the help desk and were delighted with the ‘can do’ attitude of the people we talked to, very refreshing indeed

 

[Figaro]

So what's the attraction unless your Irish / live there ?

 

[MC 55 FUN]

Fees to have a bank account ? ? ?

My bank pays me.

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[Alistair33]

Ah well this opens a can of worms but here goes.

Transferring money into € using a currency service gets you the best possible rate ( OK ......please feel free to offer up alternatives ), and the savings can be vast over high street methods. Secondly if you are spending a lot of time in countries that use the Euro then going this route you will have an account in the native currency thereby doing away with charges and variable exchange rates, and a card that is usable every where. These are the main benefits, others include being able to use direct debits to pay for subscriptions such as ADAC and take advance of the discounts offered of this method of payment

 

[chaser]

Halifax clarity card does all that for free, apart maybe for the direct debit, never tried that so can't tell.

 

[Alistair33]

From Halifax Clarity card terms and conditions FAQ's

What exchange rate will I be charged on transactions made abroad using the Clarity Credit Card?
The exchange rate is set by MasterCard and the rate that’s applied to a transaction is the exchange rate on the day of settlement

Will I get charged interest if I withdraw cash from a cash machine?
You pay interest from the day you withdraw cash, but unlike many other cards, there's no withdrawal fee. Whilst we won't charge you a cash advance fee, some independent cash machine providers may charge a fee for their service.

What does 'Non-sterling transaction fee' mean?
A foreign exchange fee or commission charge is applied by many credit cards to transactions you make abroad with your card. Typically this fee is around 3%, but with your Halifax Clarity Credit Card, there is no foreign exchange fee. .............. this is ambigiuos, not sure if they are saying they charge 3% or not

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[chaser]

From Halifax Clarity card terms and conditions FAQ's

What exchange rate will I be charged on transactions made abroad using the Clarity Credit Card?
The exchange rate is set by MasterCard and the rate that’s applied to a transaction is the exchange rate on the day of settlement

Will I get charged interest if I withdraw cash from a cash machine?
You pay interest from the day you withdraw cash, but unlike many other cards, there's no withdrawal fee. Whilst we won't charge you a cash advance fee, some independent cash machine providers may charge a fee for their service.

What does 'Non-sterling transaction fee' mean?
A foreign exchange fee or commission charge is applied by many credit cards to transactions you make abroad with your card. Typically this fee is around 3%, but with your Halifax Clarity Credit Card, there is no foreign exchange fee. .............. this is ambigiuos, not sure if they are saying they charge 3% or not

No they do not charge anything! Apart from , as it says interest on money out of an ATM, and quite a few on here can tell you how to avoid that as well, but we went away to France and Spain last year and drew about a grand out of the ATM and the only interest we paid was £1.50, and the exchange rate was always better than any other means we could of used.
Not arguing , just saying, would like to hear more about why you chose to go your way.

 

[chaser]

No they do not charge anything! Apart from , as it says interest on money out of an ATM, and quite a few on here can tell you how to avoid that as well, but we went away to France and Spain last year and drew about a grand out of the ATM and the only interest we paid was £1.50, and the exchange rate was always better than any other means we could of used.
Not arguing , just saying, would like to hear more about why you chose to go your way.

Bump!
Would seriously like to know as I'm sure many would on here, credit cards and the like in Europe, always wanting to know?

 

[tonyl]

One possible use would be to pay for a new motorhome or property abroad. You can pay decent amounts of money into a real bank account and hold it there for a while to avoid any currency risk. We opened a euro savings account with Nationwide International on the IoM and paid in over half the money at over 1.40. By the time we collected the MH, the rate was about 1.20. The cards, revolut, etc, seem to be OK for smallish amounts but when you want to shield several tens of thousands from currency risk, you need a proper account of some sort. Nationwide has decided to close that account now, so we'll get the remaining balance and interest returned to us at under 1.20, I expect. If the taxman is reading this, it's not in my name!!

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