Suggestions to improve Irish bank services

arbitron

Registered User
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521
Has anyone come across good banking services abroad that they wish Irish banks would offer? I've listed some below and would love to hear others.

Temporary ATM cards:
I'm surprised we still have to wait so long to get ATM cards after opening an account. I opened an account in America with Bank of America (BoA) 7 years ago and they gave me a temporary card on the spot. They posted the permanent one within days. It was very handy because it meant I could access the account instantly.

Better ATMs:
BoA also have automated cash & cheque lodgments at many/most ATMs - now you can even lodge a cheque by sending a photo via the app!! In Europe I've seen ATMs that offer free coin counting and lodgment at no charge - just dump the coins in and it goes directly into your account. In Belgium I nearly fainted when an ATM asked which combinations of notes I wanted, i.e. €5/€10 etc. I've never seen €10 offered at an Irish ATM.

Better apps:
The BoA app connects to Passbook on the iPhone so you can see your balance instantly in real time and it alerts you when there's a transaction or your balance goes below a defined amount (chosen by you). You can also add a free service that monitors your transactions for scams.


Cheque services:
BoA offer a surprisingly handy online cheque system where they will issue & post a cheque on your behalf for free - very good if you don't have cheques and need to pay ASAP. You can also view images of cheques that you've deposited and I *think* you can view images of your cheques that others have cashed.

Opening hours:
Opening hours here are very restrictive. Metrobank in the UK opens 362 days a year, 8-8 Mon-Fri, 8-6 Sat and 11-5 Sun & Bank Holidays!

I would happily pay quarterly fees to a bank providing the above.
 
Temporary ATM cards:
I'm surprised we still have to wait so long to get ATM cards after opening an account. I opened an account in America with Bank of America (BoA) 7 years ago and they gave me a temporary card on the spot. They posted the permanent one within days. It was very handy because it meant I could access the account instantly.

Better ATMs:
BoA also have automated cash & cheque lodgments at many/most ATMs - now you can even lodge a cheque by sending a photo via the app!! In Europe I've seen ATMs that offer free coin counting and lodgment at no charge - just dump the coins in and it goes directly into your account. In Belgium I nearly fainted when an ATM asked which combinations of notes I wanted, i.e. €5/€10 etc. I've never seen €10 offered at an Irish ATM.

In BNZ Auckland, New Zealand I didn't get a temporary card but a permanent card printed up in branch while I opened the account. That was three years ago and was only available in that one branch. Pin number was generated by a different system at the same time as far as I remember to give immediate full access.

Also I was shocked in Germany with the 5 and 10 euro notes when at the time ATM's in Ireland seldom even had any 20's.

Bank of Scotland didn't last long in Ireland with their very much welcomed Saturday opening

Though on the positive side for Irish banks, all Australian ATM's charged an extra fee if you used a different bank
 
Limited coverage at present, but some Dublin KBC branches are open on Saturdays:
[broken link removed]
 
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