BoI charges to lodge € cheque drawn on foreign bank

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ClubMan

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I've looked at the BoI website but cannot find info that answers my question. A friend lodged two cheques totalling €1.4K drawn on a bank in another EU country and seems to have been charged €13. Is this correct?

Edit: I was looking at this but can't see anything that explains a charge of €13: [broken link removed]

Curiously (?) the transaction was marked "foreign exchange" in the online banking statement.
 
I know that bank transfers from EU banks to Irish banks are free if ordinary transfers are free. And vice versa. But there is a cost to cheques, I think that is what they are charging you with not foreign exchange.
 
Thanks but look in section 4 "Inward electronic payment charge (for cheque collections). Payments denominated in euros from within the EU ... No charge for values up to and including €50K". I thought that meant no charge in this case or am I missing something? It's "only" €13 but the person in question could do with it!
 
I think what that sentence means that there is no actual charge on values up to 50K, as in the past you would have been charged a set fee or a percentage on this. Now due to EU rules you cannot be charged for that. So no transaction charge.

But the cheque itself has a charge, but I don't know how they decided on 13 Euro. I just know I never use cheques because one time I realised there was extra charges attached. It's the very fact it's a cheque is my understanding that is causing this charge, the cheque has to be sent back to the originating country I think.

I tried to read the link you posted but it's too small and even printing it out I cannot read it.

Anyway, maybe you could telephone the foreign exchange transactions department in BofI as you're not getting the full story easily from AAM.
 
OK - seems that in this case the €100 cheque was free but the €1.3K cheque had a 1% charge hence the €13.

Section 1 of this document: [broken link removed]. Note 2 explains why there was no charge on the €100 cheque and the second entry in the charges table explains the 1% (€13) charge on the other one.


  • Cheques up to €875: 2.25% subject to min charge of €1.25
  • €875-€3K: 1%
  • €3K-€12.5K: 0.5%

Somebody mentioned that lodging such a cheque to a CU might result in no charges. Must look into that.
 
It is ridiculous that you had to go to all this trouble to get an explanation of the fee.

Banks are in a unique position that they can take payment for their services directly from your account. Every other supplier has to rely on the customer to pay them.

If they did not promptly and clearly explain the basis of the charge I suggest that you complain to the bank, refuse to accept the first fob off response, ask for a final response, threaten to complain to the regulator.

I confidentially predict they will then offer €25 compensation to settle your complaint. Negotiate a bit and accept maybe €40.

The financial regulator knows that bank charges are opaque and does not like that. The bank will pay small money to stop you lodging a complaint.
 
"Foreign" euro cheques [i.e drawn on banks outside Ireland] have attracted negotiation charges since their inception in 2002.
There is no central cross-border clearing system between banks in the euro zone. Hence the charge.
This is not a new development.
 
I would have expected the teller to inform the person lodging such cheques that there would be a charge.
 
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