Finding the cheapest bank account in Ireland can be tough given that a lot of them have hidden fees.
Commonly known as maintenance fees and transaction fees, these charges tend to be taken from your account on a quarterly/monthly basis.
Most current accounts are impacted by these charges with customers having even fewer options once KBC and Ulster Bank leave the country this year.
The banks currently available to Irish customers are PTSB, N26, EBS, AIB, Bank of Ireland and An Post Smart Account.
Here are the charges customers face when opening a current account:
Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland currently charges all current account holders a flat fee of €6 per month which cannot be avoided regardless of how much you deposit in your account.
AIB
AIB charges customers both an admin fee as well as transaction fees.
A €4.50 admin fee is charged every quarter while transaction fees apply to the likes of ATM withdrawals (35c) Machine Lodgements (35c) Cheque Processing (39c) and Over the Counter Transaction (39c), according to Moneyguideireland.com.
AIB does not charge a fee for contactless transactions with your debit card and will "continue to provide contactless transactions free of charge until further notice for all our customers."
N26
One of the new players on the scene, N26 is an online-only German bank that is available in Ireland. N26 charge no admin fees on their current accounts.
They do charge on ATM withdrawals if you withdraw more than three times in a month. You will be charged €2 per withdrawal.
New customers do have to pay €10 to get a physical ATM card sent out in the post or you can just use Apple Pay or Google Pay if you don't need a card.
It has a full EU banking licence and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
EBS Moneymanager
EBS does not charge any fees for its moneymanager current account but there are some caveats. The account doesn't work with Google or Apple Pay and no overdrafts are allowed.
PTSB Explore Current Account
PTSB charge a monthly fee of €6, there are no day to day transaction fees. Every time you pay with your card in-store, online, with Apple Pay or Google Pay, you‘ll get 10c back up to €5 per month. Account holders can also earn cashback by paying direct debits with eligible Direct Debit partners
An Post Smart Account
An Post charges a quarterly fee of €15 as well as Cash Withdrawal in Branch (50c) although you do get one free withdrawal per week, ATM withdrawals (60c) and lodgements at a branch (50c).
According to Moneyguideireland, if you don't need access to a branch, or to pay with cheques and don't need to deposit cash, then N26 is the cheapest option.
