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AIB to charge for contactless payments from May

AIB is to introduce fees for contactless payments for the first time. The bank has written to cus...
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

11.43 10 Mar 2020


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AIB to charge for contactless...

AIB to charge for contactless payments from May

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

11.43 10 Mar 2020


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AIB is to introduce fees for contactless payments for the first time.

The bank has written to customers to inform them of the changes, which will also see maintenance and transaction fees applied to accounts.

Previously customers have been able to avoid these fees by keeping a minimum balance of €2,500 in their account each quarter.

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A spokesperson says this option "will be withdrawn" on May 30th 2020.

A charge of €4.50 per quarter will be applied on current accounts.

While from the same date contactless transactions will cost 1 cent per tap - these are currently free.

These fees and charges will be applied to customers account at the end of every quarter.

The first time people will see this being charged to their account will be September 28th.

A spokesperson explains: "The European interest rate environment has made it difficult for the bank to provide maintenance and transaction fee free banking.

AIB AIB headquarters on Molesworth Street in Dublin city centre | Image: Julien Behal

"We want to ensure that AIB can continue to invest in a market-leading current account proposition and provide a high standard of banking services to all our current account customers.

"We continue to provide banking free of maintenance and transactions fees for student, graduate, advantage and basic bank accounts.

"Customers who have a mortgage with us and pay their mortgage direct debit from an AIB current account will also be exempt from these changes."

Journalist and presenter of 'The Home Show' on Newstalk, Sinead Ryan, says the bank is being hit from several directions.

"This is a story that I suppose is on the back of news that AIB is having to cut jobs, it has earmarked 300 million towards the tracker scandal.

"And more importantly, like all other banks, it is suffering the low interest rate environment - because we know that's where banks get their profit.

"So if they can't get their profit by charging customers interest, they have to go looking for it elsewhere."

AIB announced on Friday that it is planning to cut 1,500 jobs over the next three years.


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