Am currently in UK moving to Ireland in November. What is the easiest way to apply for a bank account? Am I able to open an acocunt while still in the UK? Any recommendations for banks to use/avoid? Cheers
1
carraig
No, you have to be in the country to get a bank account. As far as I remember you need a passport or some other id and a proof of residence, like a household bill or some proof of employment in Ireland.
Halifax has a branch in Ireland. But I'm actually not sure if they aren't just a building society (embarrassed). You could ask in a British Halifax branch.
Permanent TSB is supposed to have the best financial conditions, AIB is good with internet banking and is the only one with access in post offices, Bank of Ireland at least has branches and ATMs almost everywhere and I'm quite happy with it as a customer.
Best is to shop around when here and see what suits you best.
Good luck!
2
dara
No, Halifax is Bank of Scotland but some overpaid person thought the brand halifax was better known here, he should be fired!
Avoid TSB, purely for the reason that their adverts are REALLY bad and annoying. Ulster Bank are very good, but the big two are Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland. AIB being substantially bigger than BOI and has more branches.
3
alanr
Halifax (which is in a bank) owns BOS - but BOS has a subsidiary in Ireland imaginatively called Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
4
dara
But in Ireland, Halifax is a brand name of Bank of Scotland Ireland. (According to their ad anyway!!!) Confused!
5
memacmurphy
Yes you have to open your Irish account in Ireland . However if you want to manage both sterling and euro accounts I would reccomend you open a Bank of Ireland account in the UK ( they have several branches around Britain and loads in NI) for all sterling transactions. Then open a Euro account in Ireland with the same bank. This way they will merge your internet/phone banking and you will be able to access both accounts with the same pin and codes at the same time online.
You will also be able to withdraw from your sterling account from BOI branches in Ireland. But only over the counter and they will convert it to Euro before giving it to you
6
fear_rua
Generally Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish have not offered such good terms to personal customers as the smaller banks. However, I haven't been looking around much lately and that may no longer be the case.
The only recommendation I would make would be to avoid National Irish Bank like the plague. For me at least, dealing with them was an absolute nightmare. And just last month, after I had closed my account with them six months earlier, they wrote to me saying that I was getting statements too often and that the new conditions of my account meant that I was only entitled to a free statement quarterly or perhaps even yearly (I don't remember which). I thought of writing back to them enclosing the letter and pointing out that I had closed my account and that their letter was an excellent example of the combination of incompetence, appalling customer service and excessive penny-pinching that had led me to do so. But in the end I couldn't be arsed.
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