Why SHOULDN'T I switch from AIB to Halifax? [Business Account]

cormie

For my main banking, can anyone give me a reason not to switch from AIB to Halifax? The only thing stopping me is the effort, but I don't think it would be too complicated. I was just looking at my "fee advice" page and between Feb and May I think it was, it cost me about €45 between lodgements, cheques, ATM usage etc. If that's the case, then I could be saving €150 odd euro a year by switching to Halifax because as far as I know, they don't charge for any of that stuff.

I'd still be keeping my AIB account open as it'd be handy for AIB online transfers and that but if it's costing me €150 a year to use them as my main bank, I think I'd be better off in Halifax, who also open on a Saturday morning and till 5 instead of 4pm.

Any feedback appreciated

GerardKeating

cormie wrote: »

For my main banking, can anyone give me a reason not to switch from AIB to Halifax? The only thing stopping me is the effort, but I don't think it would be too complicated. I was just looking at my "fee advice" page and between Feb and May I think it was, it cost me about €45 between lodgements, cheques, ATM usage etc. If that's the case, then I could be saving €150 odd euro a year by switching to Halifax because as far as I know, they don't charge for any of that stuff.

I'd still be keeping my AIB account open as it'd be handy for AIB online transfers and that but if it's costing me €150 a year to use them as my main bank, I think I'd be better off in Halifax, who also open on a Saturday morning and till 5 instead of 4pm.

Any feedback appreciated

Do you not qualify for free banking with AIB? it usually very easy.

cormie

Oh yeah? How do I find out?

mickoneill30

cormie wrote: »

Oh yeah? How do I find out?

There's another reason to move. You have to find out how to get free banking. With Halifax it's just free. +1 for better customer experience.

If you've a personal account

http://www.aib.ie/personal/current-accounts/Personal-Bank-Account

"To qualify to bank free of maintenance and transaction fees, all you need to do each fee quarter is to make a purchase with your AIB Debit Card AND use AIB Phone & Internet Banking to make a debit transaction like paying a bill."

Just make sure you don't forget to do both of those or the fees are back.

cormie

Hmm, this is actually a business account. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a FEE advice slip on my personal AIB account, maybe because I've used Internet banking and my laser every fee quarter without even knowing it gives me free banking!

I use the business one even more though so this doesn't seem to qualify for free banking at all? Does a Halifax business account still I wonder?

BuffyBot

Quite possible that business accounts don't qualify for free banking - mostly it's a gimmick to attract personal customers.

Halifax don't do business accounts as such, they deal with personal banking. The Bank of Scotland arm still deals with businesses. However, I'm not sure you can conduct transactions via the Halifax branch network.

http://www.bankofscotland.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=94&pID=94&nID=106

broker2008

The free banking only works for the personal accounts afaik. One of the conditions to qualify is you have 1500 odd lodged into your account every month i.e. supposedly your salary.

mickoneill30

broker2008 wrote: »

The free banking only works for the personal accounts afaik. One of the conditions to qualify is you have 1500 odd lodged into your account every month i.e. supposedly your salary.

Nope. Thats incorrect. It's fee free if you put in €1 or €0 per month. The €1500 is for the 7% interest.

broker2008

Yeah my bad. I did look in to it for the 7% account but decided against changing the personal account because it is easy enough to get free banking with my existing bank.

cormie

That's a bit annoying. So can I just do all the transactions with my personal account and then just transfer the funds over online when I need to :pac: Wouldn't look the best for accounts I suppose! hehe

Toots

Have you an advisor who looks after your accounts? I'd book a meeting with the business manager in your branch and discuss your fees and charges, they may be able to offer you a package that wouldn't be as costly.

Using your personal account for your business is a bad idea. Obviously it'll be a nightmare for your accountant at the end of the year, but you'll also be in violation of the Ts&Cs for your personal current account if you're using it for business purposes.

stepbar

Halifax is NOT a business bank. They "may" open a sole trader a/c for you (and I say "may" because I doubt they will). Bank of Scotland is a business bank. However, they are not interested in small business customers unless you have yearly T/O of >500k. In any event BoS is not interested in new business at the moment from what I'm hearing.

I have to stress that there's a difference between Personal and Business customers / accounts. Your accountant / revenue won't take too kindly to you transferring funds (on an ad hoc basis) between personal and business a/c's and vice versa. TBH I would keep your personal and business finances (although both are linked) clearly seperate and documented.

cormie

Thanks for the advice everyone. Never knew Halifax weren't business orientated and I was joking about the personal account transactions :P

Must try and haggle my prices down so

Jet Black

While I was there I think you needed a turnover of 100k a year to qualify and you can only make lodgements at halifax branchs. Anything else is on the internet or over the phone.

kuro_man

I got fee-free business account from Ulster Bank about 18 months ago. I think its only for 3 years and supposed to be for start-up companies; could be worth a look.