No more bank drafts under 500 euro

North Cork

Hello, was in my local branch today looking for a bank draft for €100, was told by the clerk at the counter they are now only issusing bank drafts over €500. Is this a new Bank of Ireland policy.

hoodwinked

North Cork wrote: »

Hello, was in my local branch today looking for a bank draft for €100, was told by the clerk at the counter they are now only issusing bank drafts over €500. Is this a new Bank of Ireland policy.

apparently so!

my aunt used send one for €200 to my aunt in Australia for christmas for the kids and now she has to send presents instead! :mad:

Bank of Ireland: Tara

Hi North Cork,

Thanks for your question.

This is correct, from 22nd October 2012 Euro Domestic and Foreign Drafts under €500 will no longer be issued in branches. We would recommend the following alternatives, Credit Transfer to the payee on 365 Online, Mobile Banking App or Business Online, Personal Cheque, Credit or Debit card payment or cash.

Thanks,
Tara

hoodwinked

Bank of Ireland: Tara wrote: »

Hi North Cork,

Thanks for your question.

This is correct, from 22nd October 2012 Euro Domestic and Foreign Drafts under €500 will no longer be issued in branches. We would recommend the following alternatives, Credit Transfer to the payee on 365 Online, Mobile Banking App or Business Online, Personal Cheque, Credit or Debit card payment or cash.

Thanks,
Tara

so what does your technically illiterate customer (such as my aunt) do when they want to send money to somewhere like Australia as a gift?


she doesn't have a cheque book btw, she wanted one once but was told to get a card instead!

Bank of Ireland: Graham

Hi hoodwinked,

We have some online demos to show how quick and easy it is to use 365 Online. You can access them by clicking here.

Also, representatives in Banking365 are happy to assist customers by explaining how our online banking works over the phone on 0818 365 365. The opening hours are 8am - midnight Monday to Friday, and 9am - 6pm weekends and Bank Holidays.

Thanks,
Graham

hoodwinked

Bank of Ireland: Graham wrote: »

Hi hoodwinked,

We have some online demos to show how quick and easy it is to use 365 Online. You can access them by clicking here.

Also, representatives in Banking365 are happy to assist customers by explaining how our online banking works over the phone on 0818 365 365. The opening hours are 8am - midnight Monday to Friday, and 9am - 6pm weekends and Bank Holidays.

Thanks,
Graham

again that is all well and good but my aunt doesn't own a computer, nether do many of the over 60's who all bank here in the BOI in Douglas, and some of my relatives friends who are under 60. not everyone is or wants to go online,


how would they gift a bank draft of less than €500 to people abroad? what has BOI got for these customers?

Bank of Ireland: Graham

Hi hoodwinked,

Our Douglas branch has a 365 Online terminal where customers can use this computer to access their account. Branch staff are available to help customers with this if they need assistance.

As Tara mentioned above:

Bank of Ireland: Tara wrote: »

Euro Domestic and Foreign Drafts under €500 will no longer be issued in branches.

Thanks for your post,
Graham

super_furry

It's all just hassle and inconvenience for the customer though isn't it?

rainbowdash

super_furry wrote: »

It's all just hassle and inconvenience for the customer though isn't it?

How so?

I can send money anywhere in the world from my couch, it takes seconds and usually costs nothing.

Or I could trek to the branch, use fuel getting there, queue at the bank, fill out loads of paperwork etc. - now thats hassle and inconvenience.

kippy

rainbowdash wrote: »

How so?

I can send money anywhere in the world from my couch, it takes seconds and usually costs nothing.

Or I could trek to the branch, use fuel getting there, queue at the bank, fill out loads of paperwork etc. - now thats hassle and inconvenience.

Think of the old people though, those that dont have or cannot access the internet etc etc (hint of sarcasm)

hoodwinked

Bank of Ireland: Graham wrote: »

Hi hoodwinked,

Our Douglas branch has a 365 Online terminal where customers can use this computer to access their account. Branch staff are available to help customers with this if they need assistance.

As Tara mentioned above:


Thanks for your post,
Graham

you aren't really answering my question, what about people who choose not to use online banking, who wish to continue banking as they always have in cash over the counter?

why are alienating the older/non-tech generation not to mention these are the people who usually would have the largest amount of cash lodged with you?

rainbowdash wrote: »

How so?

I can send money anywhere in the world from my couch, it takes seconds and usually costs nothing.

Or I could trek to the branch, use fuel getting there, queue at the bank, fill out loads of paperwork etc. - now thats hassle and inconvenience.

because some people like i said don't have a computer, don't want one, and don't want to use one. like wise the fuel in my example is already spent as they are in the center collecting their pension/doing their weekly shop!


and to be fair its the €500 minimum gets me, if she wanted to gift them €500 she could waltz into her branch and get a bank draft over the counter paid in cash no problem, surely the processing costs are the same regardless of draft amount? or even offer them and charge extra for doing it in branch, but why cut the service completely?

mackerski

hoodwinked wrote: »

my aunt used send one for €200 to my aunt in Australia for christmas for the kids and now she has to send presents instead! :mad:

Isn't that a rather awkward way to get funds to the other side of the world? The clearing charges and hassle of presenting the cheque in Oz must be horrid.

kippy

hoodwinked wrote: »

you aren't really answering my question, what about people who choose not to use online banking, who wish to continue banking as they always have in cash over the counter?

why are alienating the older/non-tech generation not to mention these are the people who usually would have the largest amount of cash lodged with you?








because some people like i said don't have a computer, don't want one, and don't want to use one. like wise the fuel in my example is already spent as they are in the center collecting their pension/doing their weekly shop!


and to be fair its the €500 minimum gets me, if she wanted to gift them €500 she could waltz into her branch and get a bank draft over the counter paid in cash no problem, surely the processing costs are the same regardless of draft amount? or even offer them and charge extra for doing it in branch, but why cut the service completely?

In a free market, one would assume they would move their banking elsewhere, somewhere that looked after their every need OR, and this is a big OR, they at least attempt to move with the times as generations before them have done.

I would have assumed BoI would have analysed the amount of Bank Drafts they process in a given time frame and realised that setting a lower limit on bank drafts would only effect a handful of customers.
The example given here alone is one used by ONE customer ONCE a year....
I would suspects bankdrafts under 500 euro being cut doesnt effect that many people.

hoodwinked

kippy wrote: »

In a free market, one would assume they would move their banking elsewhere, somewhere that looked after their every need OR, and this is a big OR, they at least attempt to move with the times as generations before them have done.

I would have assumed BoI would have analysed the amount of Bank Drafts they process in a given time frame and realised that setting a lower limit on bank drafts would only effect a handful of customers.
The example given here alone is one used by ONE customer ONCE a year....
I would suspects bankdrafts under 500 euro being cut doesnt effect that many people.

more than you think i was just giving one example, but tbh they were used often by people i know,

but i see your point, but why not just introduce a charge for drafts under €500 and then not alienate that handfull of customers?

i know the group that would use them is small, but if they are being used why get rid of them?

Tow

hoodwinked wrote: »

but i see your point, but why not just introduce a charge for drafts under €500 and then not alienate that handfull of customers?

That would not help the larger over all plan, as many elderly aunts would grudgingly pay an extra €5 to €10 etc for their draft. What BOI appears to be doing is reducing the over all workload on the branch staff. Once this is done whey will be able to reduce the number of employees required to man each branch and subsequently make those branch staff redundant.

2 stroke

I presume there is a post office in Douglas, I wonder are irish postal orders accepted in Australia. I usualy send a few € at christmas too, won't be sending units of 500 though.

vic20

Never used 'em myself but you could check out Western Union...
Either online or at the Post Office / Credit Union.

2 stroke wrote: »

I presume there is a post office in Douglas, I wonder are irish postal orders accepted in Australia. I usualy send a few € at christmas too, won't be sending units of 500 though.

GRHopefull

Bank of Ireland: Tara wrote: »

Hi North Cork,

Thanks for your question.

This is correct, from 22nd October 2012 Euro Domestic and Foreign Drafts under €500 will no longer be issued in branches. We would recommend the following alternatives, Credit Transfer to the payee on 365 Online, Mobile Banking App or Business Online, Personal Cheque, Credit or Debit card payment or cash.

Thanks,
Tara

So looking at the above, it is only euro that can be transfered and any online banking to another account can only be done in the same juristiction???

I want to send a bank draft for €300 to the UK (I used to call into my bank to get the draft), I can now no longer do this due to BOI changes and this has inconvenienced me greatly.

I now have do complete transactions online in Euro amounts only and can only transfere any euro amounts into an account in the same juristiction... How eactly does BOI plan to assist its customer who need to send moneys to other countries by using the online system if the euro amounts can only be paid to accounts in the same country??

Bank of Ireland: Linda

Hi GRHopefull,

You can transfer an amount to the UK using Banking 365 either in euro or sterling. Banking 365 has a list of countries that customers can transfer to which can be found here. For transferring money to countries not on this list, customers will still be able to do so through a Bank of Ireland branch.

I hope this clears it up.
Thanks
Linda

avalon68

hoodwinked wrote: »

again that is all well and good but my aunt doesn't own a computer, nether do many of the over 60's who all bank here in the BOI in Douglas, and some of my relatives friends who are under 60. not everyone is or wants to go online,


how would they gift a bank draft of less than €500 to people abroad? what has BOI got for these customers?

I had the same issue, along with a few others this week. I walked across the road and moved my account to aib. They still provide bank drafts and allow you to wire money from within the branch. Very disappointed with bank of Ireland on this and hope they will see the error of their ways. Online banking does not work for every situation, and many recipients will not accept foreign cheques instead of bank drafts or wires ( which are also no longer provided in branch if below 3000 euro). Also, not every one is computer literate or has Internet access. My parents for example wouldn't know one end of a computer for another

Bank of Ireland: Laura

Hi avalon68.

Sorry to hear we have recently lost your business.

Thank you for your feedback. As always, it's appreciated and has been passed to the relevant department.

Thanks for your post.
Laura

MissBHive

Laura, I appreciate that you are just hosting a thread here so take everything I'm about to say as some feedback to BOI not you. I just recently had to get a bank draft for dollars under the value of €500 and I was just so annoyed with the whole experience. I am computer literate and I use internet banking, it's because BOI have made internet banking accessible to me that I'm still with this bank. However, turning away business during a recession is surely not a clever thing to do as a bank.
It was suggested to me at the bank when I asked for the bank draft that I should perhaps go home and do my homework about how I was going to get this draft or go to the post office so I did. The guy in the post office explained they only issue euro cheques and suggested I go to my bank. So I told him I'd just come from there, he felt my pain yet suggested I try AIB as they still issue these bank drafts. I got my bank draft from AIB no problem as I had an account there, I didn't get the draft for free, in fact it cost me just under €5 euro. Here's the thing, people are going to the cashiers desks still to do tasks that you make no money out of, you already trade in foreign currencies, taking another service away from your customers is bad for advertising and we are still sometimes treated as though you are doing us a favour.
In the States there are banks that have moved not just in to shopping malls, but into Supermarkets, they have extended hours and open at the weekends. They are taking on more types of money and business transactions than they have been doing and everybody loves it, it's good for business. Bank employees and banks here need to wake up and smell the roses, AIB is in trouble, they are having to close branches, ye have to start acting like a business and begin treating customers like your very precious clients that you want to serve and keep - because no matter how old/young/dirty they are, they're paying your wages. If the banks here already don't do this, others will come in and start doing it and take your customers away.
A bank draft may seem a small insignificant thing to the bank, but it can be a very important thing to the customer, so when you hand out those leaflets that make statements like 'We're making banking easier and more convenient for you' and 'We know your time is precious', bear in mind your bank stole approximately 2hours of my precious time two days ago and got me questioning it's competence.

Sikpupi

I always use my local Credit Union for Bank Drafts....queues are smaller and there is still the personal touch.

AND// they open Saturday mornings which is handy for someone like me who works out of town

Bank of Ireland: Pat

Hi MissBHive,

Thank you for posting and taking the time to give us your feedback. We will most definitely pass it on to our Consumer Banking Team.

Thanks
Pat

Bob24

Bank of Ireland: Pat wrote: »

Hi MissBHive,

Thank you for posting and taking the time to give us your feedback. We will most definitely pass it on to our Consumer Banking Team.

Thanks
Pat

You can add me to the list of people complaining about this ... it looks a bit short sighted.

I definitly prefer doing things via online banking if I can; but there are times when I need to send money by post as the receiver can't take anything else.

And most importantly there also still are public administrations only accepting bank drafts from Irish banks as a mean of payment. Here is one exemple: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Visa%20Fees

Irish immigration service wrote:

If you are applying for a visa from outside Ireland and your online application has been directed to the Visa Office in Dublin, you must submit a Bank Draft (in Euro) drawn to an Irish Bank.

No other currency or method of payment is accepted in Dublin.

I once had to pay such fee for someone visiting me in Ireland. Luckily at the time you were still issuing drafts for 60 euros, but if I come accross the situation again what exaclty do you suggest to me appart from switching to another bank? (really, I would like an answer regarding this point ... because I can't think of any other solution)

MissBHive

I totally agree with Bob24 when he says this is shortsighted and asks how is he meant to fulfil this task next time as other than opening an account in a rival bank there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution. So are we to presume that as BOI customers we are also meant to have a bank account somewhere else? I ask this as it seems to be implied by this service being taken away. If all affected open another account in a rival bank, why would they bother keeping their BOI account active as then they would be paying twice the bank charges every year and this doesn't make sense during a recession. Therefore I believe then that all BOI customers are affected by this service being axed are expected to take their business elsewhere thus insuring less work for the current employees of BOI who may then be arbitrarily culled. Does anyone else not see where this trend is going. It was such a wonderful decision on the part of my bank - BOI that I thought I should find out who exactly signed on the dotted line to put it al in motion and I came up with the CEO of BOI - Mr Richie Boucher. Thank you Mr Boucher you definitely deserve your salary of 600,000 or so per annum and I'm really delighted that you are doing such a good job that you were given no less than
'€123,000 as pension cash allowance for waiving his right to retire at the age of 55' I'm not making this up it was on the news, here is where I found this information...
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0315/boi-business.html
So now we are to have this same reduction of service for at least another 3 years and beyond. I'm just dying to see what happens when the banks start publishing their yearly profits in the future and how they are going to pour all their profits back into the government coffers to repay us for the bailouts that our tax payments funded.
Furthermore 'Pat' I'll believe you passed on my complaint to the appropriate consumer team when I get an email apologising for the ridiculousness - I'm not holding my breath as I feel my time would be better spent looking for an alternative bank that will give me a proper FULL banking service thanks very much.

Bank of Ireland: Tara

Hi Bob24,

Bob24 wrote: »

Originally Posted by Irish immigration service

If you are applying for a visa from outside Ireland and your online application has been directed to the Visa Office in Dublin, you must submit a Bank Draft (in Euro) drawn to an Irish Bank.

No other currency or method of payment is accepted in Dublin.

I once had to pay such fee for someone visiting me in Ireland. Luckily at the time you were still issuing drafts for 60 euros, but if I come accross the situation again what exaclty do you suggest to me appart from switching to another bank? (really, I would like an answer regarding this point ... because I can't think of any other solution)

Euro bank drafts drawn to an Irish bank can be issued by a foreign bank. For example, if you hold an account with an American bank, you could purchase a Euro draft drawn to an Irish bank from them. They do not need to be purchased directly from a bank in Ireland. So if you should come across this situation again, the person applying for the visa can purchase the draft in their own country.

Hi MissBHive,

MissBHive wrote: »

I'll believe you passed on my complaint to the appropriate consumer team when I get an email

Comments received on boards.ie are forwarded to the appropriate departments as customer feedback and when changes are made we strive to post updates on the forum. If you wish to lodge a formal complaint and receive written acknowledgement of same, please contact our Customer Care Unit.

Thanks
Tara

Manzoor14

Just have a query in relation to a bank draft I tried to get from the Dundrum BOI branch last Friday.

The bank draft was for €1,050 but the girl working in the branch told me that BOI no longer do bank drafts for less than €3,000 anymore.

I told her I had got one the Thursday previously for the exact same figure in the Donnybrook branch. She said that it was a new initiative that was being phased in across the branches.

So I drove straight to the Donnybrook branch who gave me the bank draft for €1,050 without hesitation and when I asked her when were they stopping giving drafts for under €3,000 she said she'd never heard of it and the limit was €500!!

So two different branches operating off two different sets of rules? Is this normal, or is a lower limit of €3,000 being phased in as well?

Bank of Ireland: Pat

Hi Manzoor14,

There may have been a bit of confusion in the Dundrum branch in relation to this. You should have no problem ordering drafts from a branch provided they are for a value of €500 of greater. The €3000 limit is the minimum limit on Interpay transactions. These two limits are completely unrelated.

I have passed this on to the Dundrum branch to hopefully avoid any further issues in future. Apologies for the inconvenience that this has caused.

Thanks
Pat

Bob24

Bank of Ireland: Tara wrote: »

Hi Bob24,
Euro bank drafts drawn to an Irish bank can be issued by a foreign bank. For example, if you hold an account with an American bank, you could purchase a Euro draft drawn to an Irish bank from them. They do not need to be purchased directly from a bank in Ireland. So if you should come across this situation again, the person applying for the visa can purchase the draft in their own country.

I am not very familiar with these things; but it looked like to get that kind of draft from a Chinese bank was not possible (they just didn't really know how or if they could do it). I might be wrong, but I really think that a majority of people who need visas to come to Ireland are from countries where the banking system / language / culture differences make it difficult to actually obtain a draft that can be accepted in Ireland.

And this is a particular exemple I came accross - but there are likely other ones where you need a draft to pay something for yourself.

What if for exemple I need a draft myself to apply for a visa to another country and that country only accepts USD drafts as a mean of payement?
In that case you will tell me to ask a friend in that country to optain the draft for me? (if yes - I will seriously feel like I am with a low-cost bank if I always have to rely on my friends to obtain basic banking services I can't entitle for myslef)

You can't be serious - if you don't want to be seen as the Ryanair of banking, you can't cut corners on such basic services and advise customers to obtain them elswhere ...

IMightKnow

Hi Laura/Pat

I will need to pay for something in Singapore dollars in the next few weeks.
The details are as follows:

"Fee: S$107.00 (nett of all bank charges)

Payment must be made by a crossed cheque or bank draft in Singapore Dollar only.

Cheque - Singapore cheques i.e. DBS, POSB, Citibank, UOB, OUB, OCBC, etc are acceptable. Bank Draft (International Draft) – international students are advised to purchase a bank draft in Singapore currency from the banks"

How am I meant do do this so?
I don't have a credit union account as someone suggested