Bunq enters ireland

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120395177#Comment_120395177

I had no problem getting a mortgage with Avant last year with bunq statements

Mimikyu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120426363#Comment_120426363

Seems to be ok now. The AIB advisor made a note on the application and my broker cleared it with BOI that they're fine. She just wasn't familiar with the statement.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120426619#Comment_120426619

Probably couldn't do the maths to see if you'd been overdrawn at any point...

Josieg

I've finally opened a Bunq savings account last week due to the decent rates on offer. It was set up mainly as a joint savings account with my wife but there seemed to be a second account/sub account which I decided to use for some personal savings on my own. I got interest payment notification for the few days the account has been opened but it all seems to have gone to my own sub account and not the joint account which has more in it. When I checked my wife's app the other half of the joint account interest was paid into an individual savings account that seemed to be already created when she signed up first. What's going on?? I'm very confused!

Mimikyu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429232#Comment_120429232

If you go into your app and go to profile, hit the settings icons in the top right and freedom of choice. It shows you there what account is receiving interest and you can change it if you need to.

Make sure it's a dedicated savings account you set up or you won't get the higher rate. I had it set up wrong at the start and was earning feck all interest until I set up a new savings account, but there was a bug when I was setting up the new one and couldn't make it a joint account. They fixed that but I wasn't arsed messing around with it again so just left it. Getting the 1.56% though.

Josieg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429286#Comment_120429286

Yeah, I saw that setting for where the interest should be paid and it was in fact set to the "individual" savings account. It looks like it was all paid into that account. So does that mean there is no way to split the interest? I want to earn interest on my savings separate to our joint savings. It's very confusing. So does it mean that it's really only one savings account but with two separate sub accounts?

Mimikyu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429320#Comment_120429320

No you can't split the interest. You have to pick one account to earn interest and nothing on the others.

Before they started to increase the rate you could select multiple accounts to be paid interest on, but now it's only one.

Josieg

Ok that makes sense. It does however look like I got paid interest on both accounts but it was only paid (for both) into one. Still one of the best interest rates around and a damn site better than anything on offer from the Irish banks.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120429537#Comment_120429537

The Irish banks are awash with deposits, thus they do not need to compete with Bunq (I bank with bunq), but the reverse is Irish mortgage rates have become some of the lowest in europe and the fact that they have not increased dramatically (except for trackers) is keeping spending up by consumers and in a way helping a circular economy

So do Bunq ever come back to you when you open a ticket for support?

It's been over the 3 days now....

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120521953#Comment_120521953

What type of ticket was it? If it relates to an MLA incident it may not be possible for them to do so.

awec

Do I need to do anything to use Bunq in the EU? I assume it just works and there are no extra charges at all?

Tagging @Yggr of Asgard as our resident expert!

Yggr of Asgard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120522519#Comment_120522519

The EU is big, so it depends.

Make sure you have added the relevant countries to the "allowed countries" in the card settings.

If you have enabled "make card more secure" so that the card only work in the country, you might have some issues in some regions where the country/location cannot be clearly identified, so be prepared to possibly remove it case by case.

If all transactions are in Euro, then there is no additional cost and everything should just work fine.

If you are going to a non-Euro country, go into the app activities/travel assistant and you can see exchange rates, if you card will work and some other tips. Just remember you get the Mastercard rate plus 0.5% fee (or 2% on easy bank).

If you an easy Money/Easy Green customer are going to an EU country that does not use the EURO you might consider opening a sub account in that currency (if available) and pay the cost only once and create a new virtual card (for google/apple) or change your credit card against that sub account. That way you can budget better. Just make sure that you don't choose the DCC that might be offered (it should not as it's a Mastercard but there are always shops out there that do not care. Poland, Czech Republic to name a few.

Also make sure you have the right card type as in some euro countries debit card (i.e. your virtual maestro or debit card) might work more widely than your credit card. Germany an example and Netherlands too.

And lastly, remember that Bunq has very low card limits so if you are going to an expensive hotel, your Bunq card might not have enough limit out of the box, you might need to raise the limit in the card settings to pay that bill.

And always pack a backup card from a different vendor (something free from revolut/wise) so that if all cards fail or bunq breaks you have a backup.

Enjoy your trip.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120522820#Comment_120522820

It's Spain, so it's Euro.

My Bunq cards are Mastercard so no issues with Maestro. Also dont have that make card more secure enabled.

Cheers!

Mimikyu

Anyone have problems withdrawing cash from an ATM with Bunq?

I very rarely have to withdraw cash but it has worked before. Can’t remember the exact wording but something along the lines of my card was not valid for this service. Revolt card worked fine straight after. It was a Brinks ATMs in a local shop.

inel

No update in the Savings interest rate since Feb 2023, despite another hike by the ECB.

It has remained at 1.56% for Ireland, even though for Netherlands it was up to 2.01%.

It's time bunq updated their rates accordingly! Their Savings product looks less attractive now.

Wheety

This might be answered already but can you have a joint savings account without a paid account?

inel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120600075#Comment_120600075

Having a free Easy Savings account myself, I do not see any option to add another person to the savings account. So, I guess you cannot.

spuddy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120600075#Comment_120600075

yes you can. you need to set it up from scratch, and add the other person at that time.

Wheety

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120625315#Comment_120625315

I'll try again. It should be the only account both are holding?

spuddy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120625586#Comment_120625586

In our case, I've got a savings a/c (setup first), and also have a joint savings a/c with my Mrs. Both show up in the app for me.

Wheety

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120629083#Comment_120629083

Thanks, I'll try again.

podgeandrodge

Do people recall if Bunq looked for address/utility bill as part of the identification? I am set up with a joint account with my wife, but while I had set up myself a while ago and can't recall, I really don't remember submitting address proof for the wife? Just passport.. maybe I am mistaken..

Davexirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684681#Comment_120684681

I set up a savings account at the weekend and I did not need to submit any address verification.

coolaboola1357

What is peoples opinion on Bunq security ? Its not multi factor auth and just a code is needed to login on either the app or the browser

Then once logged in you can just move money out to an iban without a card reader or anything else

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749039#Comment_120749039

If it does not meet your comfort level then don't use it, it is as simple as that. The real question is what happens when it goes wrong - do they carry the loss or do you. If they are willing to carry the loss then that is their decision.

coolaboola1357

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749572#Comment_120749572

Yeah i will close account

podgeandrodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749039#Comment_120749039

You can only withdraw to the account that lodged the funds afaik?

Hibernicis

In my experience their software/security is amateurish at best. They have some security features of a sort, allegedly:

• It is said that you can only withdraw to the original source account
• It is said that when you used a device to access the platform for the first time you have to go through a weird and bespoke facial recognition thing
• It is said you need to go through a number of authentication steps, however in my experience these are so unreliable that their support appear to assist people in bypassing them regularly (e.g. mobile phone number authentication)

None of the above is a substitute for properly implemented TFA. I do not believe that their portal would stand up to a decent independent security audit.

pat_sconce

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120791747#Comment_120791747

What experience do you have in fintech that gets you to your conclusion and what tests have you done on bunq?

I joined bunq earlier this year when my kbc account was closed and did a reasonable amount of research and came to the conclusion that their security is as good as or better than many banks and certainly miles ahead of revolut.

The Dutch central bank is recognised as one of the most stringent central banks in Europe and bunq operates under their supervision. I prefer biometric login rather than passwords and TFA. Far safer in my opinion. In their account opening they (like many others) use 3rd party verification. This can literally takes a few minutes once you have the correct items to hand, yet the technology behind it is mesmorising. Here's an Irish company that provides such a service https://www.id-pal.com/solutions/use-cases/identity-verification/ (one of their senior directors banks with Bunq, this was where I got the recommendation)

In terms in in app payment, I also use AIB's classic account and to access the app I enter a 5 digit code rather than a fingerprint and no TFA to complete a payment after that. I also use Revolut for my trips to the UK and for any small payments to/from friends for shared expense items, but I would be loathe to hold more than a few hundred with them due to their well documented (Financial Times amongst many) aml flaws, their recent data breach (Sept 2022) and their difficulty getting a banking license from any bank other than Lithuania where banking controls are rather lax. But its each to his/her own and if someone has their own doubts, then for their own peace of mind, its best to bank where you feel safest for yourself. For some, this will be the local credit union, for others the expensive pillar banks and for many it will be a fintech.

But unless you can state your experience and this can be verified and is in the sphere of banking security or give links to published articles by recognised publications you should not pretend to be an authority on fintech security.