Ulster Bank customers who have not yet taken action to move their accounts should “do so now”, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has said.
The Central Bank has said 38 per cent of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland accounts that were open at the end of 2021 have been closed over the first 10 months of this year, as both exiting banks push customers to find new homes for the banking.
Of the 464,998 accounts that were closed, about half were current accounts and the remainder made up of deposit accounts, according to the regulator.
Ulster Bank started in April to give customers six months’ notice to find another home for their current and deposit accounts.
It subsequently extended the deadline for the first wave of affected customers and will start freezing accounts from Friday, initially focusing on accounts that are inactive or where there are fewer than five transactions a month.
“There has been significant progress made by the industry in transferring hundreds of thousands of customer accounts,” said a spokeswoman for the BPFI on Friday.
“We acknowledge there is still work to be done and we are continuing to work closely together and alongside other sectors to ensure we can support customers.
“We urge all impacted customers who have yet to take action in moving provider to do so now. There is a range of supports and information available in helping customers do this including BPFI’s website movingaccount.ie.”
Meanwhile, 800,325 accounts were opened across remaining three banks in the Republic – Bank of Ireland, AIB and Permanent TSB – so far this year, double the level of activity they saw during 2021.
There is typically a lag between consumers setting up new accounts and closing existing ones, as they seek to make sure that new details for the likes of direct-debit mandates, standing orders and inward payments are working properly.
While KBC Bank Ireland has agreed to sell its deposits to Bank of Ireland as part of a deal that also involves the transfer of its €9 billion of performing loans, the Belgian-owned bank will start freezing current accounts from December.
