ACCBank has decided after strong criticism to lower its foreign exchange charges for transactions involving euro zone currencies. The bank yesterday notified the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, about the new charging regime which the bank said would make it more competitive in the area. Under the new charging structure, commission on £50 will fall from £3.50 to £1.50; on £100 it will drop from £5 to £3; and on transactions worth £500, it will come down from £17 to £13.75.
Before Christmas, Ms Foley issued a directive to all the financial institutions to publish their rates and ACCBank was the least competitive amounts up to £100. It was the second most expensive financial institution after EBS for transactions involving amounts in excess of £500.
Ulster Bank and AIB also notified Ms Foley this week about falls in charges for euro drafts. Ulster Bank, for example, was charging £50 on a £5,000 euro bank draft, but this has now fallen to £25.
AIB was charging a commission of 1.5 per cent for drafts over £500, but this has dropped to 0.75 per cent under its new regime.
Ms Foley said last night the lowering of some charges was an encouraging sign that competition was taking place. "I expect to see falls in charges on a wider scale in the coming weeks, but it had to start somewhere," she said.
On Monday, Ms Foley will issue a statement on how the financial institutions have handled the euro so far. She is expected to point out that many bank staff have not been properly trained in handling the new currency and, as a result, many mistakes have been made.
