The foreign currency exchange service advertised on Ryanair's website is not authorised by the Central Bank. A spokesman for the Central Bank told The Irish Times this type of service required authorisation.
An article in today's Consumer Choice magazine says a Scottish company, Foreign Currency Services Ltd, which provides currency exchange through www.simplyfx.com and Ryanair.com, is not authorised by the Central Bank and its currency charges have not been approved by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs.
The service allows consumers to buy foreign currency using a credit card. All Irish orders are processed through the Ryanair website, according to the Scottish company.
A spokeswoman for Ryan air said the arrangement was that it allowed simplyfx.com to advertise on its website.
The currency is sent to the customer's home within four days. The minimum order is £330. The company told Consumer Choice it received conversion rates from the Royal Bank of Scotland and that "no additional charges are applied for delivery, administration or commission".
The Consumers' Association of Ireland calculated the simplyfx.com rate of exchange included an average margin of 3.5 per cent for conversion of eurozone currencies. A margin of about 2.5 per cent was being added to eurozone conversion rates through the Ryanair site, according to the association.
Customers might also be charged a cash advance fee, of about 1.75 per cent, by their credit card company.
Although the service appears to be on offer through the Ryanair website, with full information on delivery, rates etc, when The Irish Times tried to use it yesterday, it was not available due to a "technical problem".
A spokesman for Foreign Currency Services Ltd said there had been a "lot of rhetoric" with the Central Bank in an attempt to clarify the situation. The jurisdiction of Internet trading had to be clarified, he said.
The spokesman added that the company had ceased supplying the service in Ireland a few weeks ago. It had applied for a bureau de change licence and hoped to resume trading in the Republic soon.