Sir, - Up to December 31st, the Bank of Ireland was happy to charge £3 for a foreign draft and £1.75 for a draft in punts. Now that the euro has been introduced the banks have decided to charge extra for foreign drafts for those countries that decided to go into the euro and have a fixed exchange rate. Bank of Ireland is charging 0.75 per cent of the value in Irish pounds subject to a minimum of £5 and up to a maximum of £25 - a massive 733 per cent increase. I understand that AIB has a maximum of £50 - a whopping 1,566 per cent. Yet for non-euro currencies the charge remains £3.
If the finance ministers have agreed a rate for the 11 currencies that entered the euro in order to eliminate foreign exchange charges, what right have the Irish banks to turn round and charge extra for foreign drafts when dealing with these currencies? I am sure the banks will say it is to compensate for the huge profit they used to make on foreign exchange. My answer to that is that the banks make enough profit on interest charges and fees, and will continue to make profits on foreign exchange on non-euro currencies. So please leave the charges for drafts as they were, and stop ripping off your customers at every opportunity. - Yours, etc., Brian C. Morton,
The Cloisters, Terenure, Dublin 6W.