Bank of Ireland Must Revisit New Thresholds for Cash Withdrawals over the Counter

IFA Farm Business Chairman Tom Doyle said the move by Bank of Ireland to ban lodgements and withdrawals at the counter in branches will cause great difficulty for some farmers who are not familiar with their online system.

He said there may also be a security issue for people who want to continue to do their banking at the counter, as they will decide to withdraw a larger sum of cash than they need at a given time. “At a time when there is such a focus on crime in rural areas, this decision by Bank of Ireland may be creating a new target for burglars. The Bank must revisit this €700 limit.”

Tom Doyle said, “The reduction in the number of branches in rural areas has meant that customers have to travel further to do their banking business. This move will add to the sense of their banking service being cut back even more”.

Tom Doyle said the thresholds appear very high in the context of the average farm budget. “For withdrawals, €700 is the limit below which transactions have to be done through an ATM or online.”