(Updated May 2022)
bunq is another of the newer digital banks that are available in Ireland.
We have reviewed and compared similar digital banking apps such as
Bunq has been available in Ireland as a payment card for a few years now – but they have gradually upgraded their service to a fully featured bank account. One added advantage of Bunq for Irish customers is that it is possible to get an Irish IBAN. This is likely to attract some of the ex customers of Ulster Bank and KBC .
Bunq is a fully licenced EU bank – and any money held with them is protected by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme of the Dutch National Bank (DNB) up to €100,000
Note – Both The Bunq Easy Bank and Easy Money accounts allows customers to have a local Irish IBAN .
There are 3 different Account options with bunq
- 1. Easy Bank (€2.99 a month) (Irish IBAN allowed)
- 2. Easy Money (€8.99 a month) (Irish IBAN allowed)
- 3. Easy Green €17.99 a month) (We won’t bother looking at this one for now).
Summary of The bunq Easy Bank Account
You get the following with a Bunq Easy Bank Account: (€2.99 monthly)
- Option to have an Irish IBAN for Irish residents.
- 1 Free physical Card (Mastercard Credit ** or Maestro Debit,)
- Apple/Google Pay ,
- 5x ATM withdrawals a month for €0.99 each Then ATM withdrawals are €2.99 each after you exceed the above’s limit .
- annual interest of 0.09%
- Low cost foreign currency transfers via Wise.
- Direct Debits
- Split receipts
- Joint account (two Bunq account holders can have a joint sub-account with its own IBAN)
- ** The bunq card , is a prepaid Mastercard credit card. But ,unlike a real credit card,- you can’t spend more than your balance. Every payment will be immediately deducted from your balance. But the card will be accepted like a credit card for things such as car hire and hotel reservations,
The bunq account can be accessed on any screen – smartphone or desktop.
You can get your Irish IBAN by clicking on the Event tab on your Home screen.
Spending Money with bunq
The bunq Easy Bank card uses the Mastercard Exchange Rate with a 2% foreign exchange fee.
The bunq easy bank card has a massive €50,000 maximum daily spending limit – as long as you have enough in your account of course! The default limit is €1000 per day, but this can be altered at any time in the bunq app.
The bunq Easy Bank card can be used with Apple Pay and Google Pay by customers in Ireland .
ATM withdrawals
The first 5 ATM cash withdrawal costs €0.99c each, After that it’s €2.99 each . There is a €500 daily withdrawal limit.
For non Euro ATM withdrawals bunq uses the Mastercard Exchange Rate plus a 2% fee. – see a comparison with other banks here.
Topping up the Easy Bank Card
- Bank Transfer top ups are free.
- Top-ups by debit or credit card will incur a 0.5% fee
Top up daily limits: There is no limit on bank transfer top-ups , however, there is a €2000 daily top up limit if using a debit card .
Bunq Easy Money Account
The more expensive Bunq Easy Money account costs €8.99 a month – compared to €2.99 for an “Easy Bank” account. The biggest differences are:
What are the Extra Features of the Bunq Easy Money Account?
- Receive and send 15 currencies: Australian Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Bulgarian Lev, Canadian Dollar, Czech Koruna, Danish Krone, Polish Zlotych, Romanian Leu, South African Rand, Swedish Krona, Swiss franc, Turkish Lira, United Arab Emirates Dirham, US Dollar
- 25 sub accounts allowed – each with its own IBAN.
- ATM withdrawals: four free withdrawals per month, followed by five at €0.99 and €2.99 thereafter.
- The foreign conversion fee is zero – but there is a 0.5% “network fee”
- 3 Free cards
Under 18’s can apply for a bunq account – they just need permission from a parent or guardian who is also a bunq customer
Bunq is a fully licenced EU bank – and any money held in Euros with them is protected by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme of the Dutch National Bank (DNB) up to €100,000 .(Any funds in other currencies than the euro are not protected by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.)
Alternatives to bunq
Revolut – Read more about Revolut plans and pricing here
Revolut is a smartphone banking app launched in July 2015 and now has over 7 million customers.
Customers can exchange money with no hidden fees. They even allow you to buy crypto and shares
You can Join Revolut Here
bunq Easy bank account compared to Revolut Plus
Wise
Wise has recently changed its name from Transferwise. They can provide you with a multi-currency international Account with a debit card.
Whilst Wise is not a licenced bank – their international money account provides you with a valid UK account number and sort code that can be used in the same way as a normal UK bank account.
You also get accounts in Euro , US Dollars , Australian Dollars and New Zealand Dollars. You can link a Wise account to their debit card for spending in any currency.
Wise allows you to get exchange rates that are pretty close to the interbank rates. They charge a flat rate conversion fee – which may vary depending on the currencies involved. For example, when converting €500 to Sterling in Feb 2021 the charge was 0.41%. €2.05 .
In the EU , Wise is licensed and regulated by the National Bank of Belgium. They are authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”).
You can find out more and sign up for a Wise account here.