An overdraft is an additional amount of money that is drawn down from a current account when it is in debit. Overdrafts are generally supposed to a short-term facility used to temporarily increase your cashflow.
An overdraft can be seen as a loan you arrange through your current account. It allows you to spend more money than you have in your current account up to an agreed limit, known as the ‘overdraft limit’.
Below we give some details of the Bank overdraft charges in Ireland made by the main banks.
Charges for Setting up an Overdraft Facility
Most banks will charge an annual fee for putting an agreed overdraft. The charge for this can range from
- €30 at Bank Of Ireland
- €25 at PTSB
- €25.39 at AIB
- €25 at KBC and Ulster
EBS doesn’t do overdrafts.
Interest Rates on agreed Overdrafts.
Interest rates on agreed overdrafts range from –
- 11.85% at AIB
- BOI 13.25%
- KBC 13.5%
- PTSB 15%
- 15.55% at Ulster Bank.
Unauthorised Overdraft Interest rates.
The Banks have interest surcharges for un-authorised overdrafts – these can be as much as an extra 12% – bringing the total interest rate up to a fairly massive 27% in the case of PTSB. This is the highest overdraft interest rate of all the Irish banks.
- Ulster is next at 25.55 %
- KBC at 21.5%
- BOI is 20.45%
- AIB don’t currently charge extra – so theirs is 11.85%
Other Charges when Overdrawn.
The banks also charge “referral fees” when a payment coming from your account exceeds the available funds at that time. These will usually work out a lot more than any interest charges.
- Ulster Bank charges €4.44 per item
- AIB – charges €5.15 per item (max 5 items per day)
- BOI charges nothing for the first over-limit item per quarter: €3.50 each for the 2nd and 3rd items per quarter: €5.00 each for the 4th and 5th items per quarter: and €10 each for the 6th and subsequent items per quarter:
- PTSB charges €5.00 per item (up to €15.00 maximum per day)
- KBC – charges €5.00 per item (up to €20.00 maximum per day)
Standing Orders are treated separately. When there is not enough money in your account to cover a standing order the banks will charge a fee.
- AIB, KBC. and PTSB all charge €10
- BOI and Ulster charge €12.70
Overdrafts are best avoided if at all possible as they are an expensive way of borrowing money – especially if you go overdrawn without a formal agreement. You would pay lower rates on some credit cards.
Instead of an overdraft, it would even be worth considering a personal loan. See the lowest rates for personal loans.
(Figures correct as at April 2020 )
See more about Current Bank Account Charges in Ireland here