An overview of digital banks - Today FM

As a consumer it can take some time to find the best current account for your everyday banking needs, especially if you don't want to pay through the nose for maintenance and transaction fees.

One option banking customers do have is to turn to online banks, steadily growing in popularity on these shores, and for a good reason; fee-free banking.

Our Head of Communications at bonkers.ie, Daragh Cassidy appeared on Today FM to discuss these alternative banking options from providers such as fintechs Revolut and N26, as well as what customers can expect to pay.

Here’s an outline of the main points discussed by Daragh in the interview.

An overview of digital banks

Revolut has become extremely popular in Ireland over the last few years. According to the company, there are over 1 million Revolut customers in Ireland at the moment. 

N26 is a German digital bank and it has around 200,000 customers here. It’s not quite as popular as Revolut, but a lot of people would have an N26 account.

With these digital banks, there are very few fees. I’d advise any of your listeners who haven’t thought about switching to one of these current account providers, to consider doing it. 

These accounts are similar to regular current accounts and you’re still given an IBAN and a BIC with these accounts. 

With both N26 and Revolut, pretty much all of your day-to-day banking is free. There’s no monthly account fee, no fee for contactless transactions and no fee for direct debits and standing orders. 

There’s very little you can’t do with a digital bank account that you can with a normal bank account.  

Making the switch

If you’re fond of using cash, these digital banks might not be for you as they do hit you with fees if you want to withdraw a lot of cash. 

What a lot of people are doing is that they’re opening up a Revolut bank account, but keeping their main account too, so they’re not necessarily switching over completely. 

This is because of fear as some people feel they might not get all of the necessary services from an online-only bank account

Explore all options

If you’re looking for a new current account option, our current account comparison service easily compares different account features and charges from all of Ireland’s main banks. 

We recently wrote a piece on who is offering the best value current accounts in 2021, making it easier to evaluate your options.

If you’re considering signing up to a ‘digital only’ bank, take a look at our comparison on N26 versus Revolut for a comprehensive review of both.

We also discussed both fintechs in a recent episode of our bonkers.ie podcast, Current accounts: a deep dive. 

What do you think?

Are you an N26 or Revolut customer? Do you use your digital bank account more than your traditional one? We'd love to hear from you!

If you have any questions on digital banks feel free to reach out to us on social media! We’re on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.