AIB Business Banking: Everything you need to know

Allied Irish Banks is one of the big four commercial banks in Ireland. They offer a wide range of banking services for both individuals and businesses. They have a standard business current account, as well as a business start-up account aimed at new businesses. They also have a specialized current account for young farmers, which aims at giving them a way to manage their farm finances.

In this article, we’ll examine the various features and options of the business account that AIB offers, as well as the various commissions and fees charged on the account. We’ll also show you how to save money on international payments using Wise Business.

What kind of business account does AIB offer?

AIB offers three types of business current accounts. Each of these accounts is specifically tailored to a segment of the market.

• The Standard Business Current Account
  This is the basic business current account that AIB offers to businesses of all types and sizes. This account is an essential business tool that allows business owners to manage their receipts and payments. As well as keep up-to-date with their current financial positions. The Business Current Account offered by AIB also provides detailed records of all financial transactions in addition to regular account statements. Payments can be made or received via debit card, check, standing order, direct debit, or online. You also have access to Business customer advisors that can advise you on what product and services AIB has that you might find useful.¹

• Business Start-up Current Account
  This is an account that was specifically made for start-up businesses. According to AIB, it is available for start-up businesses that are starting a new business or have been in operation for less than 3 years. The business start-up current account comes with everything under the standard business current account. It also includes a waive of all account maintenance and transaction fees for the first two years of operation, excluding cash handling fees. Cash handling fees enjoy up to a maximum discount of €100 per quarter for the first two years.²

• Young Farmer Current Account
  For farmers, the AIB Young Farmer Current Account helps them manage their farm finances. The account is built for farmers between the ages of 18 and 40, who recently purchased or are currently in the process of purchasing or inheriting a farm. The account is also available to those that are starting their farming business or entering into a farming partnership. The Young Farmer Current Account comes with all the features of the standard business current account. However, just like this start-up current account, it also includes a waive of all account maintenance and transaction fees for the first two years of operation, excluding cash handling fees. Cash handling fees enjoy up to a maximum discount of €100 per quarter for the first two years.³

What are the fees for a business account?

There are certain fees and commissions associated with holding a business account with AIB. You must know exactly how much fees you are paying on your account. An excellent way to minimize account fees is to take out time to think about how you want to use the account. This will help you determine which service will be the most useful for you and your business, you can then compare the fees that you will be charged for this service to have an idea how much exactly you will be paying.⁴

Here is a quick breakdown of the major fees associated with an AIB business current account.

Can you make international payments with an AIB business account?

If your business conducts international transactions frequently, then you can make international transfers via AIB. They have a global transfer service called Paylink.

Here are the fees for international transfers: ⁵

Non urgent payment (1- 4 business days)

Urgent payment from euro or currency account, excluding those that qualify as Paylink Euro (0 - 4 business days)

AIB also applies an exchange rate mark-up that’s around 1.4% of the EUR amount on top of the above mentioned fees. With the fees combined, the transaction becomes expensive especially if you’re making large and frequent payments. For example, instead of getting £1801.00 for converting €2000, you’ll get £1762.00.

To save money on international transfers, use Wise Business. Wise is a groundbreaking company with over 5 million customers globally taking an innovative, fresh approach to financial services.

They’re known for offering one of the fairest exchange rates in the business instead of inflating them with hidden fees.

Here’s a quick at-a-glance price comparison for a €2000 transfer to pounds:

Additional benefits of Wise Business

Wise uses the real mid-market rate when converting money from one currency to another. This means that the currency exchange rate that you see on Google or other online currency converters. This is unlike most banks and payment platforms that add a hidden margin to their transfer rates.

Wise also offers a multi-currency account, which will be more useful if you or your business needs to hold money in multiple currencies. With this account, you can hold money in more than 28 separate currencies, and even get local account details for EUR, GBP, USD, NZD and AUD accounts. So, if you are a frequent traveler or you do business online, then a borderless account may just be what you need. It will drastically reduce the amount of expensive foreign account transfers that you need to make. It will save you money on each transfer.

You can also take advantage of the following additional benefits:

• Payroll to overseas contractors
• Payments to vendors and suppliers in over 40 currencies
• A unique integration with Xero and QuickBooks for multi-currency accounting
• Multi-currency debit card attached to the account

Start saving today with Wise