Compare every Irish debit card in 2026, covering AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB, An Post, Revolut, N26 and bunq, on monthly fees, ATM charges and foreign spending.
Updated · checked against 11 sources
AIB
Best forFlat €6, no per-transaction feesWatch outNon-euro charged on top
Non-euro transactions, drafts, urgent transfers and overdrafts are all charged on top of the €6. Cash abroad costs 2.5% conversion plus 1% commission, which the €11 purchase cap does not cover.
Rep. APR
Bank of Ireland
Best for€6 covers euro payments and ATMWatch out3.5% on non-euro ATM
3.5% on non-euro ATM withdrawals, minimum €3.17, but AIB, PTSB and the credit unions all charge about the same, so no Irish bank is cheap for cash abroad.
Rep. APR
PTSB
Best forCashback cuts the monthly feeWatch out€8, the highest headline fee
€8 a month is the highest headline current account fee of the three Irish banks if you rarely use the card, and the 5c cashback excludes every ATM transaction. Cash abroad is 3.5%, not the 1.75% charged on purchases.
Rep. APR
An Post Money
Best forEmergency cash at post officesWatch out60c per euro ATM withdrawal
60c per euro ATM withdrawal on top of the monthly fee, and 3% with no cap on non-euro spending.
Rep. APR
An Post Money
Best forPocket money for €2 a monthWatch out60c per ATM withdrawal
Euro ATM withdrawals cost €0.60 and only one post office cash withdrawal a week is included. For ages 7 to 15 only, with account milestones at 16 and 18.
Rep. APR
Revolut
Best forFree, with an Irish IBANWatch outLithuanian deposit guarantee
Deposits are covered by the Lithuanian guarantee scheme to €100,000, not the Irish one. The first card is free but delivery is €7.99. ATM is free to 5 withdrawals or €200 a month, then 2%.
Rep. APR
N26
Best forCheapest abroad · no fee on card paymentsWatch outGerman IBAN causes friction
N26 has no Irish site. Ireland is served by its pan-European pages, and it publishes no IBAN country for Irish customers. Only 2 free euro ATM withdrawals a month on Standard, then €2 each.
Rep. APR
bunq
Best forIrish IBAN plus interestWatch outFree plan is virtual-card only
On the Free plan you get a virtual card only (a physical Mastercard needs a paid plan), and ATM withdrawals are limited to machines supporting Apple Pay or Google Pay, at €2.99 each from the first one. The 3.01% interest applies only above a personal savings threshold; below it the rate is 1.51%.
Rep. APR
Revolut
Best forFree if the parent has RevolutWatch out€100 monthly child ATM cap
The child ATM allowance follows the parent's plan: €100 a month on Standard, €150 on Plus or Premium, €200 on Metal or Ultra, then 2%. Revolut publishes a maximum of five child accounts but not the split per plan, and does not state the card network.
Rep. APR
Wise
Best forCheapest to hold currenciesWatch outNo deposit guarantee
Wise is a payment institution, not a bank, so there is no deposit guarantee scheme. Your money is safeguarded at partner institutions instead. Euro account details are Belgian. ATM is free to €250 a month, then 2.69% on the excess.
Rep. APR
Payac Services, cards issued by Transact Payments Malta Limited
Best forFree euro card paymentsWatch outNot every credit union offers it
Only available through participating credit unions: 78 publish a fee schedule, out of roughly 180 in the Payac network. Euro ATM is free for five a month then €0.50; cash outside the euro is 3.5%, minimum €3.
Rep. APR
Bank of Ireland
Best forFree by statutory rightWatch outNo overdraft or cheque book
No cheque book and no overdraft. AIB's basic account debit card has no contactless. Bank of Ireland requires a branch application. Converts to a standard fee-paying account after five years.
Rep. APR
Monzo
Best forCheapest abroad · no fee on card paymentsWatch out€300 free ATM per 30 days
ATM withdrawals capped at €300 free per 30 days (then 2.5%, min €1); no credit products yet
Rep. APR
Trade Republic
Best forCheapest abroad · no fee on card paymentsWatch outNot a current account
Not a current account. The IBAN it gives you takes deposits only and cannot be used to make payments, so no direct debits, standing orders or salary. Saveback arrives as an investment that can fall in value, and only if you keep at least €50 a month going into savings plans.
Rep. APR
Enter what you expect to spend on card outside the euro. This is the debit card fee onpurchases only. Cash withdrawals are charged separately by almost every card here, and are not included.
| Card | Fee | Cost | Worst case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut Standard debit card† | None | €0.00 | €10.00 |
| N26 Standard debit Mastercard† | None | €0.00 | €0.00 |
| Monzo debit card† | None | €0.00 | €0.00 |
| Trade Republic Visa Debit Card† | None | €0.00 | €0.00 |
| bunq Debit Mastercard† | 0.5% | €5.00 | €15.00 |
| Wise card† | 0.57% | €5.70 | Varies |
| AIB Visa Debit Card | 1.75% | €17.50 | €17.50 |
| PTSB Visa Debit Card (Explore Account) | 1.75% | €17.50 | €17.50 |
| Bank of Ireland Debit Card | 2% | €20.00 | €20.00 |
| Current Account from Your Credit Union | 2% | €20.00 | €20.00 |
| An Post Money Debit Mastercard | 3% | €30.00 | €30.00 |
| An Post Money Mate | 3% | €30.00 | €30.00 |
Rates are each provider's own published Irish figure for non-euro card purchases. Where a card charges more outside Europe or above a monthly allowance, the worst case is shown too. Cards with no published Irish rate are left out rather than estimated. Several cards cap the fee per transaction: AIB Visa Debit Card, PTSB Visa Debit Card, Bank of Ireland Debit Card, Current Account from Your Credit Union, An Post Money Debit Mastercard. That cap is not applied here, because it depends on how many separate purchases you make rather than the total. Treat those figures as the ceiling.
Ireland has four bank-issued debit cards and three digital banks worth comparing. The banks have converged on roughly €6 to €8 a month. The digital banks are free or nearly free, and much cheaper abroad.
The most significant change in 2026: AIB scrapped quarterly and per-transaction charging on 1 July 2026 and replaced it with a flat €6 a month.
| Provider | Monthly fee | Euro ATM | Non-euro purchase | Non-euro ATM | IBAN | Deposits guaranteed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIB | €6 | Included | 1.75% (min €0.45, max €11.00) | Charged | IE | Ireland |
| Bank of Ireland | €6 | Included | 2% (max €11.43) | 3.5% (min €3.17, max €11.43) | IE | Ireland |
| PTSB Explore | €8 (€24/quarter) | Included | 1.75% (min €0.46, max €11.43) | Charged | IE | Ireland |
| An Post Money | €6 (age 23+) | €0.60 each | 3%, no cap | €0.90 + 3% | IE | Ireland |
| Revolut Standard | €0 | €200 or 5 withdrawals free, then 2% (min €1) | Free to €1,000/month, then 1% | Same allowance | IE | Lithuania |
| N26 Standard | €0 (card €10 once) | 2 free, then €2 | Free, no limit | 1.7% markup | DE | Germany |
| bunq Free | €0 | €2.99 from the first | 0.5% to €1,000/year, then 1.5% | Same, plus 0.5% conversion | IE | Netherlands |
Every one of these also attracts 12c per ATM withdrawal in government stamp duty, capped at €5 a card per year.
AIB: €6 a month. From 1 July 2026 the €6 covers card transactions, taps, transfers and euro payments. Non-euro transactions, drafts, urgent transfers and overdrafts are extra. You pay nothing if you hold an Advantage account (over-66s), Student, Student Plus, Graduate, Standard Care or Basic Bank Account, or pay an AIB mortgage on your own home from the account. AIB says the change cuts fees for most fee-paying customers by around 12% on average.
Bank of Ireland: €6 a month. Covers euro card payments, euro ATM withdrawals and euro transfers up to €20,000 a day. Second and third level student, graduate and Golden Years (over-66) accounts are exempt. It is the most expensive bank for foreign cash: 3.5% on non-euro ATM withdrawals with a €3.17 minimum.
PTSB Explore: €8 a month. The highest headline fee, but the only one that pays you back: 5c every time you pay by card in-store or online, up to €5 a month, cutting the effective cost to €3 if you make 100 card payments. There is also 2% cashback on PTSB mortgage repayments paid by direct debit from the account, running to 31 December 2030.
An Post Money: €6 a month for age 23+, €2 for 16 to 22 year olds, €2 per child on Money Mate. The only account here that charges per euro ATM withdrawal, at 60c a time, on top of the monthly fee, and at 3% with no cap the most expensive for foreign card spending of any provider in this comparison. It does give emergency cash of up to €200 from post offices and dynamic CVV protection online.
Revolut is the default for most people: an Irish IBAN, nothing to pay on Standard, and cheap abroad. Free currency exchange runs to €1,000 a month on Standard, then 1%, with a 1% weekend markup, and Revolut counts the weekend as 17:00 Friday to 18:00 Sunday New York time, so a Sunday evening in Dublin is still inside it. ATM access is €200 or 5 withdrawals a month, then 2%. Deposits sit under the Lithuanian guarantee scheme.
N26 is the cheapest card in Ireland for spending abroad: no foreign transaction fee on any plan, no weekend markup, no fair-usage ceiling. The catch is the German IBAN. EU rules say a euro payment should not be refused on the country code, but some Irish payroll and direct debit systems still make it awkward. Cash is restrictive too: two free euro withdrawals a month, then €2 each.
bunq gives Irish customers an Irish IBAN on every plan including the free one, and pays interest: 1.51% AER base and 3.01% AER bonus on euro balances as of 1 July 2026, up to €100,000. The free plan includes no physical card, so a card costs €9.99 plus €3.49 a month, and ATM withdrawals cost €2.99 from the first one. Deposits sit under the Dutch scheme.
For a €100 non-euro purchase:
| Provider | Cost |
|---|---|
| N26 (any plan) | €0.00 |
| Revolut Standard (within €1,000/month, weekday) | €0.00 |
| bunq Core, Pro, Elite | €0.50 |
| AIB | €1.75 |
| PTSB | €1.75 |
| Bank of Ireland | €2.00 |
| An Post Money | €3.00 |
The gap is real money on a two-week holiday: €2,000 of spending costs nothing on N26 and €60 on An Post.
Using a card also beats using an ATM abroad. Non-euro withdrawals carry their own charges on top, 3.5% at Bank of Ireland and 3% plus €0.90 at An Post, and the machine will usually offer to convert the currency at a worse rate. Always choose to be charged in the local currency, never in euro.
Ireland no longer charges an annual card levy. It charges 12c per ATM cash withdrawal instead, capped per card per year:
That last point is worth reading twice. Card payments, contactless taps and online purchases attract no stamp duty at all; only cash withdrawals do. Never take cash from a machine and you pay nothing.
The duty is charged in arrears. Revenue’s rule is that it goes on the account on 31 December for that year, and institutions bill it in January.
It applies to foreign issuers too. Revenue is explicit that the location of the bank is not relevant: a card issued by a foreign institution to someone with an address in the State comes within the charge. Revolut confirms it collects the levy. Exemptions cover cards not used during the year, basic payment accounts, accounts where the average daily balance does not exceed €12.70, and cards used only to request a chequebook, get statements or verify identity.
One account for everything: AIB or Bank of Ireland at €6 a month, or bunq if you want an Irish IBAN plus interest and are happy going digital-only.
You pay for everything by card: PTSB Explore, where the 5c-per-payment cashback genuinely offsets most of the €8.
You travel: N26 for card spending, or Revolut if you also want an Irish IBAN and cash access.
You want to stop paying fees: run a Revolut or bunq account alongside your bank account and move day-to-day spending there. Mortgage direct debits, salary rules and cheque lodgements still tie most people to one bank account, but you can stop putting foreign spending through it.
For foreign spending, N26, with no transaction fee on any plan. For a free all-round account with an Irish IBAN, Revolut Standard. Among the banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland are level at €6 a month, and PTSB works out cheapest if you use the card constantly and collect the 5c cashback.
Only on ATM withdrawals: 12c each, capped at €5 a year for a combined ATM and debit card. Card payments, contactless and online purchases are not charged.
AIB and Bank of Ireland both charge €6 a month. Student, graduate and over-66 accounts are exempt at both, as are AIB accounts used to pay an AIB mortgage on your own home.
Revolut and bunq do. N26 does not; Irish customers get a German IBAN.
The cover is the same amount from a different country’s scheme: Lithuania’s for Revolut, Germany’s for N26, the Netherlands’ for bunq, all to €100,000. Irish banks sit under the Irish Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
No. Debit use is not credit and does not appear on the Central Credit Register, which only records credit agreements of €500 and above.