AIB HAS SUSPENDED introducing contactless fees of 1 cent per payment due to the coronavirus outbreak, the bank said this evening. 

It was reported on Tuesday that AIB current account customers would be charged for contactless payments along with more maintenance and transaction fees from 30 May this year. 

“In the light of the current Covid-19 outbreak AIB is suspending the planned introduction of the contactless fee,” a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement this evening. 

A spokesperson for AIB confirmed the bank would still be bringing in the other charges for current accounts as planned in May. 

A fee of 1 cent was due to be introduced for each contactless payment from the end of May, the bank told customers in a letter. 

A quarterly maintenance fee of €4.50 will still be introduced for current accounts. 

At the moment, current account customers with a bank balance of at least €2,500 are not charged quarterly maintenance and transaction fees.  

Student, graduate, advantage and basic bank accounts will continue to be free of maintenance and transaction fees. 

Customers who have an AIB mortgage and pay their mortgage direct debit from an AIB current account are also exempt from the charges. 

Today, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said his department would be contacting AIB about the contactless charges directly.