Bunq Ireland is an online bank that offers higher savings returns and better online service all for less money than traditional Irish banks. Find out more in our Bunq Ultimate Review .
This is what you need to know:
Bunq is an online platform who aim to make banking easy for their customers, operating entirely online through it’s mobile app and website.
The one thing that sets it apart from other banks is it’s interest on deposits. It’s one of the best deposit rates on overnight savings available, only beaten by Trade Republic. Where Bunq win out over Trade Republic though is you can upgrade to make it your bank account as well.
| Best Instant Saving Accounts | Bunq | Raisin | AIB | N26 | Trade Republic | Revolut |
| Savings Rate (AER) | 3.11% | 2.07% | 0.25% | 1.3% | 2.5% | 1.70% |
| Term | Instant | Instant | Instant | Instant | Instant | Instant |
| Conditions | upto €100,000 | upto €100,000 | no limit | no limit | upto €50,000 | upto €100,000 |
The comparison above is based on the free entry tiers for all banks so is directly comparable, paid tiers have higher rates of interest. These paid tier headline rates are often advertised by some of the banks, but can be misleading a due to the required subscription.
This deposit rate is available for free through Bunq’s Easy Savings plan, and that’s why we think if you’re looking for a bank with a great savings rate, Bunq is one of the best options out there for you.
In this Bunq Ireland Review, we look at who Bunq are, what they offer their customers, how to set up a Bunq Ireland account, the pro’s and con’s of setting up a Bunq Ireland account, and finally we round off this Bunq Ireland Review by looking at some of the alternatives to a Bunq account.
You can also check out our video of how Bunq’s Easy Savings Plan compares to other savings options here.
Who are Bunq?- Bunq Review
Bunq, the “Bank of the Free”, are a European online banking platform licensed by the Dutch Central Bank. They offer a variety of banking services to their Irish customers, such as debit cards, current accounts, budgeting tools, and money transfers.
Bunq Ireland works through it’s online mobile banking app and website, allowing users to save, spend, budget, and invest all from their phone. This provides customers with a user-friendly interface and convenient access to banking services wherever and whenever they might need them.
What do they offer customers?- Bunq Ireland
Bunq offer their customers the choice of a personal, joint, or business account. Once you’ve picked the account you want you’ll need to pick your plan.
There are 4 different Bunq Ireland plans for customers to choose from: The Easy Savings plan, The Easy Bank plan, The Easy Bank Pro, and The Easy Bank Pro XL (Green Account). Here’s a breakdown of the monthly and yearly cost of each plan:
| Cost | Easy Savings Personal Plan | Easy Bank Personal Plan | Easy Bank Pro | Easy Bank Pro XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | €0 | €2.99 | €8.99 | €17.99 |
| Yearly | €0 | €35.88 | €107.88 | €215.88 |
Easy Savings Plan
For free, users can enjoy Bunq’s Easy Savings plan, which offers a 3.11% bonus interest rate for new savers and a 1.61% base interest rate on the first €10,000 of their balance. Any portion above €10,000 earns the base rate of 1.51%, subject to bunq’s applicable balance thresholds. Users can withdraw money from their account up to twice a month in real time. Deposits are protected under the applicable deposit guarantee scheme, and interest is paid monthly.
The extra interest on your savings can really mount up compared to the poor savings rates available from the Irish retail banks.
| Instant Access | APR | Principal | Years | Cumulative | Cumulative Interest | Net of DIRT | Increase Over Irish Banks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Rate Ireland | 0.11% | €10,000 | 3 | €10,033 | €33 | €10,022 | |
| Bunq | 3.36% | €10,000 | 3 | €11,059 | €1,059 | €10,710 | €687 |
| AIB (Best Ireland Rate) | 0.25% | €10,000 | 3 | €10,075 | €75 | €10,050 | |
| Bunq | 3.36% | €10,000 | 3 | €11,059 | €1,059 | €10,710 | €659 |
Users can also enable the Auto Save feature, which rounds users payments to the nearest € and sends the spare change to their Savings Account.
Easy Bank Plan
For €2.99 a month, users can enjoy the Easy Bank plan. The Easy Bank plan allows users to add IBAN’s from Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Spain, allowing users to continue loan repayments whilst abroad, send money, and receive payments from other EU countries with no added fees. This feature also allows users to spend and save in more than 15 foreign currencies.
Unlike the Easy Savings plan, the Easy Bank plan includes a physical card, instant payments, refund requests, in-store deposit from 10,000 stores across Europe, switching services, and projections of future account balances. The Easy Bank plan also allows users to create a joint account, allow shared access, and ‘Bunq’ with friends through opening a Bunq pack.
Easy Bank Pro
For an extra €6 a month, users can get the Easy Bank Pro, Bunq’s most popular plan. The Bank Pro plan allows users to budget with up to 25 sub-accounts, provide monthly spending insights, access IBAN’s for each sub-account, and automatically sort income into your budget. The Easy Bank pro account also allows you to save 3% automatically when you spend abroad with their Zero FX feature.
Unlike the Easy Savings and Easy Bank plan, the Easy Bank Pro plan gives customers access to 25 DigiCards, 3 physical cards, invoice scanning, an automatic payment sorter, a secondary PIN, and a metal card. On top of that, the Easy Bank Pro plan also allows users to invest their spare change in stock automatically, receive insights to track their spending, and receive Bunq deals.
Easy Bank Pro XL (Green Account)
Finally, for €17.99 a month users can access the Easy Bank Pro XL. The Easy Bank Pro XL plan focuses on sustainability, with an aim to help the planet become CO2-free within 2 years. With the Easy Bank Pro XL plan, for every you €100 spend, Bunq will plant a tree in one of their reforestation projects. Unlike the other Bunq plans, which will plant a tree for every €1,000 spent. The Easy Bank Pro XL plan is also the only plan to offer purchase protection on metal card purchases. Aswell as the only Bunq plan to include cashback benefits.
Bunq plans Round Up-Bunq Ireland
In short, whilst these 4 plans all vary in price, features and services that they offer, all Bunq Ireland plans offer customers with freedom of choice regarding where their money will be invested, a savings account, 24/7 online support, deposit protection, parent access, a travel assistant, instant notifications when money is moved, face and fingerprint ID to keep their account secure, and group expenses.
Bunq also offers a 30-day free trial of all plans, and have made it easy to switch or cancel a plan at anytime.
How do I set up an account?-Bunq Ireland
Signing up for any of the four plans Bunq Ireland offer is really simple and straightforward. As part of this Bunq Ireland Review, we went through the Bunq sign up process to see what it entails.
First, select which account you wish to set up. You have the option to set up rather a personal, business, or joint account. Then you need to fill in your personal details. This includes your name, date of birth, email address, home address, and phone number.
Once these details are filled in, you’re given access to a Bunq demo account where you can start using Bunq instantly as part of your 30 day free trial. You can then sign up to access the rest of Bunq’s Ireland’s features.
To sign up, you simply need to confirm your phone number so Bunq can send you a security code to set up your account. Next you’ll need to upload some proof of ID, then once you’re account is verified through an online video call you’re all good to go.
Who can set up an account?
Anyone living within the European Economic Area, as well as those who have recently become refugees due to the war in Ukraine are eligible to set up a Bunq account.
If you are under the age of 18 you will need parental or guardian approval. Keep in mind your parent or guardian must also have a Bunq account.
Pros and Cons to opening a Bunq account – Bunq Review
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Allows users to choose how their money is invested | Free deposit account, but no free current account options available |
| High interest rates on deposits up to €100,000 | Additional fees with each account |
| Deposits are 100% insured | Fairly expensive premium tiers |
| Offers 24/7 online support | Only available in a limited number of countries |
| Offers a 30 day free trial for all their plans | Some customers report account verification delays |
| Easy to switch or cancel plans | |
| Offer a user friendly interface and easy access to banking services | |
| Has advanced security measures |
What are the alternatives to Bunq?-Bunq Review
Revolut
Another well known online banking platform used by over two million people in Ireland is Revolut. So what’s the difference between these two online banks? For this Bunq Ireland Review, we’re going to compare the Bunq Easy Bank Plan with the Revolut Standard account, and look at both in terms of their price, their fees, and the features that they offer.
Bunq vs Revolut: Accounts
| Entry Level Current Accounts | Cost per month | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Revolut Standard Account | Free | – Easy money transfers to 2 million Irish customers – Irish IBAN |
| Bunq Easy Bank Plan | €2.99 (30 day free trial) | – Overnight savings rate of 3.36% – Irish IBAN |
Bunq vs Revolut: Features
| Features Offered | Revolut | Bunq |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency Trading | Yes | No |
| Currencies offered | 28 | 15 |
| Irish IBAN offered | Yes | Yes |
| Account for under 18’s | Yes | Yes |
Bunq vs Revolut: Fees
| Revolut Standard | Bunq Easy Bank | |
|---|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawals Fee | Up to €200- No charge After €200- 2% charge | First 5 withdrawals are €0.99, withdrawals after that are €2.99. |
| Transfer Fee | Free when transferring money to other Revolut accounts. 0.7% fee on what you are sending when transferring money to non-Revolut accounts within Europe. 2.3% fee on what you’re sending when transferring money to non-Revolut accounts outside of Europe (€0.46 minimum fee). | Free to send/receive money. |
| Top-up Fee | Free for EEA Cards Small fee for Non-EEA Cards | 0.5% for EEA Cards 2.5% for non-EEA Cards (first €500 free per month). |
This data was gathered from the CCPC and other sources [1].
Bunq in a nutshell: Is it worth it?-Bunq Review
To conclude our Bunq Review, whilst a Bunq account is more expensive than it’s alternatives, this online banking platform offers some amazing features that aren’t being offered by other banks.
If you are looking to save, we believe Bunq are your best option with their offers a 3.11% bonus interest rate for new users, while the standard base rate is 1.61% on the first €10,000 and 1.51% on any balance above €10,000. We also believe if you are someone who travels often, Bunq’s multiple local IBAN’s are a great way for you to spend abroad without facing any additional fees.
However, if you wish to open a current account with less of a focus on saving or spending abroad, we we believe Revolut may be the better option, as unlike Bunq, Revolut make it easy to send and receive money instantly to other Revolut users at no cost. You can check out our in depth Revolut review here.
You can sign up online to Bunq here.
What’s the Best Online Account for Deposits?
Bunq offers a 3.11% bonus interest rate for new users. The standard base rate is 1.61% on the first €10,000 of your balance, with any portion above €10,000 earning 1.51%.
What are the requirements for setting up a Bunq Savings Account?
There are no requirements from Bunq, meaning anyone can set up a savings account with Bunq.
When is the interest that I’ve earned sent to my Savings Account?
Bunq will send your interest to your Savings Account on a monthly basis.
How does Bunq calculate my interest?
Bunq will take the lowest balance of your savings account(s) from the day before and then apply your daily interest rate to a maximum of €100,000.
On the first of each month, Bunq will then add everything together and pay it to your savings account.
13 thoughts on “Ultimate Bunq Review: Who is the Best Online Bank?”
Hi – in case of my death, will it be necessary to obtain probate in Holland or some other country in order to distribute my estate?
Hi Donal, usually the Irish probate process will deal with overseas assets as well as those in country.
Thanks for the great review! Is it possible to just open a saving account (without a current account) with Bunq for free? Would you recommend this? And is it easy to access the funds?
Hi Tanya, yes you can open the savings account for free. That’s what sets them apart from some of the other accounts and why we recommend Bunq over others. The only thing to watch for on the withdrawals is that you are limited to 2 a month, that even caught me out once!Apart from that it’s really easy to withdraw your funds by just transferring to your current account via IBAN.
I’ve read some reviews and was put off by some of the negative feedback. If there is a problem with an account and you cant resolve the problem with banq, who do i contact
There’s a pretty good support messaging function in the app. We found the very responsive and helpful, even with more complex queries.
Hi, thanks for this info.
On the Bunq website, they speak of base interest rate and bonus interest rate. Bonus interest rate apparently given to all deposits for first 6 months.
But – it seems that, at the end of calendar 6 months – eg 1st Jan 2025/1st July 2025 – the vast bulk of deposit then qualifies for the lower base rate – currently 2.16% – and only new added deposits above the threshold figure qualify for the “bonus” rate, which is the 3.36% that receives such publicity.
If this is true, then overall average interest from the second 6 months onwards is significantly less than 3.36%.
Can you please clarify?
Thank you.
Hi Terry, understandable question as the rates can get quite confusing with the ‘bonus’ interest rate. The way it works is that you will get the bonus rate (currently 3.36%) on all savings you have over your balance on the 1st of July 2024. Savings under that balance will get the base rate of 2.16% currently. This means if you are a brand new Bunq customer you will get 3.36% currently on the whole amount, until the threshold resets in January after which you will only get the 3.36% on additional amounts over the balance as of that date. Hope that makes sense! Thanks, Mark
Do you have a phone number or a helpline that works
If I had a problem could I speak to a human.
Hi Brendan, like most digital banks bunq don’t have a phone number for general customer service, the do have a chat function though that you can contact human beings through! As far as I know only Raisin of the digital banks offer a customer service number as they deal with a slightly older demographic. Hope that helps! Mark
Great review! I’m really considering switching to Bunq after reading about the features and benefits compared to other online banks in Ireland. The detailed comparisons really helped clarify things for me. Thanks for the insights!
On your review of BUNQ savings account – in the table “Best interest savings account” it says BUNQ pays an AER of 3.36%.
However further down the review page – in the section “pros and Cons of opening a Bunq savings account” it says “Offer 2.46% interest on deposits up to €100,000 ”
Can you explain this discrepancy.
Regards
John
Hi John, thanks for pointing this out. The rate for new depositors is 3.36%, 2.46% is the old rate which we still have there in error. We have made this correction! Thanks, Mark