It’s not very cool, but the post off ice has a lot more than stamps!

minutes has strings attached. You have to already be a Virgin customer.

It’s clearly designed to entice more customers onto its primary TV/broadband services.

Next comes Tesco’s €14.52 a month for a similar amount of calls and texts plus 10GB of data.

An Post’s deal is well beaten in third place and only comes with 250 minutes and texts.

But who on earth needs 10,000 texts anyway?! And An Post has no stipulations and still bests the rest.

SAVINGS

No savings rates will set your pulse racing these days but An Post still beats all the banks hands down. Its returns are also tax-free, which can make the returns almost twice as good again. Remember too that you can take your money out before the five years are up and will still earn some interest, unlike some bank accounts where you can’t withdraw cash without severe penalties.

LOTTO VERSUS PRIZE BONDS

An Post’s prize bonds beat the socks off the Lotto.

Your chances of winning a big prize are just as unlikely, but at least you get to keep your money – which can add up to a pretty penny in the long run.

Prize bonds payouts are half a per cent of the total fund – which is the equivalent to earning half a per cent interest.

As you can cash in prize bonds, any time, this beats the best on-demand interest.

There may be a banking revolution, but don’t forget about the post office! An Post isn’t past it in the new age of digital banking.

Putting your money in the old fashioned post office (or credit union) can still make the most sense! An Post has a wide range of services that compare surprisingly well with – and in some cases knock the socks off – financial institutions, whether new or old school. Here’s how An Post compares:

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

An Post makes a bit of a fuss about not charging commission on currency exchange. But that’s a bit misleading as, like banks, it can manipulate the actual rates of exchange to charge more or less as it sees fit.

Having said that, An Post currency exchange beats the banks – but not the digital banks like Revolut and N26, which charge no commission and use interbank exchanges (i.e. the best rate).

BANKING

Fintech digital banking apps may think they are kings of snazzy new banking technology but An Post still has a few tricks up its sleeve – its ‘smart account’ features an app, budgeting wallets, contactless payments and all the usual stuff associated with digital banking.

The big plus of the post office for many, however, is old-school – i.e. there are real branches with real people behind the counter who actually talk to you.

LIFE INSURANCE

If you are old or infirm, An Post (and credit unions) are your best bet for life cover, or at least a limited form of it, without undergoing a medical exam.

An Post provides cover up to €30,000 (depending on your monthly contributions) once your policy has been in force for two years or more.

If you die within the first two years of your policy being in force, your dependants will receive a sum equal to the amount you have paid into the policy at that time.

Digital banks are aimed at young millennials who are convinced they’re immortal – so life cover isn’t a priority.

PET INSURANCE

We compared pet insurance deals recently and An Post’s offering did pretty well. It had cheaper deals and better features than some of the main operators.

MOBILE PHONE DEALS

An Post isn’t the cheapest mobile phone company but it does pretty well to beat almost all the multitude of new mobile phone firms.

An Post ranks third cheapest in a phone deal comparison by telecommunications regulator Comreg (based on high data usage; otherwise its fourth).

But top dog Virgin’s tasty offering of a whopping 30GB of data and 10,000 free texts and