Whatisamobilebankand whywouldIchooseone?
Q I see a German ‘mobile’ bank has started offering accounts in Ireland. Who and what are they? What are the pros and cons? Are deposits sufficiently protected and are they properly regulated? A This bank – called Number26 – is a new type of European bank. Set up just over a year ago in Berlin, it signed up 80,000 German and Austrian customers. And late last year, Number26 expanded into Ireland, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Slovakia.
It aims to be the first borderless bank with a low-cost service that bypasses traditional banking bureaucracy and undercuts what it claims are overpriced services.
Some users seem to like the low charges, especially for using ATMs abroad. It’s particularly popular with people who travel a lot and use it for banking on ‘the go’. However, there are limitations. As services are based around electronic money transfer, Number26 can’t accept deposits here yet. It also doesn’t offer any service for cheques. And some service providers don’t seem to process Number26’s direct debits.
Nonetheless, Number26 represents the future of banking – ie few physical branches, no paper trail, and a service based around a smartphone app.
That’s how it can undercut other mainstream banks on charges putting them under even more pressure to cut back on their traditional services. So older customers who are not comfortable banking on the internet and prefer to have a person-toperson paper service may lose out in the long run from this development.
Number26 isn’t regulated in Ireland but it is in Germany. (Banks only need to be regulated in the EU to do business here) It claims that deposits (guaranteed up to €100,000 here), are protected up to several million euro per depositor under a voluntary insurance scheme for German banks. Q My car is near the end of its life. How do I go about scrapping it and how much should I expect to get for it? Are scrappage deals any use? A Some companies will give you a discount of up to several thousand euros on a new car purchase if you trade in an old one. But these deals can vary enormously.
Some only accept cars no more than five years old – others may accept a complete banger regardless of the condition.
If you don’t want to buy a brand new car and need to scrap your old one yourself, then some scrapyards, or recycling centres as they are now known, pay up to €100. But others won’t pay anything.
Make sure you choose a reputable one, or you could be in trouble if the car resurfaces having been sold on illegally to an unlicensed or other driver, leaving you responsible for speeding tickets etc that may accumulate.
Legitimate operators also have an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) Licence, which requires them to invest substantially in the necessary equipment required to recycle cars properly.
It’s a criminal offence to recycle a scrapped car without an environmental permit but there are still unlicensed operators throughout Ireland who will do so anyway.
You will need to get the Form RF120 signed and stamped at a Garda Station, and present it, along with the Certificate of Destruction at your local motor tax office.
Also call your car insurers and let them know your car has been scrapped. They’ll generally give you the option of either transferring any funds you hold with them towards insuring your next vehicle, or of giving you a refund for any unused months left on the term of the policy.
If there’s a minimum of three complete months of road tax left on the car you are scrapping, you can also get a refund for any complete months remaining.
A new website – www.cartakeback.ie – will provide an instant quote for your car online and offers a collection or local dropoff service. Or you can call them on 1800 844 389.