Bank of Ireland Reviews 

I have had a very difficult time getting banking 365 setup for my sports organisation.
I made several visits to BOI Naas and completed all the forms. Then when I was told all was in order I said what about B365 they said that organisation will be in touch in the next 48 hours. So I had my phone next to me and its now 6 days . I just cannot get time away from my desk to get into branch its so frustrating. One of our main vendors is getting upset and its not fair all round. When you make a complaint it doesn't even give you a complaint number or send you an email ! so you have no information to discuss . I am glad I am with AIB all my life and my group is mainly Danske although some if it is BOI.

Dreadful customer service. "365" banking should be "260" banking......only available weekdays. Card transactions take several days to appear on the account. as with other reviews you get put on interminable hold while well meaning but untrained staff " consult with their team". Was cut off during a call and had my card blocked because they hadn't "completed " the call. They didn't make any effort to contact me, If there was 0 stars that's what they deserve.

Atrocious from the get go. Went into a branch to set up a savings account and was asked a load of irrelevant personal questions during the set up process.. unprofessional and I felt obliged to answer them at the time. Chased up my account for weeks and kept being given excuses from the agent who was meant to be setting it up. Chased it up for months over the phone with the call centre. 4/5 months later the account was finally set up. Found out I would only be able to do cash withdrawals even though I had been told I would be able to make transfers in and out of the account, so it wasn’t fit for my purpose anymore. Chased it up over the phone for weeks, they kept saying someone would ring me back.. they never did. Every time I rang they didn’t know why I couldn’t do transfers. Eventually a phone operative told me it’s because my account had been set up after October that year. At that point I gave up, only to later notice I initially went in to set up the account in early March and the account wasn’t set up for me until end of July.. before October!! Made 1 transfer to the account in 3 years and 1 withdrawal a few months after it. Had €25 left in the account. Keep getting asked to send proof of my employment despite not even using the account. Have had accounts with permanent tsb for over 15 years have never been hassled for anything and no other BOI customer I know gets hassled like this. Then they blocked my account so I can’t take out my €25 now without even more hassle with them. Beyond shocking, I thought a bank would be professional and efficient. Would never be able to recommend this crowd. It would be 0 stars only for the fact one of my local branches has very polite staff. Another hopeless experience with this crowd: a family member sent money to my permanent tsb account from their bank of Ireland current account. Months passed and there was no sign of the money. He rang them to sort it out within those months and they kept saying they’d fixed it but it was never fixed. Eventually he made a formal complaint and at that point they sent the money but then sent him a letter saying he owed them a huge overdraft which he didn’t and there was no record of it when he logged into his bank account… he’s also had terrible trouble accessing the app and when he rings up about it they tell him someone will ring him back about it and they never do.. absolutely nothing but hardship

I'd give no stars if Trustpilot allowed it.

We tried to make a payment using the BOI Business Approve system. It failed each time causing our PC to lock up.

A call to their Business Centre (joke) didn't resolve the issue because they are located in India, and the comms link is so bad (it hasn't improved, despite what BOI say) we can not understand anything.

The BOI branch business manager advises there is a new system in place; the old one no longer works. We were never advised of the change, and are no longer able to pay our suppliers on-line.

Despite this, the business manager, a Paula Lavin, gave no advice how to resolve the problem.

With numerous problems we've had in the past with BOI we are firmly convinced they would rather do without small businesses, as they are reluctant to help.

The problem in Ireland is that it is a corrupt country, and only works if you have the money to make it work for you.

Shocking service. Irish BOI phone operators get you off the line asap and you find yourself talking to an Indian operator who has no clue how to deal with your request. I answered the same 'security' questions 4 times in 15 minutes, trying to extract the answer to a very very simple question. The operator had to keep putting me on hold while he 'consulted with his team'.

A complete farce.

I applied for an Affinity credit card, received the wrong university image/name - nobody can help.

Pathetic.

Not great bank. Transactions takes ages, specially if sending money to other countries while other banks can transfer the money in the minutes. App is slow I can only see minuses

If I could give zero stars, I would. Our experience with BOI has been extremely disappointing and frustrating.

We first decided to open an account with BOI, but the process was unnecessarily long and inefficient. While another bank processed my account smoothly and delivered my card within a few days, my husband had to wait more than two months before his BOI account and card became available—despite being repeatedly told by customer service that it would arrive “within a few days.” To make things worse, BOI also charges higher fees compared to competitors.

Later, we applied for a BOI credit card because of their advertised travel rewards. The application claimed to be processed within 24 hours, but weeks passed with no update. Only when we followed up did we learn that additional documents were required—something we were never informed about beforehand. After submitting the requirements, we were told the card was approved and would arrive within 5–7 days. Yet again, weeks passed with no card. Multiple follow-ups led to the same vague response: “It’s still in process.” No clear explanation, no accountability. After more than two months of waiting, we finally decided to cancel and applied with another bank (R******), which came highly recommended for both service and travel rewards.

This entire experience has been a complete waste of time. BOI’s processes are slow, disorganized, and inconsistent. Their customer service provides generic answers but no real solutions. Compared to other banks in Ireland, BOI is falling behind in both system efficiency and client service.

We will never recommend BOI to anyone. If BOI doesn’t improve its processes and customer service, it will continue to lose clients to competitors who provide faster, more reliable, and customer-focused service.

Verdict: Worst banking experience we’ve ever had.

They never call you back when they say they will totally useless

Absolutely useless bank. No help. Just like every other bank useless

My 365 pin was blocked because of problems with the app. i have tried twice to unblock my pin. Failed both times due to the bank's system problems. I was transferred on both attempts to a call centre presumably in India judging from the accents of the callers and answered all the usual security questions. They both then informed me that I was now being transferred to another system where I could enter my new pin. All I got on this transfer was music which went on for at least ten minutes before they each intervened
and said sorry this system isn't working try again. I now am unable to
access my account which I need urgently to pay bills. This service is disgraceful and I don;t know when I will be able to get into my acount again. So frustrating and unacceptable service.

Utterly, embarrassingly useless app for business banking. Currently locked out of my account until Monday at the earliest, followed instructions as per conversation with advisor over the phone and still no luck.

Holly from Customer Care helped me swap my banking 365 app over to my new device.

She was so patient and helpful and had lovely energy.

I would put a negative star if I could. My mortgage application has been handled so unprofessionally, I could not believe it. They kept going in circles, requesting the same documents (already provided) all over and over again and in the end completely forgot about my application. Avoid them if you could :)

I called the bank for a simple Central Credit Register document that I’ve been waiting for 3 weeks. The lady on the phone was extremely rude, just told me “you have to wait” and then hung up on me. Very disrespectful and unprofessional. Terrible service, not recommended at all.

I recently tried to open a current account at a Dublin branch and faced clear discrimination from the man who appeared to be in charge. He asked me inappropriate, unnecessary questions in a raised voice that other customers could hear. While the women at the branch were supportive, the overall experience was terrible. Three weeks later, my application is still missing — today I was told it couldn’t even be found in the system. After checking online, I saw many other negative reviews for this branch. If you are a foreigner in Ireland, I would strongly advise against using this bank.

I tried to install BOI app on my new phone and I couldnt do it. Finally my account was blocked!!!! When I contacted BOI customer service I was told that I cant have 2 phones connected to my account. They had to remove it and add my new phone manually!!!! Disgraceful. I didnt have any issues to install app with different bank. BOI weekly is doing maintenance accounts not updated, old systems lack of proper service.

Years — if not decades — behind. I made a payment to a client through the app and needed a proof of payment. There’s no way to get one. Taking a screenshot? Not allowed (while most other banks have no issue with this). I contacted customer support — it took a full day to get a response, and they simply sent me a screenshot of the transaction line. What am I supposed to send to my supplier?
I asked for a PDF or any formal document I could email. The bank said they can’t provide any other form of proof of payment. Why not just allow screenshots from the app?
On top of that, the app doesn’t let me use biometrics because I have both business and personal accounts linked — which is completely normal. And I can’t even check my business card PIN in the app, though I can for my personal account.
They’ve closed most of their physical branches across the country to cut costs, yet still can’t invest in competent app development to bring the service into the modern era.

I am currently in the process of applying for a mortgage, and I must express that the level of customer service I have received has been the worst I have ever experienced.

BOI don't make clear on the application form when creating a deposit account that unless you already have a current account with them, you will only be able to withdraw savings on person at the branch.
I immediately tried to cancel my application by contacting them on social media. The usual avenues of phone support and contact forms are not available to me as I don't have an account number etc, and I eventually had to use ChatGPT to find a contact email.

Extremely unprofessional set up from BOI.

BOI customer living in Canada
They have essentially blocked my access to my account as their app cannot update the PIN.
Application is like something built from 1997.
I will have to fly into Ireland to fix the problem as I need access to the money.
Awful