Best business bank accounts in Ireland: costs, Xero feeds and what to choose

By Richie Lennon

Provider information checked 12 October 2026

The short answer

For an Irish limited company, compare Revolut Business and Monzo Business for everyday digital banking, Wise for international payments, and AIB, Bank of Ireland or PTSB for cash lodgements and a lending relationship. Choose from your actual payment costs, Xero connection, controls and borrowing needs. Keep a funded backup with another provider. Plan for delayed payouts and lending three to four months ahead, so a busy sales month does not leave you short of usable cash.

The cheapest account is the one that fits how your business works. Saving €10 a month is a poor trade if you spend Friday exporting statements, chasing missing transactions or approving payments nobody has checked.

Our view is straightforward: use good digital banking, keep a relationship with a lender where you need one, and plan for interruptions before they happen. When sales grow quickly, access to the money can lag behind the success.

Where we would start

• Mostly euro invoices, little cash: compare Monzo Pro and Revolut Business on the feed, permissions and payments you need. Pro includes Xero; Monzo Team and Revolut Grow add stronger payment controls. The cheapest plan may not support the way your team works.
• International customers or suppliers: quote the actual currencies and amounts with Wise and Revolut. Check the recipient's net amount, transfer charges and exchange allowances together.
• Cash takings or likely borrowing: start with AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB. Compare lodgement costs and discuss the facility you will need. Add a digital account if it improves everyday payments.
• Fast-growing ecommerce: use those tests, then add payment-provider reserves, fulfilment timing and a funded backup. Cash in a gateway is not yet cash you can spend.

These are starting points for a banking setup, rather than one winner for every business.

Which business accounts should you compare?

These are starting prices for the named services, not the total cost of running an account. This comparison is for businesses in the Republic of Ireland. UK personal and business prices are different.

Sources: AIB fees, Bank of Ireland account, PTSB fees, Revolut plans, Monzo Ireland plans, bunq plans, Wise pricing, Fire pricing and SumUp account.

N26 Business is for self-employed people trading in their own name, rather than an account in a limited company's name. Its attractive personal-style features do not make it a company account. N26 eligibility.

Finom has an Ireland-facing international payments service. Confirm the exact Irish company eligibility, service scope and quoted fees before treating it as an alternative to a conventional current account. Its international offer is different from assuming every Finom plan advertised elsewhere is available here. Finom Ireland.

Revolut is good. Relying on it alone is a different decision

We like Revolut for day-to-day business banking. The product is easier to work with than much traditional Irish bank technology. Our preference is to combine that convenience with a separate banking relationship and cash reserve.

That view is about access as well as protection. A card restriction, information request or delayed transfer becomes a much larger problem when it affects all the money you need for payroll.

A second account only helps if it is open, funded and usable. Make a test payment. Confirm who can authorise a run if the usual person is unavailable. Keep enough accessible cash for the commitments your forecast identifies.

For the detailed product decision, read our Revolut Business review.

Compare a month's activity, not the monthly fee

Here is a narrow illustration: 100 outgoing electronic euro SEPA transfers a month, made individually through an eligible online banking channel, with no other chargeable activity. It excludes cash, foreign exchange, optional banking subscriptions, payment files and introductory discounts. Quarterly fees are shown as monthly equivalents.

Incoming transfers can also incur charges or use allowances. Price your receipts and payments together, and add the online banking subscription or payment-file service your business actually needs.

If you qualify, AIB and Bank of Ireland offer start-up packages with maintenance and transaction fee waivers for two years, subject to their terms. AIB's package excludes cash-handling fees from that waiver, with a separate discount. Compare the introductory cost and the cost after it ends. The illustration above uses standard fees. AIB business fees, Bank of Ireland start-up account.

Payment controls also matter. Revolut Basic does not include Grow's bulk payments and custom approvals. Monzo Team starts at €20 a month for up to six team members; extra members cost €5 each a month. A cheap account that leaves one person checking and authorising their own payments may be the wrong saving. Monzo Irish fee document.

Revolut shows why a plan comparison needs the currencies too. Add €12,000 of currency conversion during market hours to the same activity, with the monthly exchange allowance otherwise unused. Basic's €1,000 allowance leaves €11,000 charged at 0.6%, adding €66. The illustrated cost becomes €94. Grow's €15,000 allowance covers that conversion, leaving €35. This excludes international transfer and other charges. Basic fees, Grow fees.

For Wise, compare the quoted fee and amount arriving with the recipient. For bunq, pay attention to the period: its Core allowance is 100 qualifying transactions per year, not per month. Compare annual activity with the allowance, including the transactions that count towards it. bunq fee sheet.

Cash-heavy businesses need a different calculation. Using standard published cash-handling rates, lodging €20,000 in notes and €2,000 in coins costs €130 at AIB, €180 at Bank of Ireland and €140 at PTSB, before account and any separate lodgement charges. Start-up concessions can change that. An account that cannot accept cash will still need another route for the takings.

Which accounts connect to Xero?

A bank feed brings statement transactions into Xero. It does not prove that the transactions are complete, correctly matched or coded. A payment terminal's sales integration also does not prove that its business account has a bank feed.

Sources: Revolut's Xero integration, Monzo Ireland's Xero instructions, Wise connection, PTSB Irish feed, AIB direct feed and Fire statement exports.

In our day-to-day work, Revolut's own integration has been dependable. AIB and Bank of Ireland connections have needed closer checking for interruptions and incomplete data. We still check every feed against the bank. A reliable connection saves work; it does not remove responsibility for the records.

The practical test is who notices a failure. Give that work an owner:

1. Check when transactions last imported, allowing for the provider's documented schedule.
2. Compare Xero's statement balance with the bank for the same date and account.
3. Investigate gaps, duplicates and unmatched items; do not let a disconnected feed appear to mean no activity.
4. Reconnect when consent expires. Check existing entries before importing an overlapping replacement statement.

If your accountant says the feed is connected but cannot show that the numbers agree, the bookkeeping job is unfinished.

Our Irish Xero bank-feed guide explains the connection and reconciliation work in more detail.

Protect cash and keep access to it

Deposit protection and payment access answer different questions. Protection following a bank failure does not pay this Friday's wages while an account is under review.

For eligible deposits, Monzo's Irish business account falls under the Irish Deposit Guarantee Scheme, bunq under the Dutch scheme, and Revolut Bank UAB under Lithuania's scheme. The ordinary limit is €100,000 per depositor per bank, with eligibility and exclusions applying. Multiple accounts at the same bank share the limit. A limited company is a separate depositor from its owner; a sole trader's personal and business deposits at the same bank are generally aggregated.

For example, €90,000 in one company account and €40,000 in another at the same bank total €130,000. The ordinary €100,000 limit leaves €30,000 above it. Splitting the balance into pots does not increase the cover. The Irish scheme's depositor guidance explains which deposits and depositors qualify.

Check the provider's depositor sheet: Monzo, bunq and Revolut.

Wise, Fire and SumUp describe safeguarding arrangements rather than bank-deposit guarantee cover for these payment services. Safeguarding separates customer money under the applicable rules; it is not the same protection or repayment process as a deposit guarantee. Check the legal entity and product holding your money. Wise safeguarding, Fire terms, SumUp safeguarding.

Growing quickly? Manage the bank and payment provider as you go

We have seen businesses run short of usable cash while substantial customer receipts were waiting with a payment provider. Sales had happened, but suppliers and wages still needed paying before the money was released.

There are two different issues to plan for. Banks and payment providers can ask for information to verify your business, ownership and source of funds. These know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks can affect access if requests remain unresolved. Separately, a payment processor can hold a reserve against refunds, disputes and delivery risk. Stripe explicitly lists an unexplained sharp increase in processing volume as a reason a reserve may be applied. Revolut information requests, Stripe reserve guidance.

Do not wait for the hold before explaining the growth. Keep ownership records, contracts, invoices, supplier arrangements and fulfilment evidence ready. Tell the provider about material changes in volume, markets or business model through its proper support process. Ask what information it needs and what payout or reserve terms apply. This improves preparedness; it cannot guarantee that a review or hold will be avoided.

Put available bank cash, unsettled receipts and restricted funds on separate lines in the forecast. Use the provider's actual payout terms, then test a delay.

For example, suppose you have €40,000 available in the bank and €80,000 of payments due next week. You expect a €100,000 payout before those payments. If it arrives on time, you finish with €60,000. If it is delayed, you face a €40,000 shortfall. This is an illustration, not a client case or a standard reserve percentage.

An extra bank account cannot release money held by a gateway. It only provides resilience if you have money available there or an agreed facility. The useful question is how you will fund the gap while the hold is resolved. Our cash-flow forecasting guide covers the planning work.

The traditional bank still has a job

AIB and Bank of Ireland technology can be frustrating. We would not dismiss the banking relationship because of it. If you need an overdraft, finance for stock or equipment, or support with a larger lending request, assess that relationship alongside the app.

An overdraft can bridge a temporary working-capital gap. Stock purchases, slower customer receipts and seasonal trading can create that gap even in a profitable business. Ask the lender which facility suits the need, its cost, security, conditions and repayment terms. Do not assume that a current account comes with credit, or that a short-term overdraft is the right way to fund a long-term loss. Bank of Ireland business finance.

In our experience, traditional banks are slow and cautious when assessing lending. Borrowing is generally easier to discuss before you are short of cash. Look three to four months ahead: identify the low point, the amount needed, what causes it and how it will be repaid. Take up-to-date management accounts, a cash forecast and evidence behind the assumptions to the bank while you still have time to act. An application is not funding until approval and drawdown conditions are met.

The owner's mortgage can matter too. AIB's guidance for self-employed applicants and company directors includes certified accounts, tax information and recent business bank statements. A clear record of income and transfers helps prepare that evidence; banking with AIB does not guarantee approval. AIB mortgage documentation.

If funds have passed through a crypto exchange or payment platform, preserve the complete trail from their source to the account receiving them and ask the lender what evidence it needs. A gateway balance, a crypto holding and an accessible bank deposit are different things. Do not assume an app balance will be accepted as proof of income or an available mortgage deposit.

Opening an account without delaying trading

Check eligibility before applying: the company structure, trading activity, director residency and ownership can affect which accounts are available. Monzo Ireland, for example, supports eligible private limited companies and sole traders, with Irish residency and company conditions. bunq also publishes specific Irish business eligibility. Monzo eligibility, bunq Irish eligibility.

Have identification and address evidence, incorporation details, beneficial ownership information, authorised signatories and a clear explanation of your trading ready. Follow the provider's document list rather than assuming every bank requires the same pack. Explain expected payments, countries and volumes accurately. A limited company's funds should be held in its own name; do not choose a personal account simply because it is quicker to open.

Account opening and credit approval have separate timelines. Allow for queries and verification rather than committing wages or supplier dates to an advertised opening speed.

Choose a setup your finance team can run

The aim is fewer payment problems and dependable numbers. Review the setup when volumes, currencies, staffing or funding needs change, not just when the subscription renews.

Before switching, list payroll, supplier payments, direct debits, tax payments, customer bank details and subscriptions. Move them deliberately, with a funded overlap between accounts. Download the old statements and reconcile the handover date before closing anything.

If the owner still has to prepare, check, approve and reconcile every payment, a better banking app has only solved part of the problem. Separate those responsibilities, use individual logins and set sensible approval limits. Verify changes to supplier bank details through a trusted contact before paying. An approval button is not a fraud check.

At Around Finance, we see banking as part of the finance process: clean bookkeeping, reconciled balances, clear responsibilities and visibility of upcoming cash needs. Our outsourced finance service brings that work into an agreed scope. Forecasting and payment support should be agreed for your business, not assumed from a software connection.

If you run an Irish business turning over €250,000 or more and want a finance process that keeps up with it, book a Finance Fit Call.

Frequently asked questions