James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad ATMs were mentioned as I know it is a way many of the bigger supermarkets handle their cash flow and get it out. Will the witnesses share any research they have done on the cost of cash lodgements in this country versus other countries? Is there any independent research that can indicate the real cost of that to a bank? In other words, is there an empirical approach that would indicate what it costs the bank to handle X, Y or Z? It must be independent as we can all play games with figures.

There is a similar issue with the plastic card. There is the correct questioning of how the costs of the card are arrived at. We will not quote any infamous bankers but where was the figure plucked from? How did it come about and where is the evidence base for it? We would be very interested in that because, as the Chairman states, we are bringing in people from the banks. The more information we have to challenge them with, the better we can take them to task for the charges being imposed on people. As pointed out in the document, we all know they have become more remote and less inclined to have face-to-face interactions with customers.

I was informed by somebody near and dear to me that there is a policy in some banks to watch out for grey heads so they can be helped. Everybody else would have to use the automatic machines. On a serious note, this is a major cost to business and we would like to be able to challenge the banks. When the committee has heard the evidence, perhaps we can make a case for an identifiable body to act as an arbiter on costs that should be levied on business by banks and financial institutions. We will have people from credit unions in as well, whose charges are different.