How to reduce or avoid fees, charges and interest

Consider the features all our personal bank accounts offer to make sure that you have the right account for your needs.

Keep control of your account by checking your balance regularly. With eBanking and Mobile Banking, there are more ways than ever to stay on top of your finances 24 hours a day, no matter where you are. All of these services allow you to:

• check your account balances and view records of payments to and from your account; and
• transfer funds from your other Danske Bank accounts if your balance is low, to make sure you stay in credit.

Find out more about ways to bank with us.

Set up free text or email alerts

We offer a range of alerts that can be managed through eBanking. We can tell you:

• what your balance is (you can arrange daily, weekly or monthly alerts);
• when a payment is made from your account;
• when a payment is made to your account; and
• when your account balance falls below a certain amount set by you.

You can receive alerts by email or by text message to your mobile phone.

Find out more about email and text services.

Overdraft Text Alerts

Overdraft alerts can help you manage your account and may also help you to avoid charges.

If you give us your mobile number we’ll automatically register you to get text alerts when you go into arranged or unarranged overdraft. The arranged overdraft text will tell you when you have started to use the overdraft and help you monitor your arranged overdraft use.

The unarranged overdraft text will tell you when you go overdrawn, for example when a payment leaves your account and you don’t have enough funds to cover it. It will also tell you how much you need to pay into your account and by what time, helping you stay in control of your finances.

If you change your mind later and want to stop getting these texts, or if you didn’t give us your number and want to start getting them, please contact us on 0345 600 2882. If you’ve already asked us not to send these alerts then nothing will change.

You can check your balance and order mini-statements showing recent payments to and from your account at any Danske Bank cash machine in Northern Ireland. You can do this any time of the day or night.

If you occasionally need to have extra funds in your current account, you should talk to us about arranging an overdraft. If you don’t arrange it first you run the risk of items being returned unpaid.

Please remember that overdrafts are repayable on demand. This means you will have to repay the overdraft in full when we ask you to.

Stay within your arranged overdraft limit and make sure that the limit matches your needs. There is no point in having an overdraft limit you don't really need.

Don't use a debit card if you do not have enough money available in your account to pay for whatever you buy.

We allow you time to manage your account. So if a standing order, direct debit or other payment is due to be taken from your account, we give you time to bring your account into credit, or within your arranged overdraft limit, by paying in or transferring cash on the day the payment is due to be paid.

The cut-off time for paying in or transferring funds depends on the type of payment that is due to be made. The detailed times are set out in the payment table.

If your direct debits or standing orders are leaving your account on an inconvenient date, you should review your monthly incomings and outgoings and arrange to change the payment dates to ones that are more suitable for you.

If you want to change the date a direct debit leaves your account you will have to contact the company that takes the direct debit.

You can change the date a standing order leaves your account through eBanking, the Mobile Bank app or by contacting your branch.

Note: If you want to change the date a Danske Bank loan payment is taken from your account, you should contact your branch. Changing the payment date may affect the amount of interest that you have to pay on a loan.

We have introduced a monthly cap on the charges you will have to pay for using an unarranged overdraft. If you go into an unarranged overdraft, you will never be charged more than the monthly cap that applies to your account.

Monthly cap on unarranged overdraft charges

1. Each current account will set a monthly maximum charge for:
   • going overdrawn when you have not arranged an overdraft; or
   • going over/past your arranged overdraft limit (if you have one).
2. This cap covers any:
   • interest and fees for going over/past your arranged overdraft limit;
   • fees for each payment your bank allows despite lack of funds; and
   • fees for each payment your bank refuses due to lack of funds.

For more information on the monthly cap for your account, including the amount of the monthly cap, the fees the monthly cap applies to, and how the monthly cap works, refer to our Fees and service charges explained brochure.

If you are having financial difficulties, let us know as soon as possible. We will do all we can to help you overcome your difficulties.

If you would like a better understanding of your finances, we have a useful budget calculator to help you work out your monthly income, expenses and living costs.

Before you apply for a Danske Bank overdraft, you can check how likely you are to get one using our Eligibility Tool. If you want to get an idea of how much having an overdraft could cost, you can check using our Cost Calculator.

You can also get free advice and easy-to-use tools to help with managing your money from the Moneyhelper .

Where we see frequent use of your overdraft, which may result in high avoidable interest charges, we will contact you and encourage you to discuss how we can help you manage your money better.