Petition to reverse the decision to remove cash and cheque facilities at AIB branches - 543 signed

We the undersigned call on the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to instruct AIB to reverse the decision to withdraw cash and cheque facilities at AIB Branches.

We wish the government and AIB to acknowledge the following and reverse the decision:

• Recognise AIB cash and cheque facilities provide valuable service for many people, especially vulnerable adults and those not in a position to avail of online banking.
• Understand that the withdrawal of the night safe facility will expose businesses and their staff at a greater risk to crime and thief. Traveling with cash especially for publicans late at night is unsafe, meanwhile leaving cash in premises overnight is also a potential risk.
• Many businesses will be forced to avail of private money management companies. This will increase the cost of business in local towns. At a time of peak inflation, rising fuel costs, and in the aftermath of Covid lockdown business can not take any more pressure.
• In recent years we have seen the closure of many banks from our rural towns and villages. The downgrade of seventy AIB branches will place further logistical and financial burdens on people.
• The Irish people remain the largest shareholder in AIB following the bail-out during the banking collapse. The taxpayers therefore deserve fairness and respect after the financial pain of the bail out.

Comments

• I am an AIB customer and I want to preserve my right to use cash and have it be as acessable as possible through facilities provided by my bank
• My right to use cash
• Legal abiding citizens with transparent historical funds must have the right to access their "own" cash money without unsubstantiated delays or other conditions backed by legislation and/or constitution, no company, body or government should have the right to interfere with what is regraded by the mass population as a fundamental necessity.
• Don't get rid of cash. We cannot become a cashless society.
• No farmers no food No cash no freedom
• I am a client with AIB from 2008 and I can't agree with this cashless society
• Banked for years with AIB am truly disgusted with their behaviour, especially towards the Disabled and Older people .
• They want to take eveything from use and introduce a digital currency. Sure if we have no power how can we charge our phone? Then they want us to give our homes to strangers. Exactly, who do they think they are?
• We are not ready to live without cash! If I want to give 5 euro to my daughter to get some sweets or else, its my rights!
• We need these facilities
• AIB removing ATM's means more profit with card sales. Don't let these pricks away with this.
• When they control how you are allowed to spend your money, they control you. And no, social credit won't be democratic, it will be a complete dictatorship.
• I want the bank to stay
• This is a terrible inconvenience for people.
• Keep cash
• I will remove my money and close my account.how dare they the tax payer owns 75 percent of AIB
• Government mainshareholder easy decison to reverse if wanted to but as usual there only reacting to the public outcry to pretend to do something which is what they usually do when something contensus ends up in the media
• My wife has a disability and finds it hard to use technology. This is a utter disgrace could the government reverse this decision by AIB as this is our Bank owed and paid for but the Irish People
• I wish the Bank would respect people's wishes to remain transacting with cash.
• I strongly disagree with AIB’s decision to make so many of its branches cashless and intend to transfer my business rather than continue to bank under these circumstances.
• Using the Covid period to push through a policy based on reduced cash transactions is cynical and unfair
• Making all banks cashless is ridiculous, I’m already looking into changing my bank
• This is an infringement on people’s rights
• It's another obstacle for older people. Don't let it be all about profits.
• Very important we keep cash services in rural and small town Ireland.
• As I Customer I demand my right to be able to withdraw cash.
• Cash and cheque facilities hold onto to them please
• I agree this is an infringement on people’s rights and ability to do business. We want to maintain our liberty.
• Gov. needs to prevent this happening. Having to drive to the nearest town with a cash machine is not acceptable...and not good for the environment!!
• Respect your citizens.
• If they don’t want to deal with peoples money they are in the wrong business this is so wrong on so many levels! People are losing all their rights and liberties year after year and we just keep letting it happen
• People need to wake up and fight against the planned cashless society. Pay with cash not your flexible friend!
• Its just another control weapon. Must be resisted
• Keep cash in the banks.
• Reverse this disgraceful WEF agenda of a cash free society . Its not up to the 1% of elites to decide how the rest of us live and never will be .
• Ridiculous decision needs to be overturned ASAP people need access to their money and banking.
• Fucking disgrace,,, we need to protest!!!
• Sad
• It’s a complete disgrace what’s happening to the people of rural Ireland, BOI closed in Kanturk, & now AIB cashless. What next,? Hi
• Time to stand together
• Absolute shambles of a decision that will impact the most vulnerable in society! Pensioners worst hit along with those not comfortable with technology and partners in abusive relationships that need to keep their finances private are going to suffer! Banks acting in their own best interests and not that of the public who have had to suffer for decades to support them. Absolutely pathetic!
• We want to use our cash, it's not for the bank to make this call..
• AIB must accommodate the needs of its customers, rather than withdrawing essential services. It must facilitate all of us customers, without us there would be no jobs in AIB and therefore certainly no handsome profits. The bank must stand by us.
• Please seriously re-consider your decision.
• Celbridge will have no 24/7 ATM left
• We will not tolerate a cashless society. The banks better get used to that idea!
• As a business owner in Dingle I need a bank with cash options. If AIB stop our choices I will close my accounts .
• Please remember the state of rural Ireland..very poor infrastructure, an ageing population, with plans to place more and more people with disabilities back in their communities...it is encouraging more robberies/ violence/ towards the most vulnerable who will inevitably want and need to keep cash in their homes. Please please show compassion life us not always about money and strategies..Ireland was always in the past 'caring for people'
• Cashless means exclusion for the elderly, the homeless, people with disabilities. It has a grave impact on domestic violence victims and, ultimately, reduces freedom and privacy.
• We need cash and trying to do away with it is a very serious matter
• I disagree with a cashless society ,it will used to manipulate and control the people in the future i believe .
• Having convinced many elderly persons not to keep cash at home, and to put it in a bank for safety, they are now looking to reverse this by making it difficult for many, especially in rural areas, to access their money.
• No bank or business should be allowed to go cashless ever.
• I use cash all the time and it is a disgrace if in my bank I cannot deal in cash. I will have to change banks if this happens as I will not use a bank where I cannot use cash or cheques.
• We cannot let this happen, if this happens that's the end of towns outside of cities
• Absolutely scandalous decision, no thought at all for the people who bank with them
• This change is totally unacceptable and is an attack on rural society and on our freedom. It must be overturned and resisted every time a company, bank or government tries a similar thing.
• Taxpayers bailed out the banks now AIB bailing out, scandalous
• I think this decision by AIB is a disgrace what are we paying bank charges for why did we the tax payer bail them out why should we have to travel miles to get our money the next step for them is to close these branches and say they weren't used by people
• This move will have a huge impact on rural ireland dwellers , especially the elderly or people who have very poor Internet . It will impact our town as there will be no bank and our customers will go to other towns and end up spending their money there . It is a huge inconvenience for me to go to BOI in Mallow as i am doing since they left . Bad decision , purely profit orientated, no consideration for the people in this country who had to cough up to save the banks ... the Fiaana Fail government caused the bail out , now they need to do the decent thing and stop this back riding roughshod over people and their lives ... shame on AIB and shame on the Government if this goes ahead
• Dont do it
• Please do not take away the cash services from AIB Kenmare. We need this service here. What about the businesses, what about the tourists which is the backbone of survival for many of the businesses where will they get their cash to spend in Kenmare. This is all heading towards a police state. Please reverse this crazy decision.
• This is a disgraceful decision. We own nearly 70 percent of this bank and we will not tolerate this move to a cashless bank or a cashless society.
• This movement is outrageous. We should not accept this modern type of slavery where we cannot keep our hard-earned money in our hands. I am not even mentioning other obvious reasons such as the difficulties this move will cause for vulnerable members of our society.
• Disgraceful what AIB are planning to do to people who live in Rural Ireland after being Bailed out - we NEED cash -
• Cashless society means no fiver to my niece for the shop or birthday Monday I’m a card or just having freedom
• We need our bank
• The only great reset we need is a reset in government.
• Ireland’s Private banking oligopoly has demonstrated that it’s nature is to make profit for its shareholders .whats needed to compete with this is a public banking model that works in favour of it’s stakeholders. This is not about culture, it’s about the model and in whose favour.
• I am utterly disappointed that our AIB banking service will be removed from Ballinrobe. AIB have a lack of understanding and respect for its customers. I will be closing my accounts and moving to my credit union where it is not faceless and cashless.
• I do not want a cashless society
• This
• cash is freedom!
• Donohoe asleep at the wheel.....again.
• We are moving to aib so we need those services to stay.
• The push for a cashless society is beyond a joke. The customers need to vote with their feet and move elsewhere. Unfortunately we are stuck between a rock and a hard place with the lack of different banking options within this country.
• I use my bank card alot but cash is freedom I use it in the small market stalls on the weekend I give it too my children so they can buy sweets in the local shop people should leave aib if this isn't resolved
• cash is a fundemental part of banking business
• Banks are a service to the community (fundamentally) cash is very much important to small businesses and clubs and societies
• We don't want a cashless society
• The minister for finance holds shares on behalf of the taxpayers it's time to start growing some balls and get the banks to toe the line .They are doing what suit themselves and to he'll with the people who bailed them
• Wheres all the bailed out money gone
• Leave banking as it is, we need cash.
• Just changed from Ulster bank to AIB. Will leave AIB if they do this. Shame on them.
• Where is your service to the public? We have enabled you to use our salaries and savings for 35 years. But your first priority seems to be profit. Not why we joined AIB.
• I totally disagree with AIB removing it's cash services from Claremorris and all other rural towns.
• I a. Very upset at the idea of no atm in AIB banks I'm pleading with management to reverse their decision to remove them
• This is an appalling attack on small business, the elderly and rural communities. It is hugely disrespectful to Irish taxpayers that bailed out AIB and other banks.
• I already have to travel 25 kilometres to the bank but I often go there as I'm not comfortable with online banking. A bank without money, what use is that.
• If they don’t reverse the decision I will probably move my business elsewhere
• Disgrace taking away another one of our rights can’t even give your child money in a card for Christmas or birthday if this bank goes cashless I’ll be closing my account
• The announcement by AIB signifies a step towards financial tyranny with the bank having ultimate control over people’s spending. I demand that this decision is reversed as it is unfair, discriminatory, contravenes AIBs banking obligations to its customers and is detrimental to the free will of the individual. It also demonstrates an absolute and total lack of gratitude towards the people of Ireland for bailing out the AIB to a tune of €20.8 Billion.
• Not right keep cash
• It's Appalling, specially for businesses it's making stuff a lot more difficult. Without cash there is no control
• I wholeheartedly agree that all banks should provide cash for their customers & locality.
• It's hard enough having to deal with automated /robotic machines when trying to contact the bank but for older people trying to get to a bank is hard enough at present never mind moving the facility a further 25km from them Most older people wouldn't have the confidence to drive that distance on what is now an unfamiliar road to them. I for one will be taking my business from AIB if the bank in Claremorris is closed.
• Cashless banks are useless. The older people who made this country need cash banks. AIB wasn't so cocktail when getting bailed out by the Irish taxpayer.
• This is an unfair move to people who have to travel long distances to avail of their banking services.
• We cannot allow this move towards a cashless society!
• As said above we the Irish taxpayers own large shares in AIB. Why can't the government through the Minister of Finance Pascal Donoghue instruct AIB directors to reverse the decision in light of the economic situation we find ourselves in.
• Disgusted with AIB
• Shocking stuff! This has to be stopped! Where is our freedom going?
• It is absolutely not acceptable that a bank bailed out by the tax payers in 2008 can now show such disrespect for people in rural Ireland.
• All part of the digital (vaccine) passport plan for blockchain currency. Should be resolutely resisted. No to the cashless society, it’s totalitarian.
• A complete disregard for the elderly and those who choose not to live their lives online
• If Aib go cashless i will be changing banks asap, we need cash and control of our hard earned money.
• I think it's disgraceful what's happening to A I B the Banks belong to the people
• It’s pure lies then claiming they aren’t busy enough. I had to leave tubbercurry branch after a 30 min wait.
• There will no longer be a working AIB bank on the entire Beara peninsula if this goes ahead. Customers from Castletownbere will have a 4 hour round trip to use AIB cash services. I am already unable to use my aib bank card 90percent of the time due to‘security’ measures. This is a short sighted backwards insult to rural Ireland
• Disgraceful carryon shame on you
• It is an outrageous and bold move with zero thought gone into customer care. The Government always wanted two pillar banks of which AIB was one. It looks like AIB is turning into a pillar of salt! Disgraceful.
• Total disregard for elderly and vulnerable customers.
• No no no no We will not stand for this. What has the banks done with the bail out money.....we demand full records of what youse did with every penny. How dare you. Since 2020 our lives have been turned upside down and in 2022 we are barely able to survive. So u feel add another stress by this carry on. People's mental health is in tatters, we will not let use do this. Look at yourselves in the mirror, an absolute disgrace use are, you are turning us into a 3rd world nation. People have had enough. We should not be even having to deal with yet another huge blow. We will save our kids futures I do not care about u and your croanism and greed. Use are the devils workers that's plain to be seen. Ireland is in ruin is that ure big plan. You will see where this will end I tell you. how do u sleep at nite!!!
• Resist
• No to cashless society
• NO cashless society. We want control over our finances and we value our privacy in such matters. Taking away our cash is taking away our Freedom.
• No to a Cashless society
• Aontú Abu!
• Cash is essential. Many older people cannot use technology and are not able to learn. Another freedom is being trampled on.
• Best of luck
• Banks accepting cash transactions is a necessity
• We need cash it is our right to pay whoever we like with cash. Kids birthdays etc.
• The population of Ireland bailed this bank out, and are still paying for it, I object being coerced into the digital Social Credit Scores card,
• We own this bank they should do as the people want
• AIB leads the charge to a cashless society. Whatever you do, do not let this battle go unfought. An ever-digitised world is one where the Globalists not only follow your every move, but also control any and all future moves you might try to make. Fight the good fight. Do not let their draconian dreams becomes our nightmarish reality.
• Disgraceful decision. Cash is essential. No regard for rural Ireland.
• GOD help us please
• It's an absolute disgrace that this is happening. Cash is legal tender last time I checked.
• Their tune has changed from what was said after renewing sponsorship for the GAA club championship: “Like the GAA, AIB is intent on playing our part in supporting communities the length and breadth of the country.”
• We need to stand up this now. Banks belong to the people not the beaurocrats that run them.
• Total disgrace what AIB are doing, especially to the older generation.
• Controlling the people by not using cash is wrong. Bank charges are bad enough without this.Not fair on the elderly and people who don't use technology, this will also do people out of alot of jobs
• A complete lack of respect for the public.
• No to forced digital currancy YES to cash
• AIB's decision is a disgrace. Descrimination against the rural communities
• How dare AIB propose changes that contradict their mandated role and responsibility to support and provide for the financial needs of Irish people, AIB are funded by the Irish people and even more insulting recently bailed out by the Irish people, we are still paying for this debt, this is morally and ethically wrong.
• We want no part in a cashless society. Our government owns the major share of this bank, and they must act in the public interest for a change and not follow the dictates of foreign globalists.
• I do not agree with a cashless society. Incidently I give money to the homeless people who sometimes sit outside AIB Clondalkin!
• Shocking stuff. Not nice staff in most of those Banks.
• We don't want a cashless society
• I disagree with removing cash from society... it is a legal tender and I am against an all digital monetary society
• Please AIB reverse this decision. You were bailed out by many of these people you have a short memory
• Will have to travel miles. And pay for parking. To go to the bank.
• It's a terrible time for such decisions especially with Ulster Bank leaving the market. It will have an adverse effect on rural Ireland.
• A dangerous premise to remove cash from society. We need to change this
• It's going to need everyone to help every irish person ton cope
• Ridiculous! Crazy! People having to travel for miles for over the counter services and the cost of fuel not to talk of carbon emissions!!
• I disagree with removing cash from society... it is a legal tender and I am against an all digital monetary society .
• No bank has the right to unilaterally remove our choice to use cash as a means of trade. Cash doesn't need electricity for use.
• I don't agree with a cashless society
• I use cash as often as possible and want to continue to do so. Of an age where online is not easy for me.
• This needs to be reversed
• This the Ireland 1916 leaders died for...Disgusting
• Cash keeps us semi independent from government over reach China is the WEF model and is not a future I want
• We can't get rid of cash .. we will eventually lose control over what we are aloud spend our money on China rings a bell
• Disgraceful behaviour after this countries people bailing them out. Shame on you.
• Johnny cash , yer only man , boycott AIB
• Citizens paid for and continue to suffer the consequences of AIB mistakes and now we are being punished by AIB.
• If AIB are let away with this it is only a matter of time until other BANKS follow suit
• A disgrace we should have the option and say
• Absolutely disgrace removing cash services. Plenty of elderly people not able to use online banking and only have access to cash services and cash is legal tender therefore why is it being removed.
• Disgraceful
• I wonder if ordinary people made a run on AIB would that change their plans, worth thinking about!
• How can AIB going forward call themselves a bank, government just want to control our money total disgrace
• Thanks. Time the banks started listening to what the customers want rather then what they want themselves
• The new world order is in full swing. Complete dominance and control is being sought by the globalist elites and it needs to be stopped in itst tracks.
• I do not want a cashless society where the government control my money
• AIB owe the Irish people a huge debt of gratitude .
• Cash on hand
• A bank with no cash is ridiculous
• As a member of the Irish Defence forces and lover of liberty this decision disgusts me and is another step towards a draconian nightmare!
• Banks were bailed out & now they treat the public like this!! How have the government got no power to do something about this!
• No to a cashless society
• This is not acceptable
• Appalling idea designed to control not enable
• I do not want a cashless society where the government control my money.
• AIB is practically a public service given how much money the Irish population (and their children) have been forced to pump into it. I would expect them to start behaving like it...or rather, much better than that.
• Absolutely disgusting what Aib or Any bank intend doing
• Squeezing out cash. A cashless society will lead to more government control and surveillance. No more money in birthday cards. No more cash for odd jobs. No tips for workers. A lost opportunity for our spontaneous Irish generosity. Very sad. Very wrong.
• I speak with elderly people on a near daily basis,I hear first hand how the rapid advancement of technology into online banking,online apps etc really leaves them feeling stressed,frustrated and with a feeling like they are being left behind as they are not familiar with and cannot use the internet or the apps as easily as the younger generations. That's why I am signing this petition, I do not think it is fair or right to the elderly in our communities.
• The Irish citizens deserve fairness and respect
• Give people the freedom to choose which way they do their banking. Have respect for choice.
• Make change ..
• Disagree with no cash banks
• Feel shocked and saddened that we taxpayers via the Government lifted you from your massive debt some yrs ago, will you listen to our needs now and reverse your decision Thank you
• I think AIB’s proposal is appalling. Many people in remote areas will now have to commute longer distances to access these services, and with the ever climbing fuel prices it is a huge blow.
• Hands of our useless cash
• Keep our Banks Open..
• Rural Ireland getting a raw deal again.
• A bank that you can't get cash from???? Ridiculous!!!
• We must reverse this AIB decision
• A disgrace to leave a rural are with out cash.
• Should not be happening
• Don't do what you plan to do to your valuable customers
• It's disgusting how you big bankers feel ye can do what ye like to the people who have kept ye in ye're big positions and especially after being bailed out by the Government so do the right thing and withdraw your plans to go cashless.
• Absolutely agree, who do they think they are