An Post said it is attempting to fix an error that is holding up direct debit payments for some of its around 90,000 current account customers.
In response to questions, a spokeswoman for the State-owned postal group said it had received contact from customers about direct debit payments and was looking into the matter late on Thursday afternoon.
She later said An Post Money was “working to correct an error” that led to the “erroneous recalling of a direct debit file” affecting some of its current account customers.
“We will continue working overnight to ensure the error is rectified by midday [on Friday],” she said. “There is no action required by any customer.”
READ MORE
“We apologise unreservedly to affected customers for this inconvenience,” the spokeswoman said.
It is not clear how many customers have been impacted by the error. An Post had some 90,000 current account customers in 2024, according to its most recent annual report, but the postal service said the issue only affected those with direct debit payments scheduled for Thursday.
The spokeswoman said the error affected only a “small number” of An Post Money account holders.
One customer told The Irish Times they were alerted to the issue when their mobile phone network operator did not receive a regular payment from their An Post Money current account.
The money had left the account, they said, but had not been received by the vendor, and An Post was unable to tell them when the money would be returned.
The customer said they were advised by An Post to pay the vendor directly instead.
The spokeswoman for An Post said: “We are not advising [and never did advise] customers to make payments directly to any vendors.”
The Central Bank of Ireland, which regulates An Post Money, was approached for comment.
Speaking to The Irish Times in July, An Post chief executive David McRedmond said the company “needs to scale up” its own current account offering.
However, he said its agency banking arrangements with AIB and Bank of Ireland meant that the post office was now “the high-street bank” in many parts of rural Ireland, facilitating basic cash transactions.
