If you're a bank of Ireland customer you may have noticed that Bank of Ireland branches are few in…read morethe very centre of the city. This branch on the corner of St Stephen's Green at the top of Baggot Street is the last one from this direction until you reach their mega-bank on College Green. This branch is very busy and given it's central locale this is no surprise. They do have a lot of very proficient and often friendly staff so waiting times are never too painful. This is a handy spot to pick up some moolah for a shopping expedition on Grafton Street.

No really much to say bout a credit union I guess. Nice…read morefriendly staff, never really a huge queue, and even if there is, you won't be waiting more than five minutes. It's kept clean, in a really good location, just at the top of Blanchardstown Village there and the opening hours are pretty great. That's probably one of the reasons I like dealing with these guys a little more than the bank. They're open on a saturday, which if you're working Monday - Friday is seriously handy!

Pro Tip: If you want the absolute best exchange rate to Euros go to the Bank of Ireland, not…read moreanywhere else and not the kiosk exchange at the airport which will charge you a fortune in fees one of my travel collegues harshly discovered. There are branches of Bank of Ireland all over Ireland. Makes sense right? Like in America--the Bank of America is all over. You get it? At the Bank of Ireland, you put your American ATM card into their ATM's and enter your passcode and indicate how many Euros you want? And this its important: Withdraw the money in Euros, not Dollars when it asks. That is all you need to know. In fact all over Ireland when you use your credit card to buy things, meals, hotels--always charge in Euros, not Dollars when the machine asks you. That is how you get the best exchange rate. And if you want even more Pro financial advise--get a Capital One Credit Card that charges No Fees for the conversion like many other cards do from 1 to 3 %. Now this branch I am writing about is the Headquarters for the Bank of Ireland. It's connected to the stock exchange. The Security Guard when he found out we were from America--was so pleasant he gave us an impromptu tour and history of the building.

A must see freebie while in Dublin. Seamus Heaney was the author profiled and it was most…read moreinteresting. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Located right across the road from Trinity College.

We were looking for a currency exchange close to our hotel and thankfully found this place from…read moregoogle maps. It is located on Grafton St next to the Whiskey Museum and is inside the tourist office. The rates they gave between dollars and euros was equivalent to what I was given in the States when I exchanged money at a Chase bank. The person here was quick and courteous. The sign inside the store says this place does not charge any commission. I'm thankful it was located here because it saved us a lot of running around the city.

I travel a lot and I'm a real tightass. As a result, Ive shopped all over town for the best…read moreexchange rates! Time and time again I come back to First Rate on Westmoreland Street. I've seen some places match their rates but I've never actually found lower than here. There's the added benefit of an under-used cash point across the road - handy for withdrawing Euro to exchange. Plus First Rate has an actual shop front with the rates in the window and holds a good range of obscure currencies on site (so you can leave it to the last minute to get your Kopecks or Ringgit or Rupiah). I like the fact that the staff wear uniform and there are security cameras. This is a pleasant change from places where you go up the back to a pokey desk and feel like you're doing some sort of shady narcotics related transaction.

I must say, I was very very impressed with these guys…read more Even though they had nothing to gain financially from assisting me (they didn't have what I needed), they went out of their way to help how they could. So I was looking for Indian rupees. I called every single bank I could think of. Answers ranged from "Eh, I'm not sure - check our website?" (Bank of Ireland), to "No. We don't have them. I don't know where you'd get them. Can I put you on hold? Hi I'm back, what did you want? No, I don't think we have that. I have no idea." (AIB) to "Ehmm, I'll take your number and get someone to call you back that'll know (beeeeeppppp)" (Ulster) So it turns out that Indian rupees are a restricted currency, meaning you can't actually buy them outside of India. You can if you order them quite far in advance, but generally speaking, the advice is to take cash with you to change and your ATM card to withdraw money once you're there. The dude also directed me to O2 where you can get a money card which is useable all over the world. All in all, extremely helpful, in fact way above and beyond. And very very much appreciated.

Just back from the LAB - AIBs answer to the "how do you introduce the technically inept to…read moreonline/mobile banking?" question, also answers the "I need to do banking at half eight on a friday night" quandary... (ok, not a common one, but worth knowing about!!). The store is open 9am - 9pm every day and includes private booths where you can speak directly to a financial service agent in a call centre (via video link) for extra help and support - I sat in on a demonstration, it worked perfectly. Overall very impressive, well worth a look!

Generally pleasant staff, good resources within this branch making transactions quick and easy!…read more Plenty of ATM links, plenty of tech stuff and staff are generally willing to answer and queries one may have.

Nice branch of Ulster bank which opened in 2008. It doesn't…read moreget a lot of traffic so is a joy to go into and not have to wait in a queue. The staff even have time to chat :-) There is an A.T.M outside. Open until 5pm on Thursday's

Ulster Bank is a good bank to be with. They have great offers and great customer service. The…read morebranch in Inchicore is particularly good for its customer service.

Bank of Ireland Ranelagh is different from the other bank branches in the village in that it stands…read morealone, segregated on its own island, detached from any other structures. This isolation affords the bank some sort of hierarchy, or at least you think as much. Unsurprisingly when you arrive at the bank the services on offer do not diverge much from what you would have come to expect from an establishment offering financial services. In the same vein as Ulster Bank across the road when you arrive you press a button to request entry. When the automated light, at this stage red to gesture to stay put, turns green the door is left off the 'mechanical leash' and you are able to gain entry. If there is any commotion and somebody/ or some people who seem incensed or perhaps dangerous are trying to gain entry the cashiers are able to prohibit their entry by not prompting the red button to turn green and thus unlock the door. From an objective point of view this potent security measure instills an added sense of security in the customer and you can go about carrying out your financial business with much self-confidence and little or no fretfulness. The fast-drop box allows you to lodge cash without having to queue up and hence save a significant amount of time, especially during the lunchtime rush. This 'fast-drop' system is important to ensuring that, as many customers as possible are able to carry out their business in the most undeviating way possible. This intensity of good organization epitomizes the overall competence that the bank exudes. Obliging and courteous staff further substantiate this point.