Bank of Ireland, the Irish retail bank, has published its Q3 2026 customer banking and payments insights, showing SEPA Instant payments up 21% on Q2 to more than 19 million. The figures matter to the sector because they show instant and mobile payments growing as ATM use falls.

Mobile banking logins rose 3.4% year-on-year in Q3, with 27 August the busiest day at more than 1.37 million logins. That compares with a Q1 peak of more than 1.45 million on 25 February, when logins rose 3% year-on-year.

Zippay transactions rose 38% in Q3 compared with Q2, while contactless payments totalled 130.6 million, up 4% on Q2. Zippay is offered by Bank of Ireland, AIB and PTSB.

Point-of-sale transactions by customers peaked at more than 2.8 million on Friday 10 July, while SEPA Instant volumes peaked at around 268,000 on Friday 25 September. ATM transactions fell 7% year-on-year.

The new mobile banking app is being rolled out, with approximately half of customers now using it, and offers improved performance, stronger privacy controls and more straightforward navigation. The app, which began rolling out to Android users first, extends biometric security to payment approval, adding cards to a digital wallet, viewing PINs and adding payees.

Keith Kiernan, Chief Information Officer, Bank of Ireland, said: “Everyday tasks such as checking balances, making payments or managing cards are quicker and more straightforward and it comes with enhanced security.” Kiernan added: “While digital innovation remains a key focus, we continue to invest across all customer channels, including branches which are benefiting from new ATMs and our contact centres.”

Technology rollouts this year include a new ATM fleet, the AI-enabled Benefits Finder tax credits tool, an online Electric Vehicle Marketplace and a partnership with Google for up to 10,000 funded AI training scholarships for business customers, alongside a Q3 strategic partnership with Stripe.

The structural driver is customer migration to mobile and instant payment rails, which shifts the bank’s investment towards app performance and security while it maintains branches and ATMs.

For the sector, the quarter shows incumbent banks pairing app replacement with instant payment growth, with mobile logins still rising at a low single-digit rate.

Source: bankofireland.com / ecommercenews.ie