One Direct, the financial services subsidiary of An Post, began offering personal loans yesterday.

The new service, which is being run in conjunction with Bank of Scotland-owned Equity Bank, allows consumers to apply for a range of unsecured personal loans, ranging in value from £1,000 (€1,270) to £10,000.

The company says that decisions on loan applications, which can be made through One Direct's national call centre in Athlone, will be given within three hours.

In addition to the standard methods of repayment, customers can make repayments through more than a thousand ServicePlus post offices across the State.