Bank of Ireland says a customer sending funds for same-day or two-day value must pay the bank's charges and the recipient bank's charges. A person sending £100 (€127) or £1,000 to the United States pays £27 for it to arrive on the same day and £17 for a two-day delivery. If the person on the other end of the transaction is paying his or her banks's fees then the cost is reduced to £17 for same and £7 for two-day delivery.

A higher transaction amount of £10,000 incurs a £36.45 fee for same-day value or £26.45 for two-day value. Again, the cost reduces when the other side's fees are paid by the beneficiary to £26.45 and £16.45 respectively.

Bank of Ireland also offers a person-to-person emergency Moneygram service. The funds will be delivered to another Moneygram location anywhere in the world within 10 minutes where they may be picked up by the recipient. Fees are on a sliding scale. It costs £27 to send £1,000 within Europe and £39 elsewhere. A £5,000 transfer in Europe incurs a £138 fee and £150 to other destinations.

AIB charges £20 to send £1,000 to the US in two days and £30 for same-day, bank-to-bank service. It may take additional time to transfer the funds into the person`s account on the other end. A foreign draft costs £3.50.

An AIB spokesman said: "We can never guarantee same day value except to the United States because it is five to eight hours behind us."

AIB's person-to-person transfers cost £20.

Ulster Bank charges £3 for drafts in non-EMU currencies. Drafts drawn up in EMU currencies are more expensive at 0.75 per cent of the value with a minimum fee of £5 and a maximum of £25. Telegraphic transfers cost 20p per £100 with a minimum of £10 and a maximum of £35 outside of EMU. Inside the common-currency countries, transfers cost 0.5 per cent of the value issued with a minimum of £15 and a maximum of £35.

The banks' costs do not include foreign exchange commissions or fees.