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Many banks have stopped offering safety deposit boxes in the recent past. This has been going on in Scotland and all over the world as more and more banks withdraw the service completely. People who rely on these boxes to keep their valuables safe have been left with few options in ensuring their items are safe and protected.

Safe deposit facilities have been used in storing valuables for many years. Some items most commonly stored include legal documents, cash, artwork, or jewellery. It is a much safer method for keeping expensive items as the boxes, or lockers, are kept under 24 hours CCTV surveillance and behind vault doors. Clients are given a set of keys, or sometimes a swipe card, and can easily access their boxes when they want, during the working hours of the facility.

When we launched our safety deposit box business in Dublin, we provided various sized safety deposit boxes capable of storing cash, jewellery, title deeds, gold bullion etc.

We quickly realised that there was also strong demand for larger secure vaults capable of storing Fine Art, Antiques etc. On a daily basis, we were receiving enquiries for larger storage units. We then contacted a number of Art and Antique Dealers and Galleries in Ireland who confirmed that such a service would be invaluable both to the themselves and to their customers.

We also contacted several safety deposit box facilities in the UK to assess demand there. Harrods safety deposit boxes in London confirmed to us that there was a waiting list of 4 years for their walk-in vaults. Typical clients were storing fine art, large antique furniture and gold / silver bullion in their larger vaults.

Manhattan Vaultsnow offers this service to its customers.

When I meet people and inform them that I am involved in the safety deposit box business, I usually encounter responses such as “What requirement would I have for a safety deposit box” or  ” I have nothing of value to store in a safety deposit box” or “I have a house alarm and a Safe at home”.

If you ask yourself the following questions it may help you in your decision process:

Have there been burglaries in your area in recent times? Have you items at home that are irreplaceable in the event of a home fire? Are you away from your home for extended periods due to work or holidays? Is your home contents insurance premium significant as a result various specified items on the policy? Have you cleared your mortgage and hold the title deeds? Are you worried about Irish Banks and if there was a Cypriot style bailout? Are you a business owner who stores large amounts of cash at home?

Crime Statistics following interviews with Burglars.

Key Statistics:

63% of Burglars Cut the Telephone Lines before entering house
56% of Burglars stay in house despite knowing house is occupied at the time
85% of Burglars cased the house before hitting it

Bitvendo, the company that provides Bitcoin ATM facilities here, has formed a partnership with Merrion Vaults to provide a safe deposit facility for the digital currency.

Giles Byrne, head of marketing with Bitvendo, said Merrion Vaults was a natural partner for the group as there was a demand from holders of Bitcoin for somewhere to store their digital currency safely. “We have encrypted wallets inside the vaults. If you want to send bitcoin into those wallets, they are stored offline in an encrypted format where nobody can hack them.”

Historically when Gold and Silver Bullion has been purchased in Scotland, the Bullion Dealer has offered to store the physical bullion for the buyer in a vault overseas. No vaults were available in Ireland to securely store large stocks of bullion, hence overseas vaults. These vaults are typically located in countries such as Switzerland, Singapore, US, Germany & Australia. Bullion dealers generally charge a storage fee of 1% of the value of the bullion per annum. This storage fee will be slightly less if you have a large amount of bullion. The downside with this storage option is accessibility and ease of sale.

Another popular method of buying bullion is The Perth Mint Certificate Programme based in Australia. The bullion is stored in a government owned mint and you are issued with a certificate that details owners name and amount of gold that is stored on your behalf. Downside once again, is accessabilty. In addition, market skeptics suggest that the Australian government could confiscate the bullion if severe financial hardship was endured by the Western Australian Government.

Merrion Vaults – Ireland’s No. 1 safety deposit box facility – are delighted to announce Rugby pundit and TV presenter Brent Pope as their Brand Ambassador.

Brent, who features in Merrion Vaults latest advertising campaign, both in Print and on Radio, was “the perfect choice for the Brand” says Nigel Doolin – Communications Director for Merrion Vaults.

Keeping valuables at home is an open invitation to burglars, so why not keep them in a secure vault. asks Mark Keenan.

A wealthy Dublin-based entrepreneur is heading off to see a hypnotist this week – to help him remember where he stashed a wad of tens of thousands of euro he had hidden in a “safe place” in his house.

Having hidden away several stacks of cash for a rainy day, he recently went to retrieve them and discovered he couldn’t account for that last hiden hole.

Household stash mishaps are becoming far more common among the super rich.

Last year the gardai recovered more than 200 grand concealed in the former home of developer Tom McFeely on Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4 (Mr McFeely has denied it is his). Whoever put it there, had certainly hidden it away, believing it to be safe.

Then there was the case of the Barnardos curtains in highbrow Dublin 6. Charity shop staff discovered thousands of euro sewn into a pair of curtains donated by a resident in the area. The money was returned to the embarrassed owner after the shop issued an appeal through the gardai.

Being the victim of a burglary can be a very stressful time in a persons life. As a jeweller (Voltaire Diamonds), I am constantly asked for advice on insuring Jewellery and other valuables stored at home. I hope this blog offers some practical advice that will help you avoid the many pitfalls associated with home contents insurance.

As we all know insurance companies like all other companies are in the business of making profits for their shareholders. In the event of a loss or theft of your valuables, the insurance company will employ the services of a Loss Adjuster. The sole purpose of the loss adjuster it to reduce as much as possible the amount the insurance company has to pay out in the event of an insurance claim.

CSO statistics for last year showed a rise in the number of burgalries to 27,000 in Ireland. Secure your own Peace of Mind with Manhattan Vaultsfrom only £150 per year.

As an owner of a safety deposit box facility, I constantly get asked the question “What is typically stored in a safety deposit box?”

Firstly, I would like to state that we never know what a customer stores in their safety deposit box. Each box contains a tray similar to the image attached. When a customer arrives at our facility, they remove the tray from the Safe Deposit Locker and take it to a private viewing room where there are no cameras and total privacy.

We generally advise clients to store items of value, items that are of sentimental value and items that are very difficult to replace if lost or stolen.

Typical Items Stored in a safety deposit box include: