Anybody use ING direct and what are your thoughts?
Anybody use ING direct and what are your thoughts?
We just opened up an account, and so far so good. It was easy to open. The rate isn't the very best out there, but they have a good security system and guarantee your assets. Plus, they support lots of local events which I like.
Should say they support lots of national running events.
I have used the ING Direct Orange account and CDs for the last several years and have had no complaints. The site is easy to navigate. Accounts are quick to set up and manage.
To manage my emergency funds, I originally created a ladder using a series of 12-month CDs spaced one month apart. I used the ING Orange account to manage liquid cash reserves in my normal checking account. The Orange account works by linking to an existing checking account. Users then "push" funds to and "pull" funds from your existing checking account. This may take a three days to process, and your funds may not be available for immediate withdrawal for up to a week after deposit.
When I opened my 3-4 years ago, ING Direct had the highest savings rates in the country as well as some of the best CD yields, depending on maturity. As ING Direct grew in popularity, other institutions copied their model and began offering very competitive rates. ING Direct is no longer the market leader on savings rates. It is a very reputable company, and they certainly advertise heavily, but one can certainly find better rates elsewhere in similar types of accounts.
I still maintain my ING Direct account with a trivial balance, but I use other online savings accounts to maximize the yield on my cash balance. For example, if you can stomach the potential solvency risk of the firm, E*Trade currently is paying 5.05% on their online savings compared to ING Direct at 4.1%. Visit
for the best savings account and CD yields.
I've used ING for the last couple years. I like that the checking account earns >3% as well as the savings (>4%), of course this is shifting with the current Fed actions. I use the checking account as my operating account to pay bills and make transfers since I can do all that online now. The only drawback from my perspective is that there are few free ATM's near where I live. To get around this I just have my direct deposit split between ING (bills), and my local bank (for ready cash). In fact, if you open an account with a referral from a current account holder (me) you can bank an extra $25 as part of a current promotion. Just send me an email at the address above.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/ing-direct-promotion-25-opening-referral-bonus-for-new-accounts/
The high yield checking acct is what I like best because in my case at least, many online bill-pay programs will receive funds only from a checking account. For this reason I found that getting a high-yield savings account and having to transfer money into an adjoining no-interest checking account for paying bills pushed down my yield or was too much maintenance (to avoid insufficient fund charges).
The wife and I had our home savings in an account at ETrade since the rate was higher, but we've since moved it when it appeared the bank might be close to insolvency. Can't have the bulk of our savings tied up and illiquid if I can help it. There are other great offers out there but, a)I currently like my setup at ING, b)None of the banks are brand names I feel I can trust with the household savings. You can find a nice comparison of rates at bankrate.com, >savings and MMA accounts.
Been part of ING since I turned 18 back in 2004. I hadn't used it in some time (2 years or so) and just left money sit in it. This summer, I believe the savings was up to lie 5% APY, which was sweet. Down to 4.1% now, as the previous poster mentioned. It's nice because you can never run out of paper checks, but hopefully you'll never actually have to use them in person, or it'd be a pain in the ass. They run promotions too, giving you 1% back on all credit purchases through the checking account.
If you're the type of person that likes to do everything online for the most part, then this bank is definitely for you; however, if you like to have a person to talk to in person and advise you on things, then this bank isn't for you.
One last question. Is there any cost to the link to your bank account? I know that banks charge a fee for wire transfers.
makemoney wrote:
One last question. Is there any cost to the link to your bank account? I know that banks charge a fee for wire transfers.
There are no fees at all.
makemoney wrote:
One last question. Is there any cost to the link to your bank account? I know that banks charge a fee for wire transfers.
ACH charges amount to about 2 cents a transfer. Your bank will cover that.
Their product is very good, but I'd be concerned about them failing as a bank in the next few years.
They are FDIC insured up to 100k I believe, but if they fail, it'll take a long time to get your money back.
I have no comment on etrade, but I would have doubts that Internationale Nederlanden Group is going under any time soon. The company is one of the world's oldest financial services companies and is based in Amsterdam. They are the old "NMB Postbank" that merged with several Dutch industry banks, insurance companies, and other financial companies in 1991 to form ING Group.
I had it for a while, and it was good. Recently, though, some other banks have offered equal or higher return, HSBC and even WaMu, so I switched to WaMu so I could have my checking and savings in one spot.