ING Direct vs. Virtual Bank

by Bob on February 18, 2008


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How does Virtual Bank compare with ING Direct?

virtual bankI decided to open a Virtual Bank savings account. They gave me $20 for opening it, so I figured I don’t have much to lose. To me ING has clearly been the best online savings account in terms of features, interface, and overall user experience, but I am trying to keep an eye out for other up and coming great online banks, so I decided to check out Virtual Bank.

ING Direct and Virtual Bank Features

ING Direct

Virtual Bank

Minimum Balance

$0

$100

Minimum to open

$1 *

$100

Interest Rate

3.4%

3.0% – 4.0%

Monthly Fees

No

No

FDIC Insured

Yes

Yes

*$250 to get the $25 referral bonus

ING directRefer a Friend program

  • ING Direct’s refer a friend program pays $10 to the referrer and $25 to the person opening the account (if the new account is opened with at least $250).
  • Virtual Bank pays $20 to both the referrer and the new account holder (if the account is opened with at least $100).

Security

As far as security goes, both of these sites are top-notch in the level of security they offer. I would almost say that both of them could be considered frustrating if you are used to having your browser log you in to web sites automatically. There are a few steps to log in for both ING and Virtual Bank. That said, if you are concerned with keeping your account safe, you can’t go wrong with either ING or Virtual Bank.

User Interface

For the user interface and overall web site, I have to give it to ING Direct. Virtual Bank’s layout and web site isn’t bad and it is actually easy to navigate from one place to the next. ING’s is just better. This is one of the area’s that makes ING stand out from the others. They have worked very hard to create a great user experience with their web site and they have been successful. ING’s interface is very user friendly, intuitive, simple, and well organized.

Virtual Bank interface

Virtual Bank interface

ING Direct Interface

ING Direct interface

Customer Service

I have had very good experiences with ING’s customer service thus far. I have called them 3 times and each time I got my problem resolved or question answered quickly and from a friendly person the line. I have heard from others that not all calls to ING go as well as mine did.

My first call to Virtual Bank did not go so well. After being on hold for 28 minutes, all of a sudden their hold music stopped and I was hung up on. Possibly in their defense, I looked at their hours of operation and it appears as if I called right after closing time. It just would have been nice if they would have had a message that said to call back later. It is never any fun to wait on hold for a half an hour.

Conclusion: ING Direct vs. Virtual Bank

After all is said and done, I think I am still in the same place as I was before my Virtual Bank experiment: ING is still the winner. If I had $100,000 to put in savings, I would probably put it in Virtual Bank to get the 4.0% return rather than ING’s 3.4%. But, for smaller amounts I am sticking with ING Direct. One other thing, both banks are FDIC insured, so you don’t have to worry about that!
Also check out this article to find the bank with the best interest rate.

If you are interested in opening either (or both) of these accounts – contact me so you can get the referral bonus cash!!

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Also, if you have used either or both of these banks, I would love to hear your opinions about them…




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Carnival of Personal Finance #141 - The College Years Edition — Broke Grad Student
February 25, 2008 at 6:01 am

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Larry Jones February 18, 2008 at 12:18 pm

Thanks for your comparison/contrast of ING and Virtual Bank. I’ve been considering opening an ING Savings account soon, and this definitely confirms that to be the right decision. I’ll be in touch about the referral cash.

Larry

bob February 18, 2008 at 12:50 pm

@Larry
There are better rates out there than ING, but I have yet to find a total package that is better than ING. They have a good thing going…

Becky@FamilyandFinances February 18, 2008 at 4:18 pm

I am definitely a fan of ING. I haven’t used any other online banks, but when I keep on hearing about how ING’s is the best interface, why would I want to? :)

Dividends4Life February 21, 2008 at 4:03 pm

I use ING also, but I keep most of my money at AmtrustDirect. Their interface is not as slick, but they consistently pay a higher interest rate (currently 4.10%). I am not affiliated in any way with AmTrust, just a satisfied customer.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Frugal Dad February 22, 2008 at 12:42 pm

I’ve heard good things about the sub-account feature at ING. I could break out my Christmas Club, tag fees and other annual or semi-annual sinking funds into these sub-accounts and ING keeps up with it? Is the interest divided amongst them, or do they accrue interest separately?

bob February 23, 2008 at 10:31 am

@frugal dad
They are called sub accounts by some, but technically they are just additional accounts that are very easy to open – so each on accrues separately…

DAVID June 20, 2008 at 8:56 am

itunes make me howl thanks David

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