I signed up with ING about 4 years ago and have had a great experience with them. They have been a model business that has worked very hard to satisfy and meet the changing needs of their customers. These are just a few of the ways they have helped me.
1. They are nuts about safety.
A study from the University of California, Berkeley was just published that measured occurrences of identity theft at the top banks. Guess who came out the winner. Yep, ING was rated the safest bank from that study. It is really no surprise to me, just going through their login process you become well aware that it would be a tough feat to hack into someone’s account.
2. Consistently good interest rates.
You may occasionally be able to find a better interest rate online, but ING consistently has good rates. And the rates still clobber any brick-and-mortar bank.
3. Free Bill Pay.
Yes, you can get free bill pay from just about anywhere. But, I have used a few different bill-payment services and theirs has been the easiest and quickest to use.
4. No overdraft charges
This is an a brilliant service that they offer. Most banks charge you about $30-$40 overdraft fee if you bounce a check. With ING, you don’t have to worry about that. Rather than charging that overdraft fee, they basically lend you the money at a competitive interest rate until you bring the balance back to $0. So if you are short for a couple days, it might cost you pennies rather than $30-$40.
5. They send paper checks for you
If you need to send a paper check to someone, you just go to their site and fill the check out like you normally would. They will then mail it to whomever you would like. How easy is that?
6. CDs with no minimum.
Not only do they have very competitive rates on their CDs, but they also have no minimums. This makes it very convenient to do a CD ladder and open up multiple CDs with different maturities to take advantage of the rates available. Many banks only offer good rates to customers with $10,000 or more. Not ING.
7. They make budgeting easy.
ING has been my budgeting tool of choice for the last few years. I am not sure if they created it to be a great way to budget or if it was an accident, but either way it is great. You can read more about how I budget with ING if you want.
8. They now own Sharebuilder.
I opened a Sharebuilder account about 5 years ago and currently have most of my stocks with them. They only charge $4 to purchase stocks, which was the best deal going at the time (Now Zecco offers free trades). I was happy with Sharebuilder before, but now that ING bought them, they have made some nice improvements to it as well. Lowered some fees, simplified some processes, improved the user experience, etc.
9. Great customer service.
I have called them about 5 times over the last 4 years that I have banked there and I have not had a bad experience. They still do NOT outsource their calls, so every time I have been able to speak to someone who speaks my language 
- that is a good thing. I have never been on hold more than a couple minutes and most times I have gotten someone right away.
- that is a good thing. I have never been on hold more than a couple minutes and most times I have gotten someone right away.10. Bonuses for friends.
One of the things that ING has become famous for has been their referral program. New users get $25 if they are referred to open an account, while the referrer gets $10. Not a bad deal. So of course I will send you a referral if you are interested. Just let me know.
What did I miss? Are there other features or other banks that you love?
Related posts
Money Market accounts only allow six withdrawals per month
It doesn’t happen too often to me, but since I use my ING sub-accounts for budgeting I occasionally make more than six withdrawals per month. When this happens they send me a kind, but firm email informing me that if I make that mistake again they may be forced to close my account.
What you will get in your inbox from ING if you are bad…
Based on recent activity in your Orange Savings Account™, we want to remind you that you cannot make more than six withdrawals from your account each month. This is a federal regulation that all banks are required to follow for savings accounts like this one, so if this type of activity occurs more than three times in any 12-month period, we will have to close your account.
Since this is not the first time that you have made too many monthly withdrawals, we will be required to close your account if you do this again - and we don’t want that to happen!
So here’s what you can do to prevent your account from being closed:
Take a look at your statements or go to ingdirect.com and review your account activity. Keep track of how many times you transfer money out of your Orange Savings Account, including transfers to other ING DIRECT Accounts, and make sure you’re not making more than six withdrawals each month. Make one or two larger transactions rather than moving money numerous times. This will reduce the number of withdrawals you make each month.
Having worked closely with Money Market accounts earlier in my career I am very familiar with these restrictions. As the email mentions, the six withdrawal per month limit is a government restriction on the accounts, the bank itself can get in trouble for allowing customers to make more than six. Some banks will be more strict about enforcing this policy than others. But, if it comes down to it most banks will eventually close your account if you continue to abuse it.
I was frustrated about not being able to withdrawal my money once I reached this limit, and then the simple solution dawned on me…
The ING Hack to get around the six withdrawals
My wife and I budget for gifts and some months (i.e. December) we may be transferring a lot from the Gifts fund to our checking account. Once we reach five withdrawals for the Gifts account and we know we will need to do more that month, we simply transfer the remaining balance of that account to an unused (or a new) account. Then we just rename the new account “Gifts”. Viola, now we have another six withdrawals that we can make that month.
Renaming and opening new accounts (once you have opened the first one) takes about 20 seconds. So, really it is a very quick and easy process. I wouldn’t want to have to do it often, but it is better than getting your hand slapped or having your account closed.
A phone call to ING
I was also curious about what exactly they meant when they say they will, “close your account.” Did this mean just the individual savings account or did it mean the ING user account as a whole?
So, I called them and they confirmed that after exceeding the limit three times within 12 months, they will close the individual savings account. They did also mention that if a user does it multiple times for multiple accounts, they may consider removing that user’s profile from the system.
Just FYI.
Does anyone have any other ING helpful tricks or tips?
Related posts
Banking with ING can help you avoid identity theft
A study from the University of California, Berkeley was just published that measured occurrences of identity theft at the top banks. The study analyzed all of the identity theft complaints issued for a few months in 2006 and provided some clear distinctions between banks.
You can see in the chart below that HSBC and Bank of America are the most prone to identity theft. It is no surprise to me that ING Direct has the lowest incidences of identity theft on the list. If you bank with ING, you will know that they have so many security measures that it can ALMOST be annoying. But, I can’t fault them for taking my security so seriously. The increased levels of protection are worth an extra few seconds every time I log in.
I had plenty of reasons to love ING Direct before, but now I have one more. If you are considering banking with ING, let me know because I can get you $25 for opening a new account.
This study alone shouldn’t be a cause for bailing out of your bank. Identity theft is still on the rise and I assume that it will continue for a while, but that is not a reason to panic. There are simple identity theft prevention tips that everyone can follow that will greatly diminish your risk.
Technorati Tags: identity theft, ING banking, ING Direct
Related posts
How does Virtual Bank compare with ING Direct?
I 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
Refer 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
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.
If you are interested in opening either (or both) of these accounts - contact me so you can get the referral bonus cash!!
Technorati Tags: ING Direct, Virtual Bank
Also, if you have used either or both of these banks, I would love to hear your opinions about them…
Related posts
Kiplinger’s just came out with their best list of 2007. In it they cover a wide range of services and products they have ranked. Here are a few that stood out to me…
Best Checking account -ING Direct
No surprise to me. If you have been a reader for any length of time, you will probably know how I budget with ING and how I am a strong supporter of their products. Kiplinger’s mentions the 3.5% rate that ING pays on their checking, the free bill pay service they offer, the no minimum balance, the no fees, and how ING will send e-checks for you free of charge. They have a great thing going - if decide to open an account they will pay you $25 if you contact me first, so I can send you an invitation.
Best All-Around Retirement Account - Roth IRA
I understand why they think this. The ROTH IRA has become the default retirement account for most people. After contributing enough to get the full match from your 401k or 403b, this is generally the next step to building your retirement savings. The ROTH is not ALWAYS a better choice than a traditional IRA, but for most people it is the best choice.
Best Online Broker for Fund Investors - Muriel Siebert
I had honestly never heard of Muriel Siebert before reading this issue, but it looks like the do offer a valuable service. According to Kiplinger’s they “carry a selection of nearly 3000 no-load funds and more than 1800 of them are available without a transaction fee.” They also mention that Muriel’s website offers countless ways to compare and contrast funds.
Best Websites to Meet Various Personal Finance Needs…
- AnnualCreditReport.com - They allow you to get a free credit report from the three major credit bureaus at once.
- myFICO.com - This site will get your credit score (which is not included in your credit report) for $15.95.
- Wesabe.com - A free budgeting service that helps you track your spending with a social flair to it.
- InsWeb.com - They can get you several insurance quotes in one sitting.
- RetailMeNot.com - This is an online coupon site that is actually organized and easy to use
- LastMinute.com - They provide an easy way to get last-minute travel deals.
Related posts
Budgeting with ING Direct
ING Direct has played a critical role in helping me get my financial life organized. They don’t advertise themselves as a great budgeting tool, but they really are. You could probably use this same budgeting technique at other banks, but I will show you why it is more beneficial at ING Direct.
1. Open multiple ING savings accounts
The first step is to open up multiple savings accounts at ING Direct (Yes, ING does allow you to open multiple accounts). At most other banks, this is discouraged, if not by the bank itself, by the amount of paperwork required for each. However, at ING once you have opened up your first account, any additional accounts can be opened with about three mouse clicks.
Each one of the accounts that you open will be something that you are saving (budgeting) for. For example, I have my emergency, vacation, car maintenance, entertainment, clothing, and any other savings funds at ING. I put a fixed amount into each account every pay period (ING can automate this if you would like).
2. Open up a ING Electric Orange Checking account
It is really this checking account at ING that makes this budget system possible. You could still use the ING savings accounts to budget without the ING checking account, but it will be much easier if you have the ING checking as well. And to be honest, I don’t think there is a better checking account out there that is better than ING’s.
ING’s Electric Orange checking is unique in a few ways:
- They do NOT offer checkbooks. It is a debit card based account
- You can send E-Checks to someone elses bank account for free
- It has a 3.93%(at the time of this writing) interest rate even with a $10 balance (try to find that at your local bank)
- Free ATM access at 32,000 locations across the country
- There are no overdraft fees. Instead of charging you $30 when you bounce a check, they just lend you the money until you bring the balance back up to $0. So instead of having a $30 NSF fee, you might have a $.50 interest charge. This alone is reason enough to switch. ING has saved me a lot of money with this feature.
3. Use the ING debit card to pay for items budgeted for
Once you have the first two steps taken care of and have saved up money in the accounts you are ready to go. Now is the fun part: SPENDING!! You have to do some work on the car? Just transfer the money from you car maintenance fund (this is a real-time transfer) to your ING Checking and head to the dealer or if you are like me and like to do car maintenance yourself, head to Autozone and swipe the debit card.
How is that for a simple budgeting tool?
I just get a lot of pleasure in simplifying my life. If you have ever used the envelope system for budgeting, you should be able to notice the advantages of this system. Like I mentioned earlier, you can probably do this at variety of banks, but I think it would be difficult to find a bank that offered all of the conveniences of ING as well as the great rates.
The negatives of using ING as a budget tool
The two things I would warn anyone trying the ING budget:
- Stay on top of your transfers from your ING savings accounts to your checking. If you do a lot of budgeted spending for a couple weeks and forget to do the transfers, it can be difficult to backtrack. Like most things in life, it works better with regular maintenance.
- You can only transfer FROM the savings accounts 6 times per month. This really hasn’t been an issue for me but maybe once or twice in the few years that I have been using the ING budgeting method. (But, I figured out a simple hack to getting around this restriction.)
If you are interested in signing up with ING make sure you contact me so I can get you a $25 bonus for signing up.
How to budget with other tools
If the ING budge method doesn’t interest you, then you could try the envelope system of budgeting. If you are looking for budgeting software to help you budget you can check out YNAB’s personal budget
del.icio.us Tags: How to budget , ING Direct
Related posts
I just opened up a Citibank Ultimate savings account, currently with an APY of 4.65%. They give you $50 to open the account. There are no minimum balance restrictions.
- Of course it is FDIC insured.
- You have to keep the account open for 90 days to get the $50
- The offer is only available to new customers.
I am still a big fan of INGs Savings account, and I will surely stay with them too, but why not give Citibank a shot at my business for $50?
If you are interested click the link above for more details and an offer code.
Related posts
Would you rather have 0.5% or 4.5% interest on your savings account? If that doesn’t mean anything to you – would you rather I handed you $5 or $45? That’s what the difference is between online banks’ rates and regular banks.
I tried a couple different online banks, but INGDirect is my favorite. There are a couple out there that pay a little higher interest, but for ease of use, convenience, and security I think ING is the best around.
The way it works:
- You need a “regular” checking account.
- This account is linked to your ING (or other online banking) account.
- You can transfer money between the two accounts as you wish.
- You must remember that it is an MMDA account and there are certain restrictions.
- There are no fees and no account minimums.
Email me and I can get you a $25 bonus for opening an account.
Related posts
