ING Direct $25 Bonus!

Recently, I was doing some research on high interest savings accounts and when I came across ING Direct, I noticed that they are offering a sign up bonus of $25 when depositing $100 initially. So I thought, what the heck, I’ll sign up for an account and review the service for my clients, and the $25 sign up bonus doesn’t hurt either.

What is ING Direct?

ING direct is an online bank (covered by CDIC) similar to other online savings accounts. That is, you do most your basic banking elsewhere, but you can transfer money back to forth to ING’s savings accounts to take advantage of their relatively competitive interest rates. There are no fees on ING direct’s accounts.

Account Offerings

TFSA – ING Direct is currently offering the highest interest rate on a TFSA in Canada at 2%. In addition to regular savings TFSA, they offer mutual fund and GIC TFSAs.

High Interest Savings - ING’s high interest account is similar to the PC Financial account except with a slightly higher interest rate. This is the account that I opened to claim my $25 freebie.

Chequing – ING’s newest THRiVE chequing account pays up to 1.10% of interest on daily balances. This account is most similar to any other chequing account from any of the major banks without fees!

Business Savings Account – ING offers incorporated business, sole proprietorship’s and partnerships a high interest savings account. This account can be used to set aside excess cash or for short term investments. Current rates are 1.25% as if the publish date of this article. There is no minimum amount for this account is perfect for all small businesses.

The Sign up Process was painless and very quick. All they needed was basic information along with basic banking info from which the client who will be transferring money from. After that, a cheque needs to be mailed in to verify banking information. From the beginning to end, the whole process took about 3 business days, with about 20 minutes worth of “work”.

$25 ING Direct Sign-up Referral Bonus

In order to get the $25 ING Canada freebie:

1.Start your application.

2.When the form asks, use the orange key code 35934724S1  (new and working)

3.Deposit at least $100 with your initial bank verification cheque .

After your account is opened, you’ll notice the $25 bonus appear in your transaction history. Note that the code above is good for only fifty uses, so use it while you can. I don’t expect it to last long.

Anyone else with ING Direct? What has your experience been like?

5 Reasons Why ING Direct is the Best Bank in Canada

I like the way that ING Direct sets themselves apart from the competition. Their low cost, branch-free model, has enabled them to grow to almost 2,000,0000 customers across ing direct interest paid 5 Reasons Why ING Direct is AwesomeCanada. And I think that number should increase. ING Direct has perfected phone, mail, and online banking as well as any bank I have ever done business with.

Let’s not waste any time and dive right into my top five reasons why ING is awesome.

1. They offer a no-fee THRiVE chequing account

I was suprised to learn that the average Canadian pays $185 annually in fees just to maintain a simple chequing account. Wow! I’m glad I’m saving that expense.

2. They give you $25 just for opening an account

The only catch is that you have to deposit at least $100 and use the orange key from this article.

3. They are opening up a high tech ING Direct cafe in downtown Toronto with free meeting rooms

The location of the new ING Direct cafe will be in the heart of downtown Toronto, at 221 Yonge Street. This cafe will contain 25 rentable desks upstairs and the meeting room that I mentioned, which features 40 bleacher style seats and can be modified for classic round table discussions.

4. You can earn up to $2,000 for referring friends

Once you sign up for an account with ING they make it easy to refer your friends and start earning $25 for every friend who signs up with your “Orange Key.”

Orange Key: 35934724S1 please enter it when you sign up for an account to recieve the free $25 for opening an account.

ING DIRECT helps Canadians Save Anywhere

TORONTO – ING DIRECT, Canada’s leading direct bank, is the first bank in the country to offer mobile banking apps on both the BlackBerry and iPhone, along with a mobile website m.ingdirect.ca.

Now Canadians can save anywhere with ING DIRECT. The new BlackBerry and iPhone apps will enable Clients to check their account balances, review transactions, transfer funds, locate ABMs, and get directions and hours of operation for the ING DIRECT Save Your Money Cafés. The apps will even provide a simple means to follow ING DIRECT on Twitter to talk about savings. Mobile banking with ING DIRECT is fast, secure, and will make it even easier for Canadians to save money wherever they are.

“We’re always looking for new ways to help Canadians save their money. Canadians love their mobile devices so applications on both the BlackBerry and iPhone are a natural progression for us,” said Peter Aceto, President & CEO at ING DIRECT Canada. “Offering our Clients the option of saving anywhere is an exciting frontier.”

The mobile banking apps are available for free to all Canadians. The BlackBerry app is available at m.ingdirect.ca on their BlackBerry devices or by visiting BlackBerry App World™ at BlackBerry.com/appworld. iPhone and iPod touch apps are available at the App Store or at itunes.com/appstore.

ING Direct Brings Free Chequing Account to Canada

For years Canadians have been asking the people at ING Direct to add a chequing account to their list of services. U.S. customers have been using their high-yield Electric Orange accounts for years. In Canada, it seems we always have to wait longer for new advancements.

Finally, on August 18 I received an e-mail from ING announcing their upcoming chequing product, called THRiVE. The headline read “It’s time to THRiVE Savers!” As a saving account holder for years, this actually was exciting news unlike most of the junk that gathers in my inbox. The type was surrounded by pennies, nickels and dimes to signify the big bank’s tendency to “nickel and dime” the public. The imagery also offered a promise of gaining money in interest for once, instead of getting hit by a constant string of service charges.

The e-mail contained a link to a video blog, featuring CEO Peter Aceto. In it, he grabs an orange cab to make his way to the product launch at the Eaton Centre.

Aceto addresses the long wait stating that ING products “have to be up to a certain standard. They need to save our customers money. They need to simplify their lives, and they need to make things easier for you. It took us some time to figure that out.”

Just admit it Aceto. You were slacking.

So what makes THRiVE different from dealing with the big banks? There are several key items to note.

Free Daily Chequing: No monthly fees. No deposit, withdrawal or transfer fees. Unlimited bill payments and Interac transactions. On balances below $50k, you get a modest 0.25% interest rate. Although it won’t make you rich or even keep up with inflation, competitors such as Royal Bank or TD Canada Trust don’t pay out anything.

ABM Access through the Exchange Network: Perhaps this is what took ING some time to achieve. Apparently you can use ABMs not only at credit unions but also the National Bank of Canada or HSBC.

Free e-mail Money Transfers: This one is exciting for people that buy plenty online or do business online. PayPal’s charges certainly can add up.

Free Overdraft Protection up to $250: That isn’t much and it you go past it, ING Direct will charge you $25. Again, not perfect but still better than the big banks.

As great as the benefits sound, plenty of people like to walk into their local branch and deal with a teller in person. If this kind of interaction is important to you, you should still switch to ING.

ING’s services are geared towards everyone, young and old. If you find yourself paying bills, making transfers to credit cards and generally doing most of your banking online, you may have finally found a way to stick it to the big banks by moving to ING. If you need an issue straightened out, customer service will take care of it over the phone.

Think of it this way. Those friendly tellers don’t come cheap and neither do bank buildings situated in the most expensive downtown locations. ING Direct is a “virtual bank” while the big banks are “brick and mortar” businesses. That saves ING a truckload and they are passing those savings on to the customer.

ING Direct offers no-fee chequing

The discount bank that introduced high interest rate savings accounts to Canada 14 years ago is now offering Canadians no-fee, interest-paying chequing accounts.

ING Direct Canada is to announce Wednesday that customers will be able to deposit, withdraw or transfer funds, all at no cost while also earning interest.

Canadians will save on average $185 a year in banking service fees by choosing its service, the Dutch-based banking giant says.

The financial company expects the new product will appeal to its existing 1.7 million customers,

“We think this is very important for Canadians. We think offering a chequing account will change the relationship we have with them to become a part of their daily life,” Peter Aceto, president and chief executive officer of ING Direct Canada said in a telephone interview.

The company also expects the product to attract some new customers.

“Many, many Canadians who have chosen not to be our customers have told us the number one reason is we don't offer a complete product suite, with the most important being a chequing account,” Aceto added.

ING is hoping to tap into consumer resentment over what it calls some of the highest banking service fees in the world.

Some 38 per cent of Canadians say they are “disgusted” by their chequing account fees and 66 per cent believe their current banking fees are unfair, the poll also showed, according to research done for ING by the polling firm Angus Reid Public Opinion.

A quarter of Canadians don't know how much they pay in monthly bank fees and three-quarters said they would switch to an online, no-fee chequing account if one were available, the survey also found.

Since ING doesn't operate any branches, customers will have to go to an automated banking machine to withdraw their cash.

Through ING's relationship with the Exchange Network system, customers can access their accounts at any one of 2,400 ABMS across the country free of charge. Many such machines are located near credit unions, which form the bulk of the network's members.

Customers can also access their accounts through an Interac bank machine but the bank that owns the machine charges non-bank members a $1.50 transaction fee.

Financial services consultant David McVay, of McVay and Associates, in Toronto, said he recently put out a report suggesting the discounter begin offering chequing accounts and credit cards to boost its profitability.

“It would be a good idea. They'd have a good cross-selling opportunity with their existing client base,” McVay said.

The move is unlikely to disturb Canada's big five banks, McVay added.

“They're a lot more competitive than they were when ING first entered the market,” he said.

ING's announcement is likely to have a bigger impact on PC Financial, McVay said. The Loblaw Cos. Ltd. financial service, backed by CIBC, offers a similar kind of no-frills chequing account, he said.

No frills ING Direct ponders credit card

NOTE: This article has been edited from a previous version.

ING Direct Canada, the country’s first no-frills bank, is mulling over introducing a credit card, its president and chief executive says.

“Customers are asking about credit cards. It’s something we’re considering,” Peter Aceto said in an interview Wednesday.

It’s another step in the evolution of Canada’s first discount bank. When ING Direct started here 14 years ago, it offered only telephone banking and no-fee savings accounts with a higher interest rate than its big-bank rivals.

Riding high on its catchy motto “Save Your Money,” ING Direct landed 50,000 clients and $600 million in deposits, exceeding its original targets, in its first year.

Today, it’s closing in on the 2-million-customer mark, and has 1,100 employees and about $36 billion in assets.

Its offerings include GICs, mutual funds, mortgages, loans, just like any big bank – but with a no-fee, no-frills approach.

There are still no branches – customers access their funds via telephone, the Internet, and automated banking machines. But there are “cafes” in North York, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, and its newest spot at Yonge and Shuter streets, across from the Eaton Centre, which opened Wednesday.

They’re meant to remind customers that ING Direct is still a different kind of bank.

Instead of cashiers, tellers, or vaults, there’s lots of couches and chairs, coffee with 100% of the proceeds going to charity, snacks, and free WiFi. The Yonge Street location offers community meeting rooms upstairs. Customers can visit to talk about a mortgage or a savings account but café staff don’t have access to customer accounts.

Next week, experts from local businesses such as Henry’s Photography, The Sewing Studio, and Curbside Cycle will offer free seminars.

Canada’s banking industry has changed drastically since ING’s debut. As the big banks scrambled to offer their own low-cost options, a raft of new competition came up on the discount side, from rivals such as President’s Choice Financial and Canadian Tire Financial.

Aceto insists the growing competition is not intimidating. “There’s plenty of room for ING Direct and other competitors to bring value to Canadians,” he said.

It recently launched its no-fee chequing account, called Thrive, and about 300 customers per day are signing up, Aceto said.

Later this year, ING Direct will begin offering a home equity line of credit, Aceto said, adding that he still sees “significant growth” ahead.

“We’re still a relatively young business in Canada,” he said. “We’re proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 14 years but we think there’s a lot of opportunity to move forward.”

THRiVE: A New No-Fee Chequing Account from ING Direct

It has been long speculated that ING Direct will introduce a no-fee chequing account to complement its existing high-interest savings accounts and Streetwise mutual funds. The announcement today that ING Direct is launching THRiVE, a new no-fee chequing account makes that speculation a reality. THRiVE, which ING Direct is hoping to have up and running in early 2011 has the following features:

1. No-Fee Daily Chequing: No monthly fees. No deposit, withdrawal or transfer fees. Unlimited bill payments and Interac transactions. First chequebook is free. Account will pay a modest 0.25% interest on balances of less than $50,000 (Hey, it’s at least better than the big fat zero that TD Canada Trust pays).
2. ABM Access through the Exchange Network.
3. Free e-mail Money Transfers.
4. Free Overdraft Protection up to $250. No fees or interest on overdrawn funds up to $250 provided it is paid back within 30 days. Accounts that remain overdrawn for more than 30 days attract a $2.50 fee for every 30 days the balance is negative. A NSF fee of $25 kicks in for overdrawn funds above $250.
5. Bank drafts can be ordered online and delivered to your home for a fee of $10.

While we have plenty of choice when it comes to high-interest savings accounts, President’s Choice Financial still remains the only major game in town when it comes to no-fee chequing accounts (Citizens Bank briefly offered a no-fee chequing account but shut it down in less than a year). Consumers who already have a PC Financial account will see very little reason to switch because though ING Direct’s fees are lower for some features, the savings may not be substantial. For instance, e-mail money transfers cost $1.50 at PC Financial. Quebec residents will be pleased to know that unlike PC Financial products, the ING Direct no-fee chequing account will be available to them. Current clients of ING Direct can register for a preview of THRiVE through their online account or register through your185.ca.

Update 1: Reader Michael pointed out that the Exchange ATM network is more extensive than CIBC’s (PC Financial clients have free access to the CIBC ATM network). A quick check revealed that while I can find just 5 CIBC ATM machines within a 5-km radius of where I live. Within the same range, I can find 42 Exchange ATM machines (compatible with ING)!!!!