I got my first real bank account when I was 15, it was a chequeing account with no fees, relatively high interest and consisted purely of online and phone banking. That was in 2000, a full decade before ING’s “game changing” THRiVE. I’m not knocking THRiVE, it’s a fantastic option to the chequing accounts that actually cost money.
My first legit job was in the garden centre of a Loblaws, I got the job just as PC Financial launched. PC Financial was Canada’s first bank to give full services without a brick and mortar presence. Ever since I started banking I used only the Internet and I never paid a service fee. The idea of going in to speak with a teller for anything other than to get a replacement card seems ridiculous.
ING’s service is something everyone should consider, but to people I’ve talked to and if you read the media releases it seems that they have invented the wheel 2.0. PC Financial did this with the help of CIBC at a time when many, including myself still used dial-up.
I still think THRiVE is a great alternative to traditional banking and I say everyone should consider it; it’s just not that novel. ING is still leading the way in consumer banking technologies though. In mobile banking, they were the first to release apps on the major platforms, where as PC finacnail doesn’t even have a mobile version of their website.
UPDATE: ING Direct just introduced a EXCELLENT new promotion. If you open a new account and deposit at least $100, you get $25 for free. Simply enter the following code (called an Orange Key) when prompted.
Orange Key: 35934724S1
Details of this excellent promotion can be found here: http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/landingpage/bunnymoney/
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