ING Direct
ING Direct is a branchless direct bank with operations in Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. ING Direct is part of the ING Group. It offers services over the Internet, phone or by mail. Their principal product is a high-interest savings accounts, with no service charges or minimum account balance requirements. In order to deposit or withdraw cash, a customer must have an account with another financial institution.
ING Direct Canada
ING Direct Canada is the marketing name of ING Bank of Canada, a branchless or virtual bank in Canada founded in 1997.
Services Offered
- Non-RSP Eligible Personal and Business Investment Savings Accounts
- RSP Eligible Investment Savings Account
- US Dollar Personal and Business Investment Savings Accounts
- Mutual Funds
- Guaranteed Investment Certificate
- Mortgages
- Internet Banking
ING Direct Canada is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks.
ING Direct United States
ING Direct is the marketing name of ING Bank, fsb, a branchless or virtual bank in the United States that was founded in 2000. ING Direct is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
In September, 2007, ING Direct has acquired the customers and FDIC insured assets of a failed virtual bank NetBank.[1]
Orange Savings Accounts
ING Direct is often considered to be a leader in the online savings account market. While they do not always have the highest available interest rates, they are often near the top, with the present interest rate being 4.218% with an APY of 4.30%. To deposit money in to an Orange Savings account, ING Direct allows users two possible methods; the first being electronic check from another checking or savings institution. To do this, ING Direct will ask for your account number, routing number, and personal information so that they're able to perform the electronic check process. Beginning April 13, 2007 ING Direct will allow customers to link two additional checking accounts via the website. Another popular method to deposit money into an ING Direct savings account is through direct deposit, which can be set up through the customer's employer or banking institution.
Electric Orange Checking
Electric Orange is ING Direct's interest-bearing paperless checking account. The account has no minimum balance or direct deposit requirements, no monthly maintenance fees, and pays tiered interest rate according to account balance. Access to the account is available through a MasterCard debit card (withdrawals at Allpoint ATMs are free), "Electric Checks" which are electronic transfers to other people who don't need to be ING Direct account holders, free Bill Pay, and direct debit. Unlike a traditional checking account, Electric Orange account does not allow access via paper checks written by the account holder (although customers can request ING Direct to print and mail a check on the account holder's behalf), or wire transfers. Deposit options include Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers from a linked account at another bank, direct deposit, transfer from Orange Savings accounts as well as mailing in paper checks.
Unlike the Orange Savings Account, enrollment in ING Direct's "e1st" program is mandatory for Electronic Orange customers, and the account holder of an Electronic Orange account must agree to receive information about all their ING Direct accounts electronically through the Internet. Customers that do not have an Electric Orange account may still opt to have paper statements mailed to them.
Orange Certificate of Deposit
Another popular savings method that ING Direct offers is a Certificate of Deposit, or CD. ING Direct offers a number of options for their CDs, with the time starting out at a minimum of six months, and the longest being 60 months. As of mid 2007, interest rates start at 5.00%.
Orange Investments
ING offers fifteen mutual funds, each of which has a particular investment strategy. ING also offers three funds called
Strategic Allocation Funds: Strategic Allocation Conservative Fund, Strategic Allocation Moderate Fund, and Strategic Allocation
Growth Fund. The goal of the Conservative Fund is maximum protection from market
fluctuations (particularly the stock market) while investing primarily in more price
stable instruments such as bonds. ING suggests an investment goal of 5+ years for this fund. The Moderate Fund allocates most of
its fund to stock; with the majority in
The three funds invest anywhere between 0% to 55% of the fund in the Russell 3000, the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia and Far East Index, the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index, and the 91-day U.S. Treasury Bill rate. Each Strategic Allocation Fund is distributing amongst at least three of those four (see ING Prospectus)
ING Direct Cafes
In March of 2001, ING Direct opened cafes in 5 cities, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL and Wilmington, DE, each serving Peet's Coffee. In Summer 2007, a new cafe was opened in Chicago, IL. Inside the cafes, ING Direct has several internet terminals which allow their account-holders to check on the status on their ING Direct accounts and surf the internet free of charge. The cafes often feature seminars on financial topics such as money management, handling one's retirement, mortgages, and credit management.
Services offered
- Savings (Orange Savings Account)
- Checking (Electric Orange)
- Certificates of Deposit (Orange Certificate of Deposit)
- Mortgages (Orange Mortgage)
- Home Equity Line of Credit (Orange Home Equity Line of Credit)
- Mutual Funds (Orange Investment Account)
- Business Accounts (Business Savings Account/Business Savings CD/Builder Finance Loans)
ING Direct UK
ING Direct began operations in the UK in May of 2003 and at one point had in excess of 1 million customers. Its failure to increase its interest rates following a series of base rate rises in 2007, however, led to a mass exodus of customers,[1] and financial commentators are regularly urging customers to move their funds to a more competitive account. Operations are based in Reading, where the company head office is situated as well as an office based in the city of Cardiff.
Services Offered
Savings
- ING Direct Savings Account
- ING Direct Fixed-Rate Savings Account (at certain times)
- ING Direct Mini Cash ISA
- ING Direct Guaranteed Investment Account
Other products
- ING Direct
Mortgages - ING Direct Home Insurance
See also
- ING Group - Parent Company
- Other Canadian virtual banks
References
External links
- ING Direct by country:
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