ING DIRECT - Wilmington, DE Review

Banking has come a long way since the days when financial transactions were conducted entirely one- on- one with a bank teller or loan officer. These traditional banks, of course, still exist but many consumers now opt to conduct banking via the internet. Most all major banks have an online presence, but there are also a few banks that conduct business exclusively online. One bank that is very non- traditional and continues to grow in popularity is ING Direct, an online banking institution.

Bank Commentary:

ING Direct is a bank I have grown to know and respect over the years. I have known about ING Direct bank for a long time because of its online ads, but for the longest time, I dismissed these ads and usually didn't even bother reading the offers. I assumed my present brick and mortar bank was sufficient because it gave me the products and service I wanted and I hadn't experienced any real problems in the years since I opened my account. I didn't see any good reason to open an ING bank account or any other online bank account, so I continued to delete the ING Direct e-mail messages that I felt were polluting my inbox.

Finally, a few months ago, I broke down and accepted an ING bank offer. The reason for my sudden change of heart is the same reason quoted by many who choose ING bank: Interest rates. I was getting sick and tired of the low interest rate offered by my bank and most other traditional banks. The rates have been dropping for some time, and the savings interest at my current bank is now below one percent! An interest rate this low provides no incentive to save. I would be almost as well off hiding my money under my mattress. And that is precisely what led me to open up an account with ING Direct Bank. They were advertising an interest rate that was several times higher than my present interest rate; required no minimum balance; and charged no fees. I could see no downside to this offer, so I went ahead and established an ING Bank Orange Savings Account.

ING Direct is different from other banks in one very important way: It is strictly an on- line banking institution. There are no ING Direct locations to serve customers directly. The only way to use ING Direct is to logon to a computer and transact money electronically. This makes ING Direct unique among banks, but it does present some problems. First, there is no way to withdraw money from savings using traditional means like ATM cards (unless you sign up for Electric Orange Checking, which includes a debit card) or by visiting branch bank locations because none exist. All business is transacted online and this means that funds in an ING bank account are less liquid than with most banks. Second, there is the issue of security. I was surprised when I first opened up an account with ING Direct because of the number of different security questions that had to be answered. Not only are there many questions, there is also a security "image" and phrase that must be selected. If you start to logon and do not see the image and phrase that you initially selected, there could be a security issue and you should call ING Direct and ask about the possible problem. It is nice that ING Direct has so many different security measures in place because, considering they are exclusively an on- line bank, security is going to be very important for most consumers.

ING Direct is generally a very good online bank and I don't regret establishing an Orange Savings Account. But there are a few things I wish ING Direct would improve. Most importantly, I wish the transfers were a little faster. It takes about three business days for a transfer to complete, and this seems like a very long time for a financial institution of this size. This lag time means that customers cannot get their money very quickly, and this fact alone could discourage some people from investing. I also don't like the lack of educational materials and user tools. ING Direct assumes you already know what you need to know or that you have another online source to consult for your general banking knowledge.  

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Overall, my experience with ING Direct has been positive and there are many good reasons to establish an online bank account with ING. The higher than average interest rate is the main reason, but ING Direct also offers low fees and the competitive rates on loans make ING Direct a bank worth considering. It is lacking in a few areas, but the higher interest means more incentive to save. And saving is something every American needs to do with greater frequency.