Posted: June 18th, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Banking | Tags: Banking, Banks, Capital One, ING, ING Direct, news, online banking | 3 Comments »
Long time readers of this blog know that ING and I go way back. I became a loyal customer of theirs back in 2004. I’ve shared countless referrals to new customers for a free $25 bonus since this site began, but here’s something that has me rethinking that relationship with ING Direct.
To be honest, I’ve been a little wary since 2008, when ING received a bailout from the eurozone.
Truth be told, I haven’t actually seen any downside to that bailout as a customer, but it seems that one of the conditions of that bailout was that ING sell its U.S. online banking division. I won’t pretend that this condition makes any sense, since it seems a profitable arm of the conglomerate and it was likely the mortgage division, marketing no money down, interest only ARMs that got them in trouble in the first place. The problem is that Capital One looks set to acquire the ING Direct operation.
I’ve had a credit card with Capital One since the dawn of time, or very nearly. I have to say I haven’t had a problem with them in that capacity (certainly not as much as I have had with BofA), but I can’t get past the feeling that the famously simple and straightforward ING savings account is going to become bloated with 27 pages of fine-print disclaimers and hidden fees. Time will tell, and I plan on canceling my accounts at the 1st sign of such a downturn in service.
On the flip-side, this is probably great news for shareholders:
“Following the acquisition, Capital One — a McLean, Virginia-based bank which is best known for its credit card unit — will leapfrog two places up the rankings of the largest U.S. banks to become the nation’s seventh-largest bank by assets, according to SNL Financial, a financial services data firm.”
But isn’t this backwards? Where’s all that regulation we’ve heard touted by the administration? Shouldn’t banks be getting smaller, not bigger? After all, the mortgage-based banking fiasco at the heart of the 2008 meltdown became as big as it was in part due to those toxic mortgages being concentrated in relatively few, very large banks.
The banking system should either be a much larger network of smaller banks, to diversify the risk of failure or maybe we should have 2 different kinds of banks: simple, traditional banks (offering fixed rate mortgages, car loans, checking, savings accounts, CDs, etc..) and very large investment banks specializing in credit default swaps, toxic mortgages and other risky, black arts kinds of investments.
I don’t know. I’m no expert, and maybe that just makes too much common sense to ever be enacted.
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Posted: September 30th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Banking, ING, Money Transfer | No Comments »
ING direct now offers Person to Person money transfers. It’s a feature of their Electric Orange Online Checking. Here are the details:
Cost of transfer: FREE
Time to transfer:
To ING DIRECT Accounts: Instant
To External Accounts: 3 business days
Of course, you have to have an Electric Orange account to use this feature, but the recipient does not.
“How to Send a Person2Person Payment:
- Enter the recipient’s name, amount and select a send date.
- If the recipient is not in your address book, you can add them by entering their Email Address, Account Number and Routing Number (for non-ING DIRECT accounts only).
- Verify the information, and click ‘Send’.
Additional Info:
- The amount will be deducted from your account on the Send Date.
- P2P Payments to other ING DIRECT accounts are available immediately upon payment pickup.
- P2P Payments to accounts at other banks take 2 bank business days after payment pickup due to transfer time”
As you can see from above, you do need the account number of your recipient’s bank account and the routing code of his bank to send the money.
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Posted: September 26th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Reviews, Saving | Tags: Banking, ING, Review, Saving | 1 Comment »
Looking for a free $25 bonus referral for ING Direct Electric Orange Online Checking? Skip below. For those unfamiliar with ING’s Electric Orange Online Checking, read on.
Electric Orange is the online checking account version of it’s popular Orange Savings account. Just like Orange savings, Electric Orange (EO) has one of the easiest to use web sites in the banking business, offers competitive rates and offers $25 free when you sign up with a referral. Electric Orange accounts are like siblings to Orange Savings accounts, so money transfers are instantaneous between the two. You can pay bills direct from your EO account too, free of charge.
Here are the details:
Electric Orange Checking Rates
| Account Balance |
Interest Rate |
APY |
Effective Date |
| $0 – $49,999.99 |
0.24% |
0.25% |
09/09/2009 |
| $50,000.00 – $99,999.99 |
1.48% |
1.50% |
09/09/2009 |
| $100,000.00 or more |
1.53% |
1.55% |
09/09/2009 |
Benefits:
- Your FDIC-insured Deposits Earn Interest (see above)
- Free MasterCard® Debit Card for all purchases
- Free Online Bill Pay
- Free access at over 35,000 ATMs through the Allpoint™ network
- Free postage – they mail your paper checks for you
- P2P Payments – Show friends how cool you are. Securely email them money. It’s Fast and free.
EO accounts also offer overdraft protection, here’s how that works:
When you sign up for an EO account, you select the amount of over draft protection you’d like. That amount becomes a line of credit that gets used in the event of an over draft on the account. You pay interest every day your account remains over its limit, but if you’re like most people and only experience a shortfall in between a bill payment posting and your pay check being deposited, paying interest for a day or two is going to be a lot cheaper than the $25-35 flat fee most brick and mortar banks charge.
Check out the web site for more details or if you’re ready to open an account, you can use one of these referrals below and get a $25 bonus if you open the account with an initial deposit of at least $250 – that’s a 10% return on your money!
Electric Orange Checking referral
Electric Orange Checking referral
Electric Orange Checking referral
Electric Orange Checking referral
Electric Orange Checking referral
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Posted: October 16th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Debt, Real Estate | Tags: Adjustable Rate Mortgages, ING, Mortgage Rates | 4 Comments »
I just bought a new home, and unfortunately my evil plains of world domination of the financial markets has net yet been realized, so I had to take out a loan.
I’ve been an ING member for 4 years now. I have a Direct Savings account and an Electric Orange Checking account with them. I even have a ShareBuilder account, though I created that before ING acquired ShareBuilder in 2007. I have to say I LOVE each account I have with them. The customer service is excellent, and web sites are intuitive and easy to use. They pay a good rate on their bank accounts. But I didn’t actively consider them for my mortgage. Why?
I got a mailing recently about the ING 5/1 Orange Mortgage:
“We believe you have the right to a mortgage that fits your needs and isn’t filled with surprises. That’s why we offer the 5/1 Orange Mortgage:
* Low Closing Costs and No Bank Fees
* Options that match most homeowners needs
* Save thousands during the initial fixed rate of 5 years”
Sounds great, and as I said, I love their other offerings. It was that 5/1 part that bugged me. The phrase “initial fixed rate of 5 years” was the clincher. It’s an adjustable rate mortgage that resets after 5 years.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with this. They even point out that the average American only stays in their house for 7 years or less. I’m just not that average this time around. My wife and I lived in our last house for less than 5 years, we knew going in it was a starter home and we weren’t planning on staying around. But this house we would like to stay in until we retire, so the 5/1 adjustable rate was a deal breaker.
Having said that, I must also say that ING is entirely up front about the offer. Many people have said that they got duped into adjustable rate mortgages, not knowing what they meant, and now can no longer afford to make the payments. ING does a good job of stating what they’re offering. I think if I was in the market for an adjustable rate mortgage, I’d probably give them a call.
I’m wondering, does anybody have an experience with an ING Mortgage, or an adjustable rate in general?
Photo by Secretly Ironic
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