ING Direct: sticking it to the monster banks
I have a secret. A virtual mattress, under which I stash virtual money. Money that's hidden from the evil financial pricks at the monster banks (Royal Bank, in my particular case).
I've been a Royal customer since I was about 12. Far from a high-roller, I've got at least a respectable number of years of active clienthood under my belt, from basic savings to credit cards and RSPs.
Here's the thing. They don't know me. They don't need me. They simultaneously ignore and harass me. When I went to them for a mortgage, I think I heard one of them snort under his breath.
They send me, my cat, my cat's fleas and my cat's butt-dreadlocks offers for $50,000 gold Mastercards. They call us during suppertime. But can I reach my local branch to talk to someone when I need to? Frig no. "Of course not," they say, incredulous.
I haven't defected yet. I will once the mortgage is required. In the meantime, I've become addicted to ING Direct, the online bank. You can have an account open in a matter of moments, with no fees, decent interest and - the best f*&*&ing part - no junkmail and telemarketing calls. Open as many accounts as you want - personal, business, whatever.
It's easy. It feels good - both to pay oneself (to save) and to take a teensy piece of the pie away from the monster banks.
I really do mean teensy, but it matters to me just the same.
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kinglis
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Interesting -- always wondered whether you could believe their commercials... Do they offer decent general services? And how do you deal with deposits and the like?
It's primarily for saving, in cooperation with a full-service bank account. It takes a couple of days for transfers, all done online (or by phone). They have a great website, and their phone service has been excellent, with real people on the other end.
http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/aboutindex.html
This is what they say about what they do:
"We offer simple financial products that fit into your existing banking arrangements to help make them better. We make products that make your money work harder.
"For example, if you're like most people today you'd like to grow your money a bit more. So you take a look at your options. Stocks have potential, but they can be a gamble. Other places want you to lock in your money to make it grow. On the other hand, if you just leave money in your chequing account, you can slowly see it disappear to pay fees - all while earning almost no interest."
Similar to ING is President's Choice Financial http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
ING/PC seem to have similar benifets & worth checking out if you are in the market for a new 'piggy bank' :)
Similar to ING is President's Choice Financial http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
ING/PC seem to have similar benifets & worth checking out if you are in the market for a new 'piggy bank' :)
Similar to ING is President's Choice Financial http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
ING/PC seem to have similar benifets & worth checking out if you are in the market for a new 'piggy bank' :)
Similar to ING is President's Choice Financial http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
ING/PC seem to have similar benifets & worth checking out if you are in the market for a new 'piggy bank' :)
Similar to ING is President's Choice Financial http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
ING/PC seem to have similar benifets & worth checking out if you are in the market for a new 'piggy bank' :)
That's really interesting actually.
I keep feeling embarassed about going into BMO and asking to open another savings account. So, I haven't done it yet.
However, I'd really love to be able to have one pot for tax-money (ah, the life of a contractor), one account for saving for my europe trip, one account to save up my rent money, and one for long-term savings.
From what I can tell, ING doesn't really mind this sort of thing. That's rad! I know the people at BMO would charge my butt off for each account with monthly fees... when infact, its just a row in a DB!
Thanks for the informative review though.
ING is a good option for savings....you earn 3.35% on the daily savings....a better option is Manulife bank...you earn 3.75% on their daily savings. On the debt side, Manulife Bank has excellent products and tools that will help you pay your mortgage/debt off much quicker than a standard mortgage. Anyone who is looking at their debt situation and has a mortgage(min 10% down) should look at their products. They don't advertise through the regular channels; tv/radio,etc; they only deal through financial advisors.
My problem with ING Canada is that although they run TV commercials where they dump all over the big Canadian banks, they'll only let you open an account if you already have one with the big banks and are willing to keep it open.
Reason: the way ING keeps its costs low is not to have a branch network. You move money in or out of your ING account via your big-bank account.
If they want to be parasites this way I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but for them to make noise about how the big banks are so horrible is thoroughly dishonest.
(I long for the days when I was a happy Canada Trust customer, before they got bought out by TD Bank which now runs its own dishonest commercials. I haven't switched away from TD, though, because where would I go?)
I opened my first account today and to my shock and surprise, they deposited an addtional $13 into it as thanks. There was no "refer a friend" business where you have to jump through hoops to verify the referral before the bonus is given 6 weeks later - just cold, hard, virtual, INSTANT cash into my new account. NICE!
I'm looking forward to seeing what else this customer-friendly company has in store for me.
ING is the best savings account. The interest rate they offer is usually only available if you lock in your money with the other banks. With ING you can always move your money back into your chequing account if you need to spend it. I've been a customer for years now, and I think they're great. I also like their preauthorized savings program, because it enables you to save without having to think about it.
It is a bit weird to set up the service though. The process of linking a new account to an ING account is a bit clunky. If I could change one thing about ING it would be to make it easier to link new accounts to it.
You also can't access your money the same day you move it back to your account. But in a way, the delay in access is better for an account that's supposed to be savings - you can't use the cash for impulse buys, but it is available if you're in real need.
I have like 7 accounts to!! I love the fact that it's not easy to grab my money. Makes me save so much more.
Holy crap do I ever agree with you! RBC once put me "F1RST" (I was out of country) by charging me, (read: taking) maintenance fees for an account that sat dormant for too long - without telling me - putting the account into overdraft, which then started to accrue interest so that the next time I looked at it, I owed over 50$.
So, RBC charged me 50+$ for the privilege of not using their services. Kooky eh? I did eventually find a teller, a person (an actual person with a heartbeat and everything), that was willing to revers the charges, but it took over a year to get that and she didn't have too. So they have at least 1 nice person working there and her name is Marge.
Long story short, when it came time to get a car loan, I applied for one through RBC, was accepted and then turned it down and gave them that as the reason because it was.
Good for you, kinglis: it feels good to rail against the machine.
I too, was done wrong by RBC three years ago. My wife and I were 6 months away from our 5 year term completion on a mortgage with them. We were buying a new home and adding another $100k onto the debt train. RBC would not waive the cancellation penalty in order for us to start a whole new 5 year term. They wanted us to blend the two debts (different interest rates). It was only a $2,000 penalty and they were getting an additional 100k debt!!!!!!! We talked to everyone at RBC and they would not budge.
In the end, we pulled everything: chequing, 6 figures in RSPs, mortgage, and my favourite savings account, 7222227, that I'd got at the Kerrisdale branch in 1968!!!! It took over a year to get everything out. They lost a 40 year client with 15 years more mortgage interest and a stack of RSPs, (and the $35/month we were paying for the privilege of a 'private banker') because of $2,000.
This is a true story. This is why no one should bank with Royal Bank. If a company can achieve such spectacular net profits, year over year, with absolutely no business sense or understanding of their customers, it DOES NOT deserve your business.
Couldn't agree more. I signed up with them in 1997 when they first came to canada. Easy as pie to deal with. No suprises, just easy, reliable banking. Been an advocate for a long time. A refreshing alternative to the big guys. In fact, between PC Financial and ING, I do 99% of my banking and haven't stepped inside (or called) one of the big banks for about 6 or 7 years.
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