ING Direct Orange Savings Account Information Sheet and Opinions
With all of these different online banks around, it’s hard to keep clear which banks do what when comparing with new banks or answering people’s questions. I don’t know how many times I’ve searched the bank websites for the same info that I just searched for a week ago. So I’ve decided to make an information post for each of the banks that offer a good savings rate and that I have an account with. First up, ING Direct.
Home Page: INGDirect.com
Current APR: 4.50% APY
Interest Compounding: Compounded and credited on a monthly basis.
Minimum to open: $1
Minimum to avoid monthly service charge: None.
Other fees of note: None
Download formats available: .ofx, .qfx files*
Number of external bank account links allowed: 3
Routing Number: 031176110
Opening Bonuses: $25 referral bonus
Deposit Hold Times: (from the ING site) Generally, you can’t withdraw a deposit for 5 business days. However, when you first open your account, you won’t be able to withdraw any money for the first 10 business days. As with all non-cash deposits, interest will begin to accrue no later than 2 business days after the banking day on which the funds were deposited. (Here’s an example - if you make a deposit on a Sunday, we will process it on Monday, and interest will begin to accrue no later than Wednesday.)
Safety of Deposits: ING Bank, fsb is FDIC insured up to $100,000. Still, this does not mean all banks are the same. BankRate.com’s Safe & Sound Rating assesses banks’ relative financial conditions. ING Direct has a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
How to add external link:
- Send them a personal check (for at least $1.00) made out to yourself, and drawn against the account you want linked.
- Include the word “Link”, followed by your ING DIRECT Customer Number in the memo field of the check, make sure you sign it, and send it to the address below.
Contact Information:
Email: sales@ingdirect.com
Mail:
ING DIRECT
P.O. Box 60
St. Cloud, MN 56302-0060
Phone:
- For new customers, call 1-800-ING-DIRECT.
- For existing customers, call 1-888-ING-0727.
- To access your account through our Interactive Phone Service call 1-888-ING-7868
Customer Service Opinion: I actually don’t remember ever having to call or e-mail ING, which is interesting since this is the account I have had the longest. I guess it could also be considered a testament to how user-friendly their website is, how their bonuses and interest post promptly, and how simple their structure is. Anecdotally, I’ve heard positive things about their customer service.
User interface Opinion: I think it’s sparse and utilitarian. It works, and I’m happy with it. Here is a screenshot of what you’d see if you had an account:
Other things to note: One cool thing with ING is that you can open multiple sub-accounts and label them “Vacation Fund” or “Car Maintenance Fund” and have nice little organized baskets of money. You can also set up automatic transfers to these sub-accounts. To open one, just click on “Open an Account” after you’ve logged in.
* .ofx is Microsoft Money’s current format, .qfx is Quicken 2005+ format, .qif is Quicken 2004 and older and also older MS Money format, .csv is Comma Separated Values which is a more generic spreadsheet format.
[Rates updated as of 11/28/06]
August 17th, 2005 at 11:52 am
Nice summary, I only find one glitches as below:
Interest Compounding: Compounded and credited on a monthly basis.
Should be:
Interest Compounding: Compounded daily, and credited on a monthly basis.
August 17th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
Where do you get that from? From their FAQ:
“How do you calculate the interest on my account?
Interest on your savings account is accrued daily, compounded monthly and credited to your available balance at the end of each month.”
August 17th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
I remember I learned from college finance that “compounded daily” and “compounded monthly” would make a huge difference in accumulated interests calculation at the end of the month, because the latter would only multiply the principle by monthly interest one time per month, whereas daily compounding would multiply the principle by daily interest 30 times per month…
However, I did see the source you get from ING website… what’s the difference of “accrued” and “compounded”? I am a little confused now, can anyone clarify?
August 17th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
Jack, you bring up a point that many people get hung up on - compounded daily vs. compounded monthly. It really does not make that much of a difference. I’ll try to think up a numerical example later. More importantly, if you are comparing APYs (not APRs) it makes no difference at all! The APY number already takes into account all compounding and tells you how much your money would earn if left there for one year.
I really didn’t even want to put it up it matters so little, but people seem to always want to know.
August 31st, 2005 at 12:15 pm
I know this comment is a little late, but I was wondering how the sub-account works in ING. Is the interest tallied up on the total or just by each sub-account?
August 31st, 2005 at 12:30 pm
Each sub-account is basically a whole separate account, with its own account number and all. It will earn interest into it just like your original account.
January 3rd, 2006 at 7:40 am
I found this on the FAQ of the ING Website:
How is interest calculated on an Orange CD?
Interest on your Orange CD is accrued daily and compounded annually.
Interest compounded daily vs compounded annually makes quite a difference, no?
January 3rd, 2006 at 10:45 am
Mike - It matters, but a crazy amount. See here:
link
March 1st, 2006 at 11:06 am
The routing number 031176110 for ING simply does not work. No other internet banks will accept it. Is the leading zero the problem? Is it intentional on ING’s part?
I should have informed everyone of this months ago because I haven’t had any success using this routing number.
I am not sure what routing number will work for ING. If anyone knows, please post and also email me from my blog site. Thank you!!!
March 1st, 2006 at 11:53 am
ING Direct does it on purpose, they only want you to link via their system where you have to send in checks. This is why I got an HSBC checking account for the checks.
March 31st, 2006 at 1:47 pm
I think this is what ING’s interest calculation statement means.:
“Accrued” daily means you ‘earn’ interest everyday. In other words if you close the account on the 21st day of the month you will get 21 days worth of interest
Compounded monthly is simply what it says, at the end of month, the interest that you have ‘accrued’ gets added to the total account value and is used as the basis to calculate next month’s interest
So to answer the previoius question I’m pretty sure ING does monthly compounding but not daily
June 9th, 2006 at 8:59 am
this is my first experience with internet discussions and with ing direct financing. I need help with investing my monies with ing direct and their credibility.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Compounded Daily vs. Compounded Monthly
If you start with $1000.00 @ 4.00%APR one year later you will have…
$1040.74 (if compounded monthly)
OR
$1040.81 (if compounded daily)
[Values rounded to the nearest penny]
[fyi - if you start with $10k then multiply the above by 10.]
July 6th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
IMPORTANT!
If you compare banks using APY (as oppose to APR) AND you don’t deposit or withdrawal throughout the year, you will get the same exact amount of interest regardless of whether it was compounded daily, monthly or even quarterly for that matter!!!
If you deposit or withdrawal large sums, I’m not sure how it will impact any one month (for compounded monthly), since I do not know if they use average balance, current balance or something else each month.
October 29th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
I think ING does have a sort of functioning minimum. I was surprised to receive a notice via snail mail last year that they closed my savings account due to “inactivity and having a $0 balance for 90 days or more”. Understandable, but a little disconcerting to have the bank break up with me because I was trying to pay off credit card debt.
October 29th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Yes, the minimum is the amount needed to avoid fees, but banks can close your account at any time, just like we can close our accounts there at any time. Emigrant Direct also does this.
December 5th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
How often do I recieve statements. Because I haven’t recieved one ever since 10-2006. And could you tell me exactly how to do it online. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.Stephen A. Fuller
December 6th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
[…] ING Direct is trying to stir things up again by rolling out a new high-yield checking account. Paradoxically, there will be no checks. Available currently only to “active” users of their Orange savings account ($25 signup promotion), it offers the following features: […]
January 9th, 2007 at 1:42 am
I just opened an account with INGdirect.com and was very happy with the process. I am still waiting for the initial depost to go through to make sure the electronics are working, but other than that, so far so good.
I am a little miffed at the interest rate debate. I blogged about it an anonymous user posted a reply stating I could get better rates elsewhere.
Sure, I have a 457b (401ks for educational institutions) and a stock account through Sharebuilder, but to be honest, I also need a no fee savings account.
My current saving account with BOA sucks. It doesn’t pay anything in interest (at least I’ve never seen any interest accrued) and they act like their doing me a favor by holding my money.
While I might not get rich with a ING account I like the fact that my money is earning a respectable rate of return, there is no minimum, and I my money is relatively accessible if needed through transfers –I do not want it too accessible to discourage me from touching it too often.
Thoughts?
January 9th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Houston - ING is a solid bank with a fair interest rate. It’s not the best, but everyone has to make their own decisions based on there own situation. If you have higher balances, it may be worth considering a move. For many people, the difference might be negligible.
Please see my Rate Chaser Calculator to see how much interest you might gain somewhere else.
April 7th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
It should be noted that ING Direct does NOT allow you to designate beneficiaries for your account. This is not a deal breaker, but an annoying characteristic for such a large bank. If you don’t want your loved ones to deal with probate court should something happen to you, you might want to try a different account. I know that E-Loan does allow you to designate beneficiaries.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
im a college student just getting into investing, and im working this summer to save up money to possibly put into a 12 month cd so that it earns respectable interest over the course of the year, but at the same time i wont be tempted to touch it. ive heard good things about ing orange CDs. any advice? ill probably only have a few thousand dollars. i know im not going to make a ton in interest, but i want my money inaccesible so that i can save it for my future, while still earning the highest yield possible in a no risk situation. any ideas would be much appreciated
July 24th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I have been satisfied with this account so far, however was told I would get $25 to open account, did not receive it or get anyone to help me with that. Why is that? You see I just opened the account and yet nothing. thanks.
July 24th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
ING has improved the process for adding linked accounts. It can be done completely electronically now using the two small deposit verification process. You no longer have to mail in a check for at least $1.00 unless you prefer to do so.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:26 am
In reply to Laura Gomes, You only get the $25 if you open it with a minimum of $300 or something like that. I had no problem getting mine.
August 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
First I?d say STAY AWAY COMPLETELY from ING Direct.
Back in September 2001 I opened an account with $10K. Within 2 months I added another $10K to the account. Then I tried to get my money out 18 months later and for over 3 months ING DIRECT kept sending me in the postal mail system a notice saying ?Invalid Account Number?. Even though I called them numerous times to correct the problem, ING Direct continued to site the ?Invalid Account Number? excuse and sent rejects via mail even though ING DIRECT had both my work and home numbers (both with answering systems attached). The folks at 1-888-ING-0272 were of no help. Mostly excuses and more excuses but they never solved the problem.
I had to write them two checks for one dollar to finally get my needed money. The first check resulted in the account number being updated according to the letter but when I requested the transfer I got the ?Invalid Account Number? excuse again. The whole thing took a second check for a dollar (with a letter from my new lawyer) before they got me my money 6 months after I needed it. (We lost the house because I could not get the down payment out of ING DIRECT from my account.)
Then in 2004 I emptied the account down to $40.00. I changed my will to include the ING DIRECT account as a gift to my granddaughter when she turns 65, she is 8 now and was 5 then. I left the account in my name so that I was responsible for the taxes on interest until my death. Then I proceeded to forget about the account and talk anyone I hear talking about ING DIRECT out of doing business with ING DIRECT. I think I was mostly successful in my attempts.
This month I received a letter from ING DIRECT out of the blue. Since September 2005 ING DIRECT stopped sending me quarterly statements.. In the letter ING DIRECT states account was closed. The statement says ?Since your Orange Savings Account has had little to no activity it looks like we weren?t able to help you save. As a result we closed your account.? Yet on the same statement the ?Year to date interest? is $1.10 at an ?Annual Percentage Interest Yield? of 4.47%. So it has had activity through 3 quarters of the year.
So now an 8 year old girl lost her future account. The almost $50.00 was transferred to my checking account and now I have to go back to the lawyer to remove the account from my will. Yet THEY NEVER GAVE ANY WARNING or ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT ME before closing this account. I?d have easily transferred as much as necessary to keep it open. And I have a great credit score so I know they could not have decided to can me due to bad credit rating.
ING DIRECT has no concern for you as a customer, they just want your $25.00 to start and then more. But if you don?t keep adding to it ING DIRECT will just throw you out without any warning at all.
My advice to one and all, STAY AWAY FROM ING DIRECT!!! Go to any other on line bank and you will be much better off.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:24 am
I noticed that ING quietly cut all their interest rates on all the deposit accounts right in line with the fed interest rate cut (though not as much)
Yesterday, the Orange savings yielded 4.5% while today it only yields 4.3%
September 19th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Any idea if ING does a hard credit pull when opening a new account? We’re in the market to possibly refinance within the next few months (
September 19th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Never mind - I answered my own question by doing a Google search. Guess what? First hit for “hard credit pull ing” is - tada! - this blog
The answer is no, ING does a soft pull.
September 27th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
So how does one transfer the money from your checking account to an ING account or any online savings account? I bank with Wachovia, and they say it is going to cost me 25.00 to “wire” transfer money out of my account everytime I need to transfer money. Do I need someone that electronically tranfers money for free? Who would that be?
September 27th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Looks like I was misinformed. Wachovia now does electronic transfers to non-wachovia accounts for 3.00 per transaction. Any body know which of the “big banks”…lots of locations specifically around Charlotte NC that don’t charge a fee. Or is the fee standard just about everywhere?
November 13th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
navi - even i’m trying to find out the ACH transfer charges. Everyone mentions about the speed of money transfer, but none talks abt the charges..
November 14th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
In response to “None” on 8/24, a while ago (I’m not exactly sure how many months ago), I opened up an Orange Savings account. I didn’t do much with the account, didn’t pay much attention at the time; a while later, they apparently closed the account due to inactivity. They also did NOT notify me, as far as I can tell. I have a daughter in college and was budgeting carefully at that point. Now, I’m in a better financial position, and tried to re-open the account. GUESS WHAT! You can’t! If they had to manual close the account, they blacklist you from every being able to open another account with them. I called them twice, trying to talk to a different person, to see if I could get this lifted, but NO. They said the bank made a business decision that prohibits me from ever opening another account with them, ever. By the way, I have excellent credit, never bounced a check, always pay my credit card balances in full, etc. This bank is awful and I think others should know about it before considering doing business with them, even if their interest rates are good. Consumer beware - if they don’t like you as a customer, you may be blacklisted for life.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:57 am
When Netbank recently closed and bought by ING, my CD money went elsewhere. So did my checking account. ING can kiss my money goodbye.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
you guys are crazy saying that ING DIRECT quietly lowered their rates. Did you want big signage that rates are lowered??? I mean c’mon. Also, to the individual who’s acct was closed due to inactivity, interest doesn’t count as activity. You have to use the savings account not just deposit money and leave it there for 6 years
February 26th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I’m really new to this whole online savings account concept..
I’m used to the traditional person to person convo..
so I’m a bit lost on how you would recieve your savings, if you were to close the account.. will they automatically transfer the savings to your external checking account? or will they .. send you a check??
and if you were to close the account, how would you do that in the first place??
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I’m am trying to decide if i want to open up a savings account with ING. I was a little disturbed with the ING comment saying that you have to use the account not just deposit money and leave it for 6 years. Why would they call it a savings account if I wanted to withdrawl money every week? That is what my checking is for. Sounds to me like this is a racket and I need to stay away.
Any thoughts!
March 10th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Their customer service impossible to work with. Three weeks to move money to the originating account is ridiculous.
You have to experience it to believe it. I can’t get an assistance even with the simplest information about my account.
Ombudsman’s or CEO’s response to email? Not a chance.
CS reps provide their first name and a standard line. You will never get any assistance and there is no incentive to resolve your problem. Laugh at you then they hang up on you and move on to the next luck sap who can’t get to his money.
If a person needs to hide their identity by not providing their full name and direct number maybe they should not pretend to work in customer service.
If your thinking of starting an account with ING, give them a call first and I’ll bet they will not provide their full name and direct line.
While I am at it, can someone explain how they can accept deposits but don’t realize there are “issues” until you try to take money out?
Also where is the complaint resolution on their site? Millions and millions of happy customers or simply customers with no voice?
I’ll keep calling and they will keep laughing at me. 75$ in ING Interest is cost me money and I can’t close the deal REAL FUNNY!
March 17th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I opened an ING account several years ago for some bonus, withdrew the bonus and left the account with very little in in for a few months. ING closed my account.
Today, I tried to open a new account for another bonus, and discover that I too have been blacklisted! I could care less though, I got my bonus the first time around.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Yes, you can only get one bonus per Social Security number. You can still re-open a closed account, though.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I have held on your interactive phone service for one hour listening to the fact that I am in the home stretch and one of your highly trained customer service people will be right with me. BS
This is not customer service, 8:00a.m to8p.m everyday
May 6th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
how come ing direct doesn’t let you sign up for the beneficiary? i’ve had this account for few years and i just realized that ing direct doesn’t have an assigned beneficiary.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Pete Hates,
Nice last name there, buddy. NO banking costumer service representative will give you their full name. That’s policy. It’s not some secret evil conspiracy to be unhelpful. It’s a fact of life. Not just at ING, at Citibank, IBC, Frost, Chase Morgan and ANYWHERE ELSE YOU WILL EVER CALL. EVER.
It’s life. Deal with it. You don’t have a right to anyone’s last name. And direct lines? DON’T EXIST. You’re upset because they’re not giving you something they DON’T HAVE. When you call, you’re put in a queue in a computer and randomly assigned. There is no direct line. GOD HIMSELF couldn’t call one of those phones directly.
I can just imagine the hell you’ve put people through just for not existing in the 1950’s.
Obviously, you’ll be a lot more comfortable digging a hole in the ground and putting your money there. At least then you’ll have a direct line.
And gil betz, you’ve obviously mistake this for the official ING blog. It’s not. I’m fairly certain they don’t have a blog. And the reason the Customer Service line is tied up is because Pete keeps calling and demanding last names.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I have had ING for a few years now, and been very happy with it. I have easily added money to it, organized my accounts for different things, and have withdrawn easily in increments when I have needed it.
I don’t know why people are surprised when their accounts close due to inactivity. Banks need money to keep coming in-that’s how they loan money out. when you take $50 and let it sit there, without adding to it, they are paying you more interest over time than you are “giving” them money to loan. As a simple business model, WHY would anyone do that? Do you think that’s sound? Where exactly do you think this magical interest is paid for, if not from their ability to loan the money to others and make a larger percentage on the borrower?
For clarification: activity does not need to mean withdrawals. It also means deposits. In essence, all these complainers had to do was keep depositing a dollar every so often. Three months of nothing should not be considered saving. If you wanted to do that, you should have bought the recipient a $50 bond. Your appeal to emotion is amusing, though. ING ripped off your granddaughter! Nice.
June 8th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Judging from this message board, ING seems pretty solid. I’m sure all this brouhaha about sudden account closures, unannounced interest rate drops, poor customer service, and inaccessible withdrawls is typical with other banks. Just your average whiners new to the savings world. Props to Amilie and Christina for getting things right.
My only concern at this point is having multiple accounts scattered every here and there. I have multiple chequing, savings, brokerage, and credit accounts. Another account with another bank could get hectic. =/