Online Banking Review: ING Direct's Orange Savings Account

The Orange savings account from ING Direct is a great financial product that can help you save money by earning a high interest rate. This online bank account is easy to open, convenient to use, and safe and secure. ING Direct is a member of the FDIC, so your deposits are insured by the federal government up to $100,000. The Orange savings account has no minimum balance requirement, no maintenance fees, no service charges, and can be linked to your existing checking account with another bank. The account is currently paying 4.35% APY interest and interest is credited to your account monthly. Interest rates do change and lately they have been going up, so you can check their website for their current rate. Their website is www.ingdirect.com. Why continue to accept a low interest rate from your local bank when you can earn more with ING Direct? And since you can link the savings account to your existing checking account, you don't even have to change banks or order new checks. The reason that they can pay you a higher interest rate is because all of their transactions are done electronically, so their expenses are much lower than traditional brick and mortar banks. Without physical bank branches spread throughout the country, they have less operational costs, fewer employees to pay, and can pass this savings on to you in the form of higher interest rates.

There are a few different ways that you can apply for an account. You can go to their website and apply for an account directly online. Or, you can download an account application from their website, complete it, and mail it in. A third option is to call 1-800-ING-DIRECT to request an account application be mailed to you. Once the account is open, you can bank online 24 hours per day. Or, if you prefer, you can bank by phone through their automated touch tone system or by speaking to an ING associate from 7am to 9pm EST seven days a week.

Once your account is open, your first deposit will create a link between your existing checking account and your new Orange savings account. After that, you can transfer money between accounts online or by phone. If you want to withdraw money from ING Direct, simply transfer money from your savings account to your checking account. If you would like to deposit money, simply deposit the money into your checking account and then transfer it to ING Direct. One thing to keep in mind is that it takes 2 business days for the transfer to complete. They say 2 to 3 business days, but it has never taken longer than 2 business days for me. So, if you transfer money from your savings to your checking on a Monday, it should show up in your checking account on Wednesday.

In addition to the high interest rate that you will earn, you can also earn referral money from ING Direct. They have a great referral program which I have taken full advantage of. If you refer a friend and they open a new account, your friend will receive a $25 bonus and you will receive a $10 referral bonus. Although the account has no minimum balance requirement, to qualify for the referral bonus your friend must make an initial deposit of at least $250. Once your friend has made his or her first deposit of $250 into their new account, both bonuses will be credited right away.

I have been banking with ING Direct for over a year now and I have been very happy with them. Their website is very reliable and their customer service is very good. Based on my experience, and the feedback from people I have referred, I think you will be happy using this online bank. In addition to the Orange savings account, ING Direct also offers certificates of deposits and mortgages. Their rates are favorable for these products as well. If you have more questions about an Orange savings account, check out their frequently asked questions at: http://home.ingdirect.com/faqs/faqs.asp
Or, you can go to www.ingdirect.com to find out more about their CD's and mortgages.