ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

[CJsoccerchic]

So this is a strictly "saving" saving's account?! Wow, that kinda sucks that you can't easily access your funds....

[jeffrey]

Here's a bit of news: ING fires high maintenance customers. from an article at <A HREF="http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/02/pf/debt/internet_banking/index.htm">money.com</A>

<i>And if you're looking to have your hand held, online accounts are not for you. ING Direct, for instance, closes an average of 3 percent to 4 percent of accounts a month, when customers require too much personal service.

"We fire our customers is a colorful way of putting it," said ING Direct's Kuhlmann. "While the banking business says the customer is always right, we're online guys and you can only do business with us in a certain way."

He added that it just isn't cost effective to maintain high maintenance customers that need more personalized attention. </i>

So have you been fired from ING or know anyone who has?

[Bluezy]

Interesting. I've stayed with my beloved Emigrant (and now with my new ING) because our money and I want to be left alone to grow in peace. Therefore I do not expect to be counted among those fired.

[CJsoccerchic]

WOW!!!! They can FIRE you - what a concept. Geez, I hope this concept doesn't get carried over to my regular bank!!!! I guess I'll have to be lie low with ING and make my deposits

[34saving]

Okay, so I finally decide that .6% is too much to ignore, so I start moving my money from ING over to Emigrant. I did the first transfer on Sept. 27. It showed up almost right away and it's been earning interest, but it's still not "Available". How long does Emigrant take before it lets me have my money back?

[Bluezy]

I have my Emigrant funds available one-two days after the deposit. Mostly My funds have been available immediately. But know that I only deposit funds into my Emigrant account, I do not withdraw them.

I'm still too new to ING to make such a statement. However, they did respond quickly to my initial deposit and made it available one day after I opened the account.

[CJsoccerchic]

OK - OK - I'm sold - I'm going to open an ED bank!!!! .6% is just too much to ignore...
But I really like the 25$ opening incentive and the 10$ incentive - so I'll keep both!

[CJsoccerchic]

OH - hey - did you guys know that ED is going to have a credit card with the "best cash back rewards" that supposedly comes in November... another reason to go to Emigrant..
But I still like ING!!!

[mannda]

Too bad about ING, I really like them and have been with them since the beginning but .6% cannot be ignored. Since 9/20 I've been slowly moving my 500k from ING to Emigrant in 100k chunks. I figure it takes 17-20 days to make back the loss from the transfer.

I'm really loathe to do it because ING is one of the largest, most respectable banks in the world and would never let any of its businesses default whereas Emigrant sounds like a Columbian laundering outfit. I hope this isn't a mistake.

[34saving]

I hope you're transferring it to 5 different accounts. (FDIC insurance only goes to 100K)

[Russell]

I started my ING->ED transfer on Mon and it finally got done today, so it takes a good 4-5 days.

Can you open multiple accounts under your name with the same bank just to get FDIC insurance on each ?

On $500k the .6% diff comes out to be $3k per yr and that doesn't include compounding.

[dolfinrose]

here is a cool calculator to figure out if it is worth it to switch or not. the calculator figures earnings on interest and compound interest
http://www.math.com/students/calcula...e/compound.htm

[ken1706]

That is a pretty nifty calculator. Here's one example that I tried:

5 years with initial $5K balance and $100 monthly contributions:

EmigrantDirect's 4%
1 : 6425.95
2 : 7910
3 : 9454.51
4 : 11061.95
5 : 12734.88

ING Direct's 3.4%
1 : 6391.55
2 : 7831.16
3 : 9320.48
4 : 10861.24
5 : 12455.21

Final difference is $279.67. Of course the interest rates will vary, but based on this year's history, EmigrantDirect will likely average 0.5% higher than ING Direct.

[midnight]

Is there any cost involved by switching money from bank to bank?

[terry1156]

Originally Posted by midnight

Is there any cost involved by switching money from bank to bank?

There is no direct charge, but you lose a couple of days of interest as the funds are being transferred.

[CJsoccerchic]

WOW - do you think that ING will match the 4% that ED is doing?? Especially knowing that ED is it's biggest competitor?

[Armywife]

I absolutely hope so! I sure could use 4%

[genchan]

I don't think that ING will raise their rates - if they are in a position where they can "fire" customers, then having the top rate isn't that important to them - only staying somewhat competitive.

[Snakpac]

For those that have closed their accounts at ING. How do you do it? Do you have to call? I have multiple savings accounts with different things I'm saving for with them. Their are at least 1 or 2 that I am done using, and I don't know how to close them. Also, I may move my emergency fund to ED, and I would want to close that.

Thanks.

ED's relationship with ING

[jmjj215]

Ha, funny animation! I want to switch to ED, but don't want to hassle with everything