ING - Why

[disneysteve]

Re: ING - Why

I think many average people like to go with what is familiar, and ING fits the bill thanks to all the advertising. A lot of people also overemphasize the importance of FDIC insurance. Money market mutual funds pay better rates, often give check writing privileges and/or ATM access and are very convenient and very safe, but many people avoid them due to no FDIC insurance.

[sweeps]

Re: ING - Why

Why not have FDIC insurance AND better rates? (Insert GMAC Bank plug here.)

[poundwise]

Re: ING - Why

True!

Also, I'd like to pose the question, "Why not ING?" They offer a good rate, good customer service, and quality features.

I understand that the question comes from looking at other institutions that currently offer higher rates, however, that doesn't make ING bad or anything.

I do not have an ING account, but am considering helping my parents set up one. I like the idea that it is very easy to use and has the subaccount feature, which may benefit them organization-wise.

[joseblanco]

Re: ING - Why

I agree marketing and advertising will often sway people despite the choice not being the optimum. The salient indication I am getting from this discussion is that because ING was the pioneer and established goodwill amoung its customer base it can maintain a strong market position without having to compete on rate. The new players to make a name for themselves in this market must give a better rate to get established. I personally gave up on brand loyalty a long time ago and have a "what have you done for me lately perspective". Brand loyalty is a nice concept but I would not let it blind me to a better deal.

[disneysteve]

Re: ING - Why

Why not have FDIC insurance AND better rates? (Insert GMAC Bank plug here.)

Even better. Which goes back to the original question of why ING is so popular. I think advertising plays a big part, plus for a long time they were paying the best interest and people don't want to bother moving their money every time someone else raises rates. Of course, if you are only talking about a few hundred or a thousand or so dollars, the extra .25 or .50 really doesn't amount to much.

[BTC]

Re: ING - Why

For me, online savings accounts are all about the yield. I have accounts with three different institutions and the other two are no more difficult to use than ING. The ING account was more convenient to set up because there was no physical exchange of information. That convenience, the ability to create "sub-accounts", the fact that I once worked for ING and my love for the color orange aren't reason enough to compel me to accept up to an almost 18% disparity in yield. It would be nice if ING had some incentive to offer a competitive rate, but there is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence on this site as to why that isn't necessary.

At some point I'm probably going to open additional accounts with Bank United & GMAC. It really bothers me knowing I'm not getting the highest return possible.

It will be interesting to see Emigrant Direct's new website, which is supposedly going to be unveiled this month. It can't get much more vanilla.

[WellManicuredMan]

Re: ING - Why

It will be interesting to see Emigrant Direct's new website, which is supposedly going to be unveiled this month. It can't get much more vanilla.

I just got the letter from ED about their new site and here is what they claim it will offer:

• "state of the art" security system
• Schedule, edit and view transfers
• Perform immediate transfers between ED accounts
• Link additional accounts
• Make changes to your account profile
• Add or change beneficiary information
• View readily available account statements and 1099 information
• View CD information
• Achieve an even higher level of security with self-created security questions

And they state: "The enhanced site reflects comments received from our customers and sets a new industry standard combining ease of use and expanded capability..."

[BTC]

Re: ING - Why

There is no doubt that ED has room for improvement when it comes to their website, but I hope their customer retention strategy isn't pinned to providing a slick interface. They better increase their yield pretty soon or I'm outta there.

[jmjj215]

Re: ING - Why

If ED really comes up with a nice interface, I'll take another gander.

[Roupey03]

Re: ING - Why

My biggest thing with ING is I feel good when I log in and see what my interest for the month is and that it does indeed change daily. I made 40 cents today WooHoo.

[Ima saver]

Re: ING - Why

Wow, that is $144 a year!!

[WellManicuredMan]

Re: ING - Why

My biggest thing with ING is I feel good when I log in and see what my interest for the month is and that it does indeed change daily. I made 40 cents today WooHoo.

I did some quick math and I'd like to take a guess that you have... let's see... $3435 in your ING account? I was bored

[MarshallMiddle]

Re: ING - Why

Why ING? Because it is easy, you can sign-up online in about 5min. It is user friendly and the minimum balance is $1 to open an account, plus they will usually give you a bonus for signing up. I use it, it's great. Check it out.

[poundwise]

Re: ING - Why

For me, online savings accounts are all about the yield.

I mean this as a serious question. Does this mean that you move your savings account around a lot?

I get the feeling that some people (not necessarily you) open a new savings account and shift their balance over whenever some bank offers a .05% better yield.

[abowers]

Re: ING - Why

I get the feeling that some people (not necessarily you) open a new savings account and shift their balance over whenever some bank offers a .05% better yield.

That's why I'm not bothering to move my savings with ING over to Emigrant or GMAC or HSBC online because it sounds like a lot of hassle. I don't want to deal with opening and closing lots of accounts for an additional <$1 month. If I had more money I might be concerned, but if I had more money it would be in a CD.