ING Direct Drops Electric Orange Rate to 0.5%
Just as I was praising ING for my great financial system, they go and drop the interest rate on the checking account on December 17 2008.
Here is the official information :
- $0-49,999.99 earns a 0.50% APY
- $50,000.00-$99,999.99 earns a 2.85% APY
- $100,000.00 or more earns a 3.05% APY
Rates are variable and effective 12/17/08
The savings rate has remain at 2.75% for now.
The sad part is that when I joined the rate was well over 2%. I don’t think it was a teaser rate, but my guess is that all the features of the account are costing more than they thought. I don’t really blame ING, as the world and especially the US government continues to reward risk heavy spenders and punish those of us that want to save. I hope that eventually they will realize that stability is better long term than all the random tinkering and savers will once again be rewarded and not derided.
I have no plans of changing my system or checking account, even if ING is the lowest paying online checking account. ING still wins hands down IMO. Stability and finacial simplicity are key ingredients to financial peace which make it not worth the hassle of trying to rate shop.
What should our personal finance system “buy” us?
The Benefits Of A Decent Interest Rate In Your Checking And Savings Accounts
Wow, I didn’t even realize ING dropped rates for the electronic orange checking account. Personally, I just keep most of my money in their orange savings and when I need to pay bills, I move the amount needed into the checking.
Given that, my real savings account lies at HSBC Direct, where they’re usually .1% to .5% higher than ING Direct.
And their website user interface is so easy to use! I remain an ING fan.
I just recently discovered ING, and I love it. They have been very easy to deal with, and transfering money between my primary bank and my ING account couldn’t be easier. Even though their interests rates are low, they are certainly leaps and bounds higher than my traditional banks that are paying less than .25% on my checking account. Seems the Fed are planning to keep rates lower for short term, so every little fraction counts.