Do you agree with the following ING Direct's assesment of its competitors?
QUOTE
Compared to Capital One-ING DIRECT is customer friendly by allowing you many different ways for access to your account, helping our customers over the phone and we open on Sundays
Citibank-Must open a checking account in order to receive the rate
-Must keep a combined minimum balance with savings and checking
-Cannot open, or manage your account over the phone
Emigrant-Higher rate but if you refer a friend with ING Direct, you would need $7,000 in an Emigrant Direct account to make up the difference in interest
HSBC-Hidden fees, look at their disclosure page
make up the difference in interest
-Only 1 external link
-Only offer one product, time consuming to deal with
other investments
Citibank-Must open a checking account in order to receive the rate
-Must keep a combined minimum balance with savings and checking
-Cannot open, or manage your account over the phone
Emigrant-Higher rate but if you refer a friend with ING Direct, you would need $7,000 in an Emigrant Direct account to make up the difference in interest
HSBC-Hidden fees, look at their disclosure page
make up the difference in interest
-Only 1 external link
-Only offer one product, time consuming to deal with
other investments
Full message by dsemmler:
QUOTE
Over the weekend, I decided to send a note to ING to inquire about their plans with regard to their offered rate and the fact that they are lagging the market leaders. While I did not expect them to really give me any information such as expected rate increases, I was curious to see their response. Here is the response that I received via email:
ING DIRECT does not base rates on one competitor, we base them on overall market conditions as well as on our competition.
Even though another bank may currently offer a higher rate, we feel that we offer the better deal for several key reasons.
ING DIRECT has consistently paid one of the nation's highest yield with no fees and no minimums for more than 4 years. We have a low cost business model that allows us to continue to offer these high rates over the long term.
ING DIRECT's privacy policy exceeds government standards. We have an opt-in policy, which means that we do not share private Customer information with affiliates and other third parties without express permission from our Customers. Other banks may share this type of Customer information automatically, unless the Customer tells them not to.
ING DIRECT has Sales Associates who are thoroughly trained on all of ING DIRECT's products answering the phone. Our Customers can always speak to a "person".
If you are simply looking for a higher rate, keep in mind that we also offer CDs which earn as high as 5.30% APY depending on the term that you select.
Compared to Capital One-ING DIRECT is customer friendly by allowing you many different ways for access to your account, helping our customers over the phone and we open on Sundays
Citibank-Must open a checking account in order to receive the rate
-Must keep a combined minimum balance with savings and checking
-Cannot open, or manage your account over the phone
Emigrant-Higher rate but if you refer a friend with ING Direct, you would need $7,000 in an Emigrant Direct account to make up the difference in interest
HSBC-Hidden fees, look at their disclosure page
make up the difference in interest
-Only 1 external link
-Only offer one product, time consuming to deal with
other investments
If you have any more questions, give us a call 1-800-ING-DIRECT.
Thanks for your interest in ING DIRECT,
<Name withheld>
ING DIRECT
Member FDIC
Equal Housing Lender
PS - Have you considered the other great deals ING DIRECT offers? Zero Closing Costs on the Orange Mortgage, and great new Orange CD rates. Visit ingdirect.com to learn more!
ING DIRECT does not base rates on one competitor, we base them on overall market conditions as well as on our competition.
Even though another bank may currently offer a higher rate, we feel that we offer the better deal for several key reasons.
ING DIRECT has consistently paid one of the nation's highest yield with no fees and no minimums for more than 4 years. We have a low cost business model that allows us to continue to offer these high rates over the long term.
ING DIRECT's privacy policy exceeds government standards. We have an opt-in policy, which means that we do not share private Customer information with affiliates and other third parties without express permission from our Customers. Other banks may share this type of Customer information automatically, unless the Customer tells them not to.
ING DIRECT has Sales Associates who are thoroughly trained on all of ING DIRECT's products answering the phone. Our Customers can always speak to a "person".
If you are simply looking for a higher rate, keep in mind that we also offer CDs which earn as high as 5.30% APY depending on the term that you select.
Compared to Capital One-ING DIRECT is customer friendly by allowing you many different ways for access to your account, helping our customers over the phone and we open on Sundays
Citibank-Must open a checking account in order to receive the rate
-Must keep a combined minimum balance with savings and checking
-Cannot open, or manage your account over the phone
Emigrant-Higher rate but if you refer a friend with ING Direct, you would need $7,000 in an Emigrant Direct account to make up the difference in interest
HSBC-Hidden fees, look at their disclosure page
make up the difference in interest
-Only 1 external link
-Only offer one product, time consuming to deal with
other investments
If you have any more questions, give us a call 1-800-ING-DIRECT.
Thanks for your interest in ING DIRECT,
<Name withheld>
ING DIRECT
Member FDIC
Equal Housing Lender
PS - Have you considered the other great deals ING DIRECT offers? Zero Closing Costs on the Orange Mortgage, and great new Orange CD rates. Visit ingdirect.com to learn more!
source: http://boards.fool.c...=whole#24339965