ING Review Australia – Is ING a Good Banking Option for Australians?
Welcome to my ING Review Australia. I’m going to review ING (International Netherlands Group), one of the world’s leading international banking and financial service providers. I’ll be covering their everyday transaction account, their savings account, the app itself and some unique features that the app has to offer.
ING Australia Review
Orange Everyday Account
The Orange Everyday Account is ING’s basic transaction/checking account. This account as the name suggests is designed to be used as an account for your daily spendings such as groceries and bills. By opening this account, you’ll receive an ING every day spending visa card.
While there is nothing inherently special about this account on its own, it can come with some attractive perks when linked with the Saving’s Maximiser account assuming that you meet ING’s monthly requirements.
Monthly Requirements:
Deposit $1000+ per month and make 5+ card purchases that are settled with your Orange Everyday Account.
If you manage to meet these requirements, your everyday account comes with the following unique features:
These features make this card perfect for people who either like to travel or simply purchase a lot of items online from international stores, as you can avoid paying those steep international transaction fees. However, by meeting ING’s monthly requirements, you can also unlock additional benefits for their “Savings Maximiser’ account.
Savings Maximiser Account:
The Savings maximiser Account is ING’s savings account, offers a 1.5% p.a variable interest rate when bonus conditions are met. At the time of writing this article, this is one of the highest savings rates available within Australia, making it a very competitive savings account.
Additionally, you can also withdraw money from your savings account at any time without incurring fees or relinquishing your bonus savings rating, which is a common practice among other savings accounts offered in Australia.
The last thing worth mentioning about these savings maximiser accounts is that ING allows you to create up to 9 of them. While it is important to note that only ONE of your accounts is eligible for the full 1.5% savings rate (the rest revert to 0.1% p.a.), this can be a very useful tool if you have multiple savings goals. For example, I have my emergency fund earning the 1.5% rate, however, I still use several other accounts to set aside money for future expenses such as my phone bill, car insurance, holidays and Christmas spending.
Other Products:
ING offers credit cards, insurance, term deposits, home loans, personal loans and superannuation. I have not used any of these products and as such do not feel comfortable advising people to use them as I have no experience with these products. However, if you would like to do further research on these financial services then you can find more information on the ING Website.
ING Review Australia Pros
Every Day Round-Up
This feature enables you to round up purchases to either the nearest $1 or $5, with the difference being transferred to either your Savings Maximiser, Mortgage Simplifier or Orange Advantage Accounts.
For example, if you activate $5 round-up and link it to your Savings Maximiser and you decide to purchase a $4 coffee with your Orange Everyday Account, you’ll be debited $4 from your Orange Everyday and have $1 transferred automatically to your Savings Maximiser. This tool while not necessary for everyone, can be great for those who struggle with saving or those who want to save more.
Additionally, it can be linked to ING mortgage accounts, so instead of saving money in the traditional sense, you can use it to either offset your mortgage or reduce the principal depending on what ING loan you’ve acquired.
Free International ATM Withdrawals + No International Transaction Fees
Assuming you meet the monthly bonus requirements, you will be fully reimbursed by ING for all ATM fees and international transaction fees within 5 business days. This feature is extremely useful for people who travel internationally or purchase a lot of things online from international stores, as these fees can add up quickly.
As someone who purchases international assets, as well as someone who orders a lot of things from America and England because they are cheaper or simply not offered domestically, this feature alone has saved me thousands over the last few years.
No Fees
As previously mentioned, ING has no fees for its Orange Everyday and Savings Maximiser Accounts. This is a nice contrast from some other Australian banks which do charge people to store their own money.
Additionally, being able to move funds in and out of your savings account without jeopardising your interest rate is also a nice addition that not all banks offer.
Easy to Navigate App
As ING has no physical branches in Australia, the app itself has to be efficient. Having used ING since 2017, I am yet to experience any issues with the app crashing or experience any difficulties in navigating it.
I can access my Emergency Fund, Orange Everyday and my other 5 Savings Maximiser accounts easily and transfer funds between these accounts instantaneously. As ING offers OSKO Instant Payments, I am also able to transfer and receive funds from my ING accounts to external accounts within a matter of seconds.
Lastly, while I have only needed to contact customer support once in my three years of using the service, I had to wait for approximately five minutes to be in contact with an actual person (no AI) who solved my issue within the next 24 hours.
ING Review Australia Potential Cons:
No Physical Banking Locations
As a counter-argument to the above point, ING is entirely digitalised in Australia. So, for people who like to physically walk into banks and withdraw/deposit funds in a more traditional way, then ING is not the bank for you.
Potentially Better Savings Rates Elsewhere
While the ING Savings Maximiser currently offers one of the highest savings rates in Australia when the monthly bonus criteria is met, there are still several competitors that offer slightly higher interest rates.
Additionally, there are banks with similar interest rates that have less/easier requirements to unlock the bonus amount. However, it should be noted that you can still enjoy the benefits of the ING Everyday Account while using an alternate high-interest savings account (HISA) if you are seeking the highest possible interest rate for your savings.
Bonus Requirements
As previously described, ING offers some very attractive perks when the monthly requirements of depositing $1,000 and making 5 settled transaction purchases are met. However, for low-income earners who earn less than $1,000 per month or people who simply aren’t willing to make 5 purchases with their Orange Everyday Card, these perks may be harder to unlock. Subsequently, if you aren’t able/willing to meet the monthly bonus criteria then ING is probably not the most optimal bank for your financial needs.
ING Review Australia – Final Verdict
ING is a very useful banking app that offers unique perks and advantages over other banks when their minimum monthly requirements is met. These benefits include the ability to automate your saving through Everyday Round-Ups, no account fees, full reimbursement for ATM withdrawals and international transactions, a competitive savings rate and the ability to create multiple savings account for your budgeting needs. However, if you are unable to fulfil the monthly requirements, prefer to have physical banking locations or are seeking the highest possible HISA then you may be better suited for alternative banks.
As a customer for the last 3 years, I am happy with the service offered by ING and continue to use it as my main banking account due to its attractive perks and its easy to navigate user interface.